Understanding Convection Oven vs Microwave Oven

By | July 19, 2011

Microwave oven emits high frequency electromagnetic waves also called as microwaves which produces heat and this heat is used for cooking the food in the microwave oven. List of the food items which can be prepared by using microwave oven includes cakes, baked goodies, meat and casseroles. Convection oven uses a fan to circulate the heat evenly and with this the food items can be placed randomly in the cooking area.

Though there are similarities between these two types, there are also some differences which are discussed below:

Types:
There are five types of microwave ovens which includes over the range, convection, built in, commercial and counter top microwaves. There are two basic types of convection ovens which includes third element convection ovens and European convection ovens.

Machine Configuration:
In a convection oven, heat is evenly circulated by the fan and the cooking pot can be placed in any area of the oven. In contrary to this, a microwave oven contains two heating elements, one at the bottom of the unit for heating and another at the upper portion for broiling and the cooking pot should be placed at the center of the oven.

Features:
Food warms faster in a convection oven than in a microwave oven because of the moving air which strips away any cold air around the food. Convection ovens operate at a lower temperature than conventional ovens because of the quick moving hot air.

A microwave’s radiation heats water and other polarized molecules within the food placed inside the appliance. Microwaves are capable of thoroughly heating foods without necessarily cooking them.

Cooking Method:
In the convection ovens cooking is done by the transfer of heat with the help of the circulating fan. Whereas, in case of microwave oven, food is cooked from the radiated heat released by the heating systems.

Benefits:
Both these types of ovens have different types of benefits, microwave oven can heat the leftovers or other cold food, whereas the convection types can be used to cook meat and similar food in half the time as traditional ovens and the food is cooked at lower temperatures.

Considering all the above parameters, one can select if convection oven or microwave oven is suitable to them or not.