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Quintessential Guide to Buying the Best Small Microwaves
The methods of cooking have drastically changed over time and a compact, efficient and high performing microwave has become a must have in your kitchen.
The best small microwaves bring convenience and help in experimenting with different methods of cooking and meal preparation through their versatile settings.
They are more efficient as they are compact; require less space and help with optimal cooking with their pre-programmed one push buttons.
We took an indepth look at 5 great compact size microwaves we think are worth your while.
Buying Guide for Compact Microwave Ovens
Choosing the right microwave is definitely a challenging task as there are many aspects and features that one needs to consider.
Naturally, most people look for dimension and cooking options but apart from that also, there are things that are important.
Here are the things that you must consider while purchasing a small microwave oven.
A. Watt and Power
The power that is consumed by the microwave is an important factor to consider.
The microwave watt range between 600 to 1200 watts is available and it is recommended to purchase anything from 800 to 1000 watts. The higher is the watt, lesser time it requires for food preparation.
B. Settings
There are many different kinds of settings available on the microwave. Most of the microwave consists of pre-programmed settings of 6 to 8 types that allow versatile cooking. Ideally, on may opt to have a microwave that has your best meals already pre-configured.
C. Construction
The dimension and construction of the microwave is something that cannot be overlooked.
This means that the exterior part of the microwave must be sturdy and durable with stainless steel casing and interior must be spacious enough to accommodate more food for cooking.
The size and compactness of the microwave is important to consider if you are planning to purchase the microwave for home purpose.
D. Price
Most of the parameters and features mentioned above are great but not necessary, price on the other hand is something that cannot be avoided.
Depending on the personal preference and budget, choose something that consists of all the features that is essential for you but within a budget.
Make a comparison between other microwaves in terms of price and features before purchase.
Top Small Microwave Reviews
Table could not be displayed.#1: HomeLabs 1.3 cu Countertop Oven with accessories
The countertop compact oven stands at 1.3 cubic feet and is perfect for any home designed for versatile cooking and multi-purpose usage.
The oven is spacious enough on the inside to fit dishes that are around 12 inches in diameter. The oven is pretty easy to use and operate with 10 adjustable power functions along with 8 one-touch cooking functions.
With a power consumption of 1050 watt, the appliance is a convenient buy for home kitchens. The kitchen timer and the clock settings ensure that food is well monitored.
The construction of the oven is pretty durable with the exterior made of stainless steel and the turntable can be dumped in the dishwater for hassle free cleaning.
The oven heats up the leftover food evenly as the temperature can be adjusted for slow heating avoiding the pockets of temperature difference.
The functions are integrated for cooking and warming huge range of food. The oven is designed with 11 different cooking functions and with 10 heat levels; it helps with selection of wide range of ideal cooking temperature.
The glass turntable enables proper rotation of food for even heat distribution. The oven is safe to use with lockable control panel and operation is made simple with LED digital display.
Features
1. Durable and compact
The most attractive part of the oven is it is compact and perfect for smaller kitchen. The construction is quite durable with exterior stainless steel construction and inside accommodates large space for cooking.
2. Versatile Control Conditions
The oven is easy to control with 10 power levels, 11 functions for cooking and 7 pre-programmed settings suitable for preparing different food. This makes handling and using the oven convenient.
3. Even heat distribution
The large rotating turntable prevents creation of hotspots and ensures that food is cooked evenly through proper distribution of the heat. The table can be easily cleaned in the dishwasher
4. Safety
The oven is made safe with memory and child lock features. The interior light helps in monitoring the cooking progress. The child lock system keeps kids safe.
Pros
- Versatile cooking with 11 cooking functions and 10 power levels
- Sturdy and strong with stainless steel exterior construction
- 7 easy to use pre-programmed settings for different food
- Child-lock system to ensure safety of the kids at home
- LED display on the control panel
Cons
- Oven is slightly noisy while cooking the food inside
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#2: Kenmore 0.9 cu Countertop Microwave
This compact countertop microwave is equipped with versatile features that make the overall process of cooking easy and efficient.
The Kenmore microwave is the perfect addition to kitchen at homes and the stainless steel construction makes it durable. The conditions can be monitored and taken care of by the easy to read LED clock used as timer.
