Desmond Henry, Contributor
TREASURE BEACH:
EVER SINCE I first came face-to-face with the microwave oven, my curiosity about this little wonder gadget has grown steadier and 'curiouser'. So I embarked on a little research and came up with enough to share with you.
The microwave is a by-product of U.S military research, first discovered around 1945. A military scientist was testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron as part of a larger radar experiment. As this scientist stood in front of the machine he noticed two things -- his hands warmed slightly, and a candy bar which he had in his pocket had completely melted. Intrigued by all this, he placed some popcorns near the testing tube and bravo they popped. Finally he checked his next assumption with an egg and, look out the egg exploded.
The microwave explosion was literally born. In 1947 the U.S engineering company Raytheon marketed its first commercial unit (the world's first) which measured about six feet in height and weighed about 750 pounds. Its commercial cost? About US$5,000. Though primarily a military equipment, this new gadget began to find its way into commercial volume uses, like cutting the time required for things like roasting peanuts and drying potato chips.
In 1967, the first affordable and small-enough microwave oven was put on the household market at a cost of about $600 by the Amana corporation. Today the microwave comes in all sizes and at all prices, and is in almost every home worldwide that has electricity.
How does it work?
A magnetron sends out waves of electro-magnetic energy called microwaves.
The microwaves hit a fan and are bounced around inside the oven, entering foods from many different directions.
Positive and negative changes in the wave cause the molecules in the food to vibrate by alternating between the two poles at a rate of about 4.9 billion times per second. The friction produced by this process creates the intense heat which warms or cooks the food. The microwaves penetrate the food and are moved towards the centre, by the process of conduction. So, there.
Materials
Not all materials absorb microwave energy. Just as sunlight passes through glass but not steel, microwaves enter some materials more than others do. The waves bounce off the walls of the oven cabinet, for example, explaining why the oven stays cool even when foods inside it might be burning. Metallic objects in the oven can cause arcing, or sparks, between the objects and the cabinet walls, and should be avoided.
Different foods absorb energy differently. Thus microwaves will quickly bring water to a boil, even while leaving an ice cube virtually unchanged. Which explains why you can construct a hot fudge sundae in a microwave without melting the ice cream.
The factors of speed and convenience have resulted in the engineering of a host of microwaveable food products. Microwaves are not harmful to humans in the ways that ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays and other ionising radiation which have the power to change molecular structures.
And so, if like me, you take your cooking seriously, you can appreciate the microwave mainly for its speed and convenience, and less for its gourmet appropriateness.
The Bottom Line: Condiments are like the police of good taste they restrain the stronger flavours from tyrannising the weaker.
Desmond Henry is a marketing strategist based in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth.
