Micro sized microwave (Belling GT17SS With Grill)

Member Name: emmachilcott

Product:	Belling GT17SS With Grill
Date:	03/06/09 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cooks quickly an quietly with many useful functions

Disadvantages: Very complicated to program, and the grill doesn't work that well

My old microwave was looking a bit tatty, both inside and out and I was getting a little concerned about the safety of it as the door seals were starting to wear. I had a Currys voucher burning a hole in my purse so I made this my first port of call for my new purchase. Having not bought a new microwave for a while, I was surprised to see how small they all look nowadays, but glad because they take up less room on the worktop, and look a lot less bulky.

I'm not especially a microwave cooking kind of girl, although I do admit that they are really useful for warming things up when you are in a hurry. I also admit that I can't cook rice on a hob to save my life, so I buy the microwavable pouches (nobody tell my Mum!). My first concern was that these pouches won't fit in any of these new microwaves as they are too tall, but the helpful Currys man said that you can empty the rice into a bowl, and all will be well. Phew!

I'm a bit fussy when it comes to appliances on show, and I would rather pay a bit more money for something that looks good. I had already limited myself to wanting a silver microwave and I was looking for something with a touch panel which can easily be wiped over, and I definitely didn't want an appliance with fiddly knobs and buttons that are difficult to clean. None of the conventional microwaves fitted this description, but a microwave grill caught my eye which looked perfect. The belling GT17SS was reduced to £53.99, had a sleek stainless steel design, and looked like a breeze to clean (which it is) - perfect!

I got it home, unpacked it from the box, plugged it in, and was all set to warm up some beans, but how? Now, not being one who takes the easy way out and actually reads the instructions, I decided to fiddle around with it myself and press a few buttons to see what it was capable of. I quickly discovered that you have to select microwave or grill function, and that If you just press " express cook" it turns on for 30 seconds at a time. This function is perfect for my kids, who can just sling something in and press one button easily. I was also chuffed with myself for setting the clock all by myself with ease. These are the only things about this microwave grill which are straightforward, and from here on, things are about to get a lot more complicated!

I have reluctantly been forced to read the instructions and I have discovered that this appliance has a multitude of functions. I wondered why buttons 1-9 were also labelled with food items, and all becomes clear in the instruction manual: You press the correct food button for what you want to cook three times (yes 3!?), then enter the weight, and it will find the correct cooking time. You can also program it to delay the start of the cooking time, defrost items then cook them without stopping and resetting, defrost by weight, and it even has a child safety lock. None of these functions are easy to carry until you get very used to using the microwave, and I constantly find myself referring to the manual.

I have not found the grill function to be very useful. I followed the instructions to the letter when trying to cook a pizza, (using the metal rack provided) but it was not at all successful, and only cooked it as you would expect a normal microwave to do: it came out soggy on the bottom, was definitely not crispy on the top , and it was completely inedible. I might one day try this function out on cheese on toast, but I am not holding out much faith that it will turn out well. As I wasn't initially looking for a grill function, I am happy to forget that it has this available, however if you especially want a microwave grill, it is probably best to take lots of advice in store, and read lots of reviews to find the best product.

Back to size again, and I would recommend that you measure your dinner plates before going to buy your microwave. I didn't and have consequently found out that my 27.5cm diameter plates won't fit in unless I tilt them to one side! This is a 700w appliance but don't be put off by the low power rating as it heats things up a lot faster that my old microwave which was 800w.

This microwave is probably a bit too good for what I want it to do, but if you are someone who actually uses all of these functions then I would recommend it.

Summary: There must be microwaves available somewhere that are a lot easier to use

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