MY MARVELLOUS MONSTER MICROWAVE! (Proline ST44 WH)

Name: tange

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Product:	Proline ST44 WH
Date:	27/01/03 (1242 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to Use, Good value, Extremely Powerful

Disadvantages: Quite large

My microwave is a classic white Proline Micro Chef ST44 which measures 38.2 cm (Height) X 52.6 cm (Width) X 34.5 cm (Depth). It's quite a large unit, so bear that in mind when deciding whether to buy one. You may not have enough space to accommodate it if you only have a small kitchen, or a low shelf to put it on!

It is a standard microwave; this means that it doesn't crisp, grill or brown your food...it is ideal though for cooking, warming, defrosting and reheating.

****HOW MUCH WILL IT SET ME BACK?***

It's currently selling on the Comet web-site (www.comet.co.uk) for 69.63, plus a standard £3.95 delivery charge. This is a really good price and I would advise you to get it delivered because it is a bit bulky and heavy in the box!

****I'VE GOT THE POWER!******

The power output of this microwave is 950 watts ~ This means that when used on maximum power it's very powerful and a bit of a monster! I have to be really careful to decrease cooking times provided in microwave cookbooks and on microwavable products (most give timings for 750 or 7800 watt machines!). Mine tends to incinerate some things if I'm not careful. A bowl of soup generally takes about 2 minutes 30 second...not the 4 minutes it said to cook my mulligatawny for! The soup went a bit wild and redecorated the inside of the microwave! Moving from a 750 watt unit to this one does take quite a bit of adjusting!!

The Proline ST44 has 10 power settings ~ number ten indicating the highest and one the lowest. Power three equates to defrost and eight reheats...the other levels cook or warm your food to varying degrees. We normally go for power level ten or use the auto-defrost setting.

****TO TOUCH OR TO DIAL...THAT IS THE QUESTION!******

My microwave has touch controls not manual dial ~ I find this makes it easier and more convenient to use. The controls are clearly marked, logically placed and easy to press. I always

found the manual controls on our previous microwave a little cumbersome and I sometimes ended up on the wrong setting by mistake...no such problems with this one! I don't need to keep referring to the instruction book either, which is also a bonus!

****SPACE...THE FINAL FRONTIER!*****

The capacity of the unit is 1.0cu ft (29 litres), making it a family sized microwave. You can fit large dishes and full-sized dinner plates in it comfortably. The guidelines say it should be able to cope with cooking for around four people ~ there are 2 of us, but we have used it to cater for at least six with no hassles!

****I'M SPINNING AROUND!****

The turntable inside is roughly dinner plate size and is made of frosted glass. It turns pretty smoothly when the microwave is operating. I find that it is very easy to remove for cleaning and is equally easy to replace afterwards. My only slight niggle is that it's a bit on the heavy side, but not too bad.

****A MINUTE TO WIN IT!****

My favourite and most used function is the minute key. If you press this the microwave will cook for one minute on the highest power setting. This is the lazy cook's option and eliminates the need for setting any other programming instructions! It makes life easy in my kitchen! I also use the auto-defrost option quite a lot for the same reason.

****ANYTHING ELSE TO REPORT?****

~~AUTO-COOK & AUTO-REHEAT: To be honest I don't use these buttons at all. Using these you can key in the food type and the amount and let the clever little devil decide how long to cook or reheat it. Sounds very useful, but I'm a bit of a guesswork chef...I never really know how much of something I have, so I just "bung" the food in and hope for the best. I get the distinct impression that my microwave is cleverer than me!?!

~~~CLOCK: The time is shown as a 24 hour clock. It is clear and easy to read...a good thing bec
ause
this is also where the cooking times and power settings are displays when you are programming the microwave.


****HOW DO I RATE IT?****

I'm very happy with my Proline ST44. We've had it for about four years now and (touch wood) we've never had any trouble with it. It cooks, reheats and defrosts efficiently and with little fuss and is also easy and simple to operate. I'm impressed with the clearness of the display, the simplicity of the controls and the quality of its performance.

I also like the cleanness of the design...I do like the coloured microwaves that come in more or less every colour in the spectrum, but I don't think anything beats a simple and classic white one. It fits with any décor and goes with any theme you may in your kitchen.

Just bear in mind that it has quite a lot of power behind it and that it is quite a large unit and you can't go far wrong!

...and at almost £70, it's also good value too! So, good value, good performance, power and classic design. Thumbs up for Proline this time! I would recommend it to anyone.

***OOOH...AND THIS IS MY HUNDRETH REVIEW TOO!*******

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