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You are here: Home / Food / Why Do Microwave Ovens Cook So Much Faster Than Conventional Ovens?

Why Do Microwave Ovens Cook So Much Faster Than Conventional Ovens?

August 3, 2020 by Karen Hill

Before it can heat the food, a conventional gas or electric oven first has to heat some two to four cubic feet of air (“preheating the oven”), after which the hot air must transfer its heat energy into the food.

These are very slow and very inefficient processes.

A microwave oven, on the other hand, heats the food, and only the food, by depositing its energy directly into it with no intermediary such as air or water (as in boiling) involved.

The statement found in several microwave cookbooks to the effect that microwaves cook food so quickly “because they are so tiny, they travel quickly” is nonsense. All electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, no matter what their wavelength. And the “micro” in microwave doesn’t mean “tiny.”

They were named “microwaves” because they are essentially ultra-short radio waves.

Related Facts

  • How does an Oven Cook Food with Conduction, Convection, and Radiation?
  • How Do Microwaves Cook Food From the Inside Out?
  • How Does a Light Oven Work?
  • What Makes a Container Microwave Safe and Why Do They Still Get Hot?
  • Why Does Microwave Cooked Food Cool Off Faster Than Food Cooked In a Conventional Oven?
  • Who Made the First Microwave Oven and When?

Filed Under: Food

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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