Yes, you can roast a chicken in your microwave...not to mention cook crispy bacon - all thanks to a revolutionary range of gadgets 

  • Most people only go near their microwave to heat up the odd old lasagne
  • Yet times are changing, and there are numerous new gadgets up for sale
  • From omelettes to roast chickens, they are changing the way people cook 

Most people only ever use their microwave to heat up the odd lasagne. Scrambled egg is as adventurous as others ever get. Yet times are changing. A new wave of gadgets is making microwave cooking so easy that some predict conventional ovens may soon become obsolete.

From cakes to roast chickens, they are transforming the way people cook. ALICE SMELLIE put some of the newest gizmos on the market to the test.

Times are changing: Alice Smellie trials a number of ingenious microwave gadgets to find which work best

Times are changing: Alice Smellie trials a number of ingenious microwave gadgets to find which work best

ROAST CHICKEN

WHAT: Lekue Deep Steam Case, £19.98, lakeland.co.uk

A soft, green, non-stick silicone basket that is dishwasher, oven and freezer safe. It’s also free from bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical commonly found in plastic food containers, which has been linked to health problems including obesity and infertility. The case has fold-back flaps and a deep ridged bottom in which you can place a wide range of food, including chicken, vegetables and seafood.

METHOD: I find roasting chicken the conventional way a bore. It always seems to dry out too quickly and the roasting pan is tiresome to clean. Cooking it in a microwave is a doddle.

I brush the chicken with oil, sprinkle on a few herbs and splash 40ml of white wine into the basket. It goes in the microwave for ten minutes on full power (timings may vary for different machines). Then I turn it over and blast if for ten minutes at full power on the other side. That’s it.

RESULT: It smells delicious as it cooks, though the colour is insipid and pale when I take it out, which is disappointing. But the flesh is succulent, cooked all the way through and delicately flavoured with rosemary. If you can ignore the anaemic-looking colour, this is utterly delicious. 4/5

BAKED APPLES

WHAT: Eddingtons Microwave Apple Baker (with corer), £8.80, rakuten.co.uk

Two large plastic apple shapes with lids and a plastic device with a serrated edge for removing the core.

METHOD: I never bake apples. I buy them, put them in the fruit bowl, then tip them on the compost heap when they’ve gone rotten. Perhaps turning them into a pudding might encourage the children to eat more fruit.

First, I have to cut out the core. I need my entire body weight to push the corer into the apple and push out the middle.

Then I add some granola (raisins are suggested, but my family don’t like these — you can also use blueberries) into the hole, along with 2tbsp of sugar. I sprinkle cinnamon on top along with ½ tbsp of butter.

Ground-breaking: After three minutes, the kitchen is flooded with the delicious scent of cooking apple, but sadly the fruit has completely disintegrated

Ground-breaking: After three minutes, the kitchen is flooded with the delicious scent of cooking apple, but sadly the fruit has completely disintegrated

RESULT: I have trouble with my timings. First, I put the apple in for five minutes on low, as suggested on the back of the box. Nothing happens. So I try again. A little bit of the butter melts. Bored, I put it in on high for five minutes.

After three, the kitchen is flooded with the delicious scent of cooking apple, but sadly the fruit has completely disintegrated.

Eventually, I have success with cooking another prepared apple for two minutes on high. The result is perfectly cooked. However, the children aren’t fans, declaring my efforts to be sickly. 2/5

CHOCOLATE CAKE

WHAT: Cake In A Mug, £7.99, lakeland.co.uk

A large, smart blue and white mug with the recipe printed on the front in a pretty pattern and lines inside marking to what level you need to add flour, sugar and cocoa powder.

One of my missions in life is to ensure my children have at least a basic knowledge of cooking. Surely this sort of one-step gadget is guaranteed to encourage the least enthusiastic of domestic science students.

Easy: Surely this sort of one-step gadget is guaranteed to encourage the least enthusiastic of domestic science students

Easy: Surely this sort of one-step gadget is guaranteed to encourage the least enthusiastic of domestic science students

METHOD: I tip the dry ingredients of flour, sugar and cocoa powder carefully into the mug to the requisite levels and add an egg, 9 tsp of milk and 9 tsp of vegetable oil. It all beats into a smooth and slightly slimy-looking cake mix and then goes in the microwave for three minutes on full power.

RESULT: The mix has mushroomed into a chocolate cake! I’d worried it might dry out, but it’s marvellously moist and very moreish, though it wasn’t possible to prise from the cup in one piece. We gave up and just attacked it greedily with spoons. The baked-on cake needed to be soaked off, which was a pain. 3/5

BACON

WHAT: Microwave It Bacon Rack, £4.99, amazon.co.uk

A square dish with cut-in corners, so it fits in the oven, and a ridged bottom. This ensures the bacon does not sit in fat as it cooks.

METHOD: I am fussy about bacon. It needs to be so crispy that it snaps in two like a dry twig, and I am sceptical this will produce anything up to my exacting standards. I lay three rashers of unsmoked, back bacon (enough for one sandwich) on the rack and put it in my microwave for three minutes on full power, then allow to stand for 30 seconds.

