BLACK MAGIC! (Daewoo KOR-8A0R)

Name: CoupeQueen

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Product:	Daewoo KOR-8A0R
Date:	10.02.08 (298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's black, easy to use, easy to clean.

Disadvantages: Has no grill.

DAEWOO MICROWAVE OVEN KOR-8A0R

A BIT OF HISTORY ABOUT THE COMPANY
Daewoo Electronics was established in 1971 and is now a global business in more than 40 countries worldwide. Daewoo Electronics Sales UK was established in November 1993.
The company sells a wide range of goods from refrigeration and sound and vision products such as TV's, DVD and VCR players/recorders, as well as vacuum cleaners, washing machines and microwaves of course.

HOW MICROWAVES COOK FOOD
In a microwave oven, electricity is converted into microwaves by the magnetron. Then they pass through the cooking containers to be absorbed by the water molecules in the food. The microwaves bounce off the metal walls and the metal door screen. The microwaves cause the water molecules to vibrate which causes friction which in turn causes heat. The heat then cooks the food.

MY REASON FOR BUYING A MICROWAVE
Towards the end of last year I had a new fitted kitchen. It was long awaited as my boyfriend did all the work including building an extension for the new kitchen (he also works full time). Work started in May and finished around October/November time. As he was doing all the grafting, I was looking online, around shops etc, looking for all the lovely new things I could put into my new kitchen. It wasn't until September time that I started thinking about a new microwave. My old one was actually my parents old one and we desperately needed a new one, so I thought I might as well get one to match the new décor. I chose the Daewoo KOR-8A0R, the main reason I chose this one was because of the colour and that it wasn't ridiculously priced like all of the other black microwaves I have seen. I paid £47.99 for it on Amazon.co.uk. I really didn't want anything fancy, just something that would heat and defrost. Is there anyone out there who actually uses the grill options? Well, I never have so I wasn't about to start now. I must admit that I didn't really want to pay as much as £47.99 but it was the cheapest black one around at the time.
I have recently looked online at prices and Amazon still works out the cheapest at £47.99 and free p+p. I have also seen this appliance on Empiredirect.co.uk for £55.99 with free p+p and at Asda-electricals.co.uk for £43.94 with £7.99 p+p.

SPECIFICATIONS
23 litre capacity volume
800W microwave output
10 power levels
59 minutes 99 second cooking timer
Weight : 12.5kg
Dimensions : 465 x 279 x 366mm
Concave reflex syster : a more efficient emission of microwaves ensures food is cooked more quickly and evenly


DESIGN
It is a really stylish microwave oven. Mine is black but it does come in grey also. It has a glossy sheen to it and does look stunning in the kitchen. It is a 'touch' microwave which means it has various options which can be used at the touch of a button. The door of the microwave has a viewing screen so that you can see the food cooking, which is handy.


THE BUTTONS/KNOBS
AUTO COOK - used to cook using a program or to reheat. You press this button once to cook fresh vegetables, twice to cook frozen vegetables, 3 times for jacket potatoes, 4 times for rice/pasta and 5 times to reheat pizza. Once you've chosen the option you want, you then have to turn the dial knob to set the weight of the food.

AUTO DEFROST - used to defrost foods by weight. You set the weight of the food to be defrosted and the microwave automatically sets the defrosting time and power level. You push the button once for meat, twice for poultry, 3 times for fish and 4 times for bread.

Chilled Meal - used to reheat the meal. You press this button followed by the dial knob to set the weight from 300g to 500g every 100g.

Micro Power - used to set power level, there are 10 to choose from. These range from P-HI which is 100% of power to P-00 using 0% of power. The power level goes down by 10% each time you press this button. I must admit that I rarely press this button and use the microwave on the highest setting.

Frozen Meal - used to reheat the meal. You press this button, followed by the dial knob to set the weight from 300g, 500g every 100g.

Soup/Sauce - used to reheat. Once you press this button, you just have to turn the dial knob to set the weight of the food.

Quick defrost - used to defrost 500g of minced meat very quickly.

Clock - used to set the clock

Dial knob - used to set the time and weight

START/Express cook - used to start the oven operation and also increase the reheat time by 30 seconds each time you press it.

STOP/Clear - used to stop the oven during operation or to erase all entries.
You can also stop the oven during operation by opening the microwave door.

An alarm sounds at the end of cooking/defrosting time. It also has a clock which can be turned to power saving mode by pressing the STOP/Clear button. The clock is easily set by pressing the clock button once for 12 hour clock and twice for a 24 hour clock. You then use the dial knob button to adjust the time, followed by the clock button once again to set it.

The appliance also comes with a Child Safety Lock which prevents unwanted oven operation such as by small children. To set this you just press and hold the STOP/Clear button for 3 seconds, you can cancel this option by doing the same as above. This comes in very handy, as you can imagine, the last thing you want is for a child to open the microwave door and get burnt or scalded.

CLEANING THE APPLIANCE
The microwave has an acrylic cavity which is easy to clean, durable and rust-proof.
To clean the outside of the oven you can use soap and water and then rinse and dried with a soft clean cloth.
The inside of the oven should be cleaned on a regular basis. Use a damp cloth with or without a mild detergent to clean splatters or spilled liquids.
The removable glass tray (made of heat resistant glass) can be removed and washed with warm soapy water or placed in a dishwasher. (I prefer the latter as I have never had a dishwasher before and I dishwash everything at the moment). I think my human dishwasher (my boyfriend) has been on strike since we've had the dishwasher!

USERS MANUAL
The users manual is very easy to follow and is set out in step by step form. It gives you examples of the food you want to cook/defrost and what setting it should be on.

It includes a utensil guide which tells you what utensils are safe to use inside the microwave;
For example
They recommend you use aluminium foil, freezer bags and grease-proof paper.
They tell you that you can use china and earthenware, disposable polyester and cardboard dishes, polystyrene cups, glassware, paper plates/cups and plastic for limited use.
And they say that it is not recommended that you use metal or newspaper.

The manual also gives you advice on using your microwave safely, do's and don'ts. A lot of this is common sense.

It tells you about cooking techniques, all pretty boring if you ask me, but it's there just in case. It gives you information about cling film, the shape of foods, arranging the food in the microwave and covering certain foods.

At the end of the manual they have given a few handy recipes such as Tomato and Orange Soup, Omelettes, Honeyed Chicken and Scrambled Eggs.

OPERATING THE MICROWAVE AND MY EXPERIENCE
Using the appliance is very simple, you just place food into a suitable container and into the microwave. You then use the 'touch' buttons or the dial knob to operate the correct function. The microwave oven automatically cooks on full power unless set to a lower power level. The appliance can be stopped and the door opened at any time during cooking/defrosting. This makes it easy to check food to see if it's nearly done or to give the container a shake as a lot of ready meals ask you to do this. You then just have to close the door again to continue cooking/defrosting, it then starts automatically so you don't have to press the start button once again.
I have used this appliance quite a lot, mainly for heating and cooking. I find it works very well but I can't see any difference between this microwave and my old one. It does exactly what a microwave is supposed to. I've defrosted mince and chicken in it, but find that it slightly cooks the edges, especially of the chicken. When I defrost minced meat in it, I tend to break off the defrosted bits and place them on a different plate. I have had this problem with every microwave I've used and would love to hear from anyone who has not experienced this.
I must admit to mainly use the dial knob to time the food myself. I think it's a lot less complicated, and these days most food packets tell you exactly how to cook/re-heat/defrost the food in a microwave, they even tell you different times for different wattages! So, in a way, there is no need for all the extra buttons - in my opinion.
I think that this microwave does exactly what I want it to, and it looks good in my kitchen (when it's tidy). I would recommend it unless you want one with more features such as a grill.

Summary: Really nice microwave oven.

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