Michael Black wrote:
> On Wed, 4 Nov 2009, Dave C. wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:56:19 -0000
>> "john royce" > wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> When making casseroles in the microwave combination oven, I try to
>>> fill the oven right up; so as to be frugal with electricity.
>>>
>>> Although some casserole dishes come with lids, I find that these
>>> fairly close fitting lids usually create a build up of pressure and
>>> some of the liquid then squirts out, all over the place.
>>>
>>> To utilise all available oven space it means stacking two casserole
>>> dishes one on top of the other. Using a normal oven this would be
>>> simple to do (bearing in mind I'm not using lids) by using a metal
>>> rack on the lower one to support the upper one.
>>>
>>> But when using the combination feature (which I find usefully
>>> lessons the cooking time) both normal heating and microwave are used
>>> "together". So when the microwave is on, a metal rack cannot be
>>> used. We have been trying to think of a means of supporting one casserole
>>> dish on top of another one ( the top one usually a smaller diameter
>>> ) by means of something that will tolerate microwaves and the hotter
>>> temperatures using the normal oven heating element. Does such a
>>> thing exist anywhere for this purpose, or what might be some neat
>>> way to solve this problem? Thanks for advice.
>>>
>>
>> Let's get this straight... you are trying to think of a creative way
>> to save about .0000000000002 pennies worth of electricity? C'mon, be
>> serious now... is this a troll? -Dave
>>
> No, problem solving can be cheap.
>
> But in the original question, there is the assumption that filling the
> microwave saves money. I'm not so sure, since the more you put in,
> the longer it takes to heat up, and hence electricity use increases.

Full does however reduce the inevitable losses, most obviously
heating the oven itself, particularly if he uses the convention
part at all, but even if he only uses it in microwave mode.

> The advantage of smaller portions at a time is that you can better
> control how it cooks, and it's certainly easier to open the door,
> take the lid off one package and stir (when stirring is needed) than
> to deal with a full oven.

Yes. But if you are into documenting the batches properly,
you should be able to get the detail right so you dont need
to inspect and adjust with the later batches with most food.

> So in order for the need for some sort of rack, one first has to see
> if there really is a savings from filling up that microwave, or is it
> basically the same electricity useage cooking things separately.

Thats unlikely.