Who can remember when microwaves first appeared ? Bulky , noisy and limited in operation , with so very few products available to buy , specificially for them.
Now-a-days , most prepared frozen meals are microwave and oven cookable , if not simply microwave cookable only , and for most people a microwave has become a necessity to life itself.
Furthermore , manufacturers have long since lost that boring tab , and todays microwaves are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and kitchen space.
So here goes with a review of my current ( and widely available ) piece of necessity.

~0~ LG Electronics - Intellowave MS195US microwave oven ~0~

With our aging monster of a microwave on the blink - sometimes cooking , sometimes not , it was time to search for a replacement .

Yet the choice nowadays is amazing , there are simply too many microwaves on the market to choose from , so we had to narrow things down a little , and we decided that it had to have a high power rating , be compact yet usable and finally be touch control .

Scanning both home catalogues ( great for idea's ) and the usual retail shops , I finally decided upon 'The Alien Eye' , which costs on average £69.99 .

~0~ Looks ~0~

Sleek , metalic silver finish with chrome curved door handle . The door window looks similar to an alien eye , and the LED window is similarly shaped , super sexy and very unusual looking for a microwave , a definate cut above the rest .

~0~ Dimensions and Power Rating ~0~

Height :28 cm
Width : 48 cm
Depth : 35 cm

Capacity : 0.2 ltr : 0.7 cu. ft.

Power : 800 watts - group E energy efficiency .

~0~ Features ~0~

1) Five power settings , namely :

% : Setting : examples of use

100 : High : boil water , brown mice , cook pultry pieces , fish , veg.

80 : Med-High : all reheating , roast meat/poultry , cook mushrooms/shellfish/
food co
ntaining cheese and eggs.

60 : Medium : Bake cakes/scones , prepare eggs , cook custard , prepare rice /soup

40 :Med-Low / defrost : All thawing , melt butter/chocolate , cook less tender meat

20 : Low : Soften butter/cheese/ice-cream . raise dough yeast .

2) Two stage cooking :

Cook at different power / times , defrost then cook etc.

3) Auto cook :

This allows you to cook mant of your favourite foods easily by simply selecting food type and entering weight .

4) Auto defrost :

You've had auto cook , and the same method is used for defrosting .

5) Quick start :

Touch the start key and the microwave starts to heat up its contents on High setting , for 30 seconds . Further depressing of the button increments the timer in groups of 30 seconds.

6) Quick defrost :

Yep it even has this handy number for meats.

7) Child lock :

For those with inquisitive children , a useful addition is the abilty to 'lock' the microwave . In operation this stops the use of all buttons , although the door can still be opened .

8) Clock :

Green LED , and able to display either 12 or 24 hour clock .

9) Rotating turntable :

Normal in most of todays microwave ovens , and a godsend in aiding a proper even cooking.

10) Key beeps and cooked warning :

Via the LED , the message end is produced upon completing its task , along with four very audible beeps . A single beep can be heard on each button depress as well .

~0~ Annoyances ~0~

1) You've cooked something and forgotten it , so every minute you leave it , a three beep warning is issued , and can only be cancelled by opening the door .

2) When child lock is activated , an 'L' is displayed on the LED , unfortunately this replaces the current time .

3) When setting up initally , you discover that the outer
of the microwave is protected by a peel-off midly sticky film . Sadly this is place on prior to final build completion , and removal can be a little tricky , with some film remaining in place .

~0~ The manual ~0~

A 26 page black and white affair , that covers both basics and special features in an easy to understand , step by step method .
Additionally information on food cooking , microwave characteristics in cooking , precautions and useful info on how to detect if your utensils are microwvae safe are also to be found .
Finally specifications and mandatory guarantee confines are detailed , followed by a few blank pages for your notes .
Overall , an exceptoinal manual , to which LG should be congratualted .

~0~ Overview ~0~

A great looking microwave , that is very easy to use and has some useful features norally only found on much dearer microwaves .Well worth looking at.