The oven is also backed with a safety lock that provides safety for your kids and prevents tampering.
The microwave comes with one touch convenience that provides an express cooking option and is integrated with 6 popular type of pre-programmed settings for cooking different type of food.
There are 10 power setting making it a perfect option for every day cooking as most of your meals are a click away. The power utilization here is 900 Watt which guarantees quick heating.
The powerful defrosting system of the oven automatically controls the power and times required for defrosting and do so without requiring you to keep manually checking and controlling it.
With this purchase you get a 1 year warranty.
Features
1. Compact and Convenient
The microwave is compact and convenient to use with some of the versatile integrated features. The easy to read LED timer can help in controlling the time needed to cook.
The stainless steel construction adds to the durability of the construction.
2. Safety Lock
The oven is equipped with safety lock features that prevents kids from starting the oven and prevents hazards.
3. Ease of defrosting
The process of defrosting in the oven is quite easy and simple. The oven is able to monitor the time and power needed for defrosting and automatically completes the process.
4. Versatile settings
The versatile settings of the oven makes the usage of the same convenient with one touch express cooking option. The 10 power setting and power of 900 watt helps with cooking, defrosting and reheating.
Pros
- Ease of defrosting with automatic control of time and power
- Convenient 10 power settings and use of 900 Watts for every day cooking
- Integrated easy to read LED clock
- Child safety lock feature
- Six pre-programmed cooking option
- One year of warranty on the product
Cons
- Heating up of the oven gate is a problem at higher temperature
- Little noisy due to the rotation of the turntable
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#3: Toshiba 1.2 cu Microwave oven with Smart sensor
This microwave from Toshiba is a fully featured countertop microwave that delivers remarkable performance through its smart sensor technology.
The sensor buttons of the microwave sense the steam produced during the cooking and automatically adjusts the settings to deliver optimal results.
The pre-programmed sensor menu is suitable for heating wide range of food items.
The durable construction with black stainless steel exterior makes it resistant to temperature and the inside of the oven is spacious enough with a 12.4 inch turntable.
The oven uses 1100 Watts of power and offers 10 power settings and a kitchen timer to monitor time.
The large digital display makes it easy to read allowing you to keep a closer eye on the oven throughout each cook.
A custom defrosts setting automatically senses the time and power needed to defrost each individual meal.
Additionally, you can get to mute the buzzer of the microwave if you dislike it by long pressing on 8 button for 3 to 5 seconds to avoid the extra noise.
Features
1. Sensor technology
The microwave is integrated with sensor buttons and hence it senses the steam produced during the cooking of the food which adjusts the temperature optimally for best results.
2. Quick use Buttons
There are pre-programmed buttons for cooking different types of food and hence the one push button adjusts the conditions for the microwave automatically for different types of food. There are a number of food items it can prepare.
3. Construction
The oven has a tough and durable stainless steel exterior and easy clean interior with large space with a capacity of 1.2 cubic foot. With the easy to read digital control panel, monitoring the cooking condition is quite easy and convenient.
4. Ease of operation
The operation of the oven is quite smooth with 10 power settings and a kitchen timer that works on a power of 1100 Watts.
The glass turntable allows even distribution of heat and the power saving mode can be easily activated. Automatic defrosting helps in better cleaning and operation of the microwave.
Pros
- Durable stainless steel exterior construction and clean interiors
- One push pre-programmed buttons for automatically adjusting microwave condition
- Easy to read LED based digital display panel
- Sensor technology that senses steam to adjust the optimal conditions
- Automatic defrosting sensing time and power required
Cons
- Slightly heavy as compared to its counterparts
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#4: Toshiba 0.9 cu Microwave Oven with LED Light
The countertop microwave is constructed using premium stainless steel exterior casing and is perfect for smaller conditions owing to its smaller and compact size.
With a 0.9 cubic feet capacity and turn table diameter of 10.6 inch the microwave is perfect for cooking versatile amount of food.
With 10 power settings and a power requirement of 900 Watts, it is pretty much energy efficient and is able to automatically defrost by optimizing the required time and power.
The microwave can be easily controlled with help of the easy to read digital control panel and is energy efficient with the power saving mode.
There is a one touch start for all the 6 pre-programmed functions. The child safety lock prevents the child from opening it and the noise can be turned on or off as per the convenience of the user.
The microwave is perfect fit for smaller kitchen and does not require much space for storage.
Features
1. Construction
The construction of the microwave is strong and durable with stainless steel exterior casing with a 0.9 cubic feet capacity. The turn table is 10.6 inch and spacious enough for preparation of larger meal portions.
2. One push button
There are 6 pre-programmed functions that can be activated with just one push and can be used for popcorn, potato, frozen vegetable, pizza, dinner plate and beverage.
3. Easy to use
The digital control panel has LED light that helps in reading the conditions inside the microwave. The power saving mode ensures the energy is efficiently used and the on and off option for the sound can be used for convenience. The child safety local prevents the kids from opening the microwave.
Pros
- Stainless steel exterior casing makes the microwave strong and aesthetically pleasing
- In- built LED light ensure easy to read digital display for better control
- 10 power setting with high energy efficiency using 900W power
- Compact and fit perfect most of the countertops
- The 12 inch plastic plate accommodates decent amount of food for preparation
- 6 pre-programmed functions for different types of food
Cons
- The base of the microwave is slightly slippery.
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#5: Panasonic 2.2 cu Countertop Microwave with Inverter Technology
Everywhere you look, inverter technology is gaining popularity in regulation of temperature in home appliances.
The inverter modulates the level of energy being transmitted by the oven to achieve a consistent level.
So when you set 50% power, for example, you actually get a steady stream of 50% power for the entire cooking time.
This Panasonic Countertop microwave is integrated with patented inverter technology that delivers consistent high performance and the turbo defrost system helps in speeding up the overall defrosting time.
The microwave has a capacity of 2.2 cubic foot and helps with wide range of cooking options at a power of 1250 Watt. The conditions are optimized and adjusted in a way that the flavor in the food is retained.
The capacity and the size of the microwave are large and is a perfect family size microwave with a 16 ½ inch turntable.
The microwave enables smart and convenient cooking with help of the smart cooking setting integrated with genius sensors which are in-built and automatically adjusts the power and time based on the food.
There are 14 preset menu items includes, delay start, quick minute timer and a child safety lock for maximum safety.
The versatile microwave helps in keeping the food warm and maintains the temperature inside the oven until it is ready to be served.
Features
1. Inverter Technology
The inverter technology creates a steady power stream at all the settings of the temperature which requires shorter cooking time while maintaining the consistency for the taste.
The patented technology delivers microwave energy that helps in better retention of color, texture and nutrients bring to the plate delicious food.
2. Turbo Defrost
The turbo defrost option help with quick thawing of food with help of advanced microwave sequencing system that is provided by the continuous power supplied by the Inverter technology. This helps in quick thawing of the food.
3. Versatile settings and operation
The touch button control panel comes with intuitive display panel and smart cooking settings. The inbuilt sensor adjusts the power and time for food and this can be activated by choosing any one push power from the 14 pre-programmed buttons.
The quick minute timer and child safety lock ensures better control.
4. Keep food warm
The microwave keeps the food warm and fresh inside it until it is ready to be served without the requirement to reheat again.
Pros
- Patented Inverter technology helps in optimal cooking through optimal delivery of microwave.
- Compact and sturdy with stainless steel exterior and spacious interiors with 13.4 turntables
- Turbo defrost thaws food efficiently through microwave sequencing system
- Keeps food warm inside until ready to be served
- 14 pre-programmed one touch buttons for different food
Cons
- Slightly slippery on the countertop and hence stabilization might be a little problem
- Noisy with a beep sound
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Conclusion
For most of us, our microwave ovens serve to boil water, reheat leftovers and cook meals when we need our food done almost instantly.
For this, you do not need a bulky commercial grade oven but a good compact microwave will do for you in most cases.The small nature of these ovens allows you to fit the in all kitchens and they are still spacious enough to cook family meals.
One particular Microwave that stood out for us was the Toshiba 1.2 cu Microwave with smart sensor for its versatile features, settings and superior dimensions.The inbuilt sensor technology for us was hard to match from all the options and its energy efficiency was superb.
All in all, the microwaves mentioned here are top notch and we are confident that you wont go wrong with this purchase.