Fine art: I am fussy about bacon. It needs to be so crispy that it snaps in two like a dry twig, and I am sceptical this will produce anything up to my exacting standards

Fine art: I am fussy about bacon. It needs to be so crispy that it snaps in two like a dry twig, and I am sceptical this will produce anything up to my exacting standards

RESULT: Though it makes a scary spitting sound, the bacon emerges fully cooked and completely crispy, and I’m surprised to note that the microwave isn’t covered in splattered fat, either.

Any excess appears to have simply drained into the bottom of the tray, where it has dried. Incredible. But this was difficult to clean off. The packet says the tray is dishwasher safe, but after a hot wash it looks as though a little of the shiny coating has come away. Even so, it’s easier to clean than a grill pan. 4/5

CHEESE

WHAT: Lekue Microwave Cheese Maker, £18.97, lakeland.co.uk

This three-piece set comprises a bowl, colander and lid.

METHOD: Being of the opinion that life is too short to make cheese, I have little interest in this gadget. But the accompanying recipe booklet makes it look very easy, so I decide to give it a go.

I put 1,000ml of milk into the bowl and heat it for 14 minutes on 800w then add 20ml of vinegar. These are the only two ingredients that are required for the soft white cheese I’m making.

The whole thing separates into a disgusting looking mixture that looks like baby sick in a puddle of cloudy water.

Surprise: I’m astonished to discover that the final result of this microwaved homemade cheese is a round, soft and sweet-tasting creamy white cheese (with a hint of vinegar)

Surprise: I’m astonished to discover that the final result of this microwaved homemade cheese is a round, soft and sweet-tasting creamy white cheese (with a hint of vinegar)

The technical term for this is precipitation, an integral part of cheese-making where milk is separated into curds (milk protein) and whey (remaining liquid), using heat and acid (vinegar) to prompt the chemical process.

I leave the mixture for 30 minutes then drain away the clear liquid using the colander, leaving behind a cottage cheese-like substance.

I place the colander, still containing the cheese, in the bowl, squeeze it down, put the lid on and place it in the fridge for an hour.

RESULT: I’m astonished to discover that the final result is a round, soft and sweet-tasting creamy white cheese (with a hint of vinegar). A bit like cottage cheese, but firmer. I chop up dill, parsley and chives and roll the cheese in it. It’s delicious. I am a convert. 4/5

OMELETTE

WHAT: Joseph Joseph M-Cuisine Microwave Omelette Bowl, £8, johnlewis.com

At first sight, it looks like a child’s toy, but this half-sphere bowl with a flat bottom on the side (rather than the bottom) means you can mix up an omelette and cook it in the same dish, thus saving on washing up.

METHOD: I break two eggs into the dish, whisk them up, chuck some grated cheese and chopped chives on top and then pop it in the microwave for one minute and 30 seconds.

Smart: At first sight, it looks like a child’s toy, but this half-sphere bowl with a flat bottom on the side (rather than the bottom) means you can mix up an omelette and cook it in the same dish, thus saving on washing up

Smart: At first sight, it looks like a child’s toy, but this half-sphere bowl with a flat bottom on the side (rather than the bottom) means you can mix up an omelette and cook it in the same dish, thus saving on washing up

RESULT: A perfectly formed and delicious omelette with no effort and no frying pan. The omelette is oval, like the base of the bowl, and slightly flat-looking — the only downside. When I make an omelette in a frying pan I fold it over, so it’s a thick semi-circle, with the cheese filling melted inside. Here, I’ve mixed in the cheese with the egg. But it still tastes fantastic. 4/5

SPAGHETTI

WHAT: Decor Microwave Pasta Cooker, £10.28, lakeland.co.uk

A red, rectangular spaghetti-shaped pasta cooker — basically an oblong box with a lid.

It could be any Tupperware, except there’s a colander integrated into the lid.

There is also a handy white plastic spaghetti measurer clipped inside, which has two holes for measuring portion size and black lines up to which you add water, depending on the amount of spaghetti. Remove it and push dried spaghetti through to ascertain whether you have the correct portion size for one or two people.

On trial: The pasta tastes the same as if it was cooked in a pan, but is slightly hard and I prefer it soft

On trial: The pasta tastes the same as if it was cooked in a pan, but is slightly hard and I prefer it soft

After measuring your spaghetti, put it into the tub and add water to the right level. It should give perfectly cooked al dente pasta in 12 minutes.

METHOD: I measure enough dry Waitrose spaghetti for two and pour in tap water to the correct level. It’s suggested you cook for the recommended time on the pasta packet, so I put it in for ten minutes on high with the lid off, keeping an eye on the water in case it boils over. Then — I love this — I pour away the hot water through the in-built colander.

RESULT: It’s not quite cooked enough for me after ten minutes, and I am twitchy about the water boiling over as it is bubbling out of the top. The pasta tastes the same as if it was cooked in a pan, but is slightly hard and I prefer it soft. To be honest, with the constant checking to see whether it’s done, I find this as much effort as using a pan. 2/5

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