On Food and Cooking

Advantages and Disadvantages of
Microwaves Microwave radiation has one
great advantage over infrared: the fact that it
cooks food much faster. Microwaves can
penetrate food to a depth of about an inch/2.5
cm, while infrared energy is almost entirely
absorbed at the surface. Because heat
radiation can travel to the center of foods only
by the slow process of conduction, it’s easily
beaten by microwaves, with their substantially
deeper reach. This reach, along with the
microwaves’ concentration on heating the
food and not its surroundings, results in a very
efficient use of energy.
Microwave cooking has several
disadvantages. One is that, in the case of
meats, speedy heating can cause greater fluid
loss and so a drier texture, and makes it more
difficult to control doneness. This can be
partly overcome by pulsing the oven on and
off to slow the heating. Another problem is
that microwaves cannot brown many foods