The History Of The Commercial Microwave |
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Many people are more familiar with using commercial microwaves in their kitchens rather than seeing large industrial microwaves (which are commonly used in restaurants and bars). For many homes and houses this is an essential piece of equipment, handy for warming up cooled or refrigerator foods, cooking popcorns, or for those leading a busy lifestyle can pop their meals in for cooking and enjoy a filling meal in just a few minutes. Commercial microwaves have been around since the 1940s where it was aptly named the Radarange. A man named Percy Spencer discovered the principles behind cooking food using microwaves, when developing magnetrons for radar sets, for a company called Raytheon. Upon working on radar, he noticed that a peanut chocolate had been melted from the microwaves. The first foods to be cooked were popcorn and an egg which had exploded during the experimentation process. This then progressed into building an enclosed box which contained the radiation making it safer to cook food. When the microwaves first came onto the market, they were a massive six foot high and consumed almost 3 times the amount of energy that normal contemporary microwaves do today. They were priced between 1500 and 3000 pounds, therefore only the privileged few were able to enjoy the luxuries of fast food cooking. The first home model was priced around 500 pounds, one of the first countertop models which was redesigned to be smaller, more portable and was only 100 volts. This was much safer than the previous models, taking up less space and available for a lower price. By the 1970's commercial microwaves changed over the years becoming more advanced, quicker at cooking food and being more capable of cooking ingredients quickly where the oven was not able to. More and more people were seeing the benefits of using a microwave in their kitchen, and seeing less of the myths and risks involved with using one. The myths that spread around the production of the microwave were instances of dying from radiation poisoning, impotence, going blind and being sterile. As the myths were unfolded and more people were becoming more aware that this was not true, the demands for microwaves sky rocketed. By 1975 commercial microwaves were superseding the sales of gas ovens, becoming available to nearly 9 million people in the United States alone, making it an essential household item. The mid-eighties saw development of microwaveable food being advertised and taking off as a fast food alternative for busy working people. Much to their dismay, the food lacked the great taste and nutritional value of home cooked foods. As time passed on, more microwaveable food were introduced promising better taste and looking more appealing resembling fresh ingredients and home-cooked feel good food. Eventually baking, roasting, grilling and toasting became a feature of the microwave, allowing people to add more time where they did not have before. It also gave new meaning to TV dinners, as the food industry started churning out more microwaveable fast food options rather than promoting its benefits for being quick at defrosting frozen foods, cooking jacket potatoes in ten minutes and warming up cold food left from the night before. Furthermore, a major disadvantage of cooking with a microwave is that it is next to impossible to enhance any flavour of the food by browning onions or slow cooking for extra flavour to come out. Nevertheless they still have a very important place in the kitchen and will continue to thrive in our lifetime.
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