"wingmark" > wrote in message
...
>
> Hi,
>
> The same as conventional cooking?Many things taste the same, some things
> taste better cooked in a microwave, and it's much quicker. I just
> wondered if they destroy nutrients in food though?
>
> Regards
> > --
> wingmark
>
>
Good question. Personally I doubt that it destroys. The microwave produces
heat, but just in a different way. Nothing gets hotter. The very best
cookbook that addresses that, or at last explains that is Barbara Kafka's
"Microwave Gourmet". She walks through each ingredient and how the microwave
heats it. Fat, for example, is heated more quickly than other food
components. Breakfast sausage, wrapped in a paper towel, is cooked at 3
power only for 3.33 minutes[that has something to do with hand movement at
that time of the day]. Then you can eat it, or throw it on with the pancakes
to brown them a bit. Bacon, the same way, though you lose the fat for future
cooking. I couldn't live without my microwave, always combined with the old
cooktop when necessary.

We love soufflés. The bechamel sauce and egg white combination goes into the
oven without ever hitting the top of the stove. It cuts the time by 50%,
along with less dishes to clean.

Barbara Kafka's book is the only I've seen that goes back to "what does the
microwave do?". Then you can plunge out on your own. That, of course, is
what cooking is all about, while you're making something new and better than
the old.

Buy the least expensive 1000 watt countertop microwave at Walmart to get
going. That will help you decide what you'd want if you get fancy. I'm very
happy with the 1000 watt Emerson I have that cost about $75.

You'll love it.

Kent