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A test procedure to characterise the heating performance of domestic microwave ovens
Author(s) -
Swain Mark Jeffery,
Spinassou Adrien,
Swain Maria Veronica Lyra
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01373.x
Subject(s) - microwave heating , thermocouple , microwave , microwave oven , nuclear engineering , process engineering , materials science , environmental science , computer science , composite material , engineering , telecommunications
Summary A test procedure has been developed and used to characterise the performance of domestic microwave ovens in relation to the heating of chilled ready meals. The procedure uses reproducible test loads, which simulate the heating and weight loss characteristics of a chilled ready meal under consumer use. The temperature distribution after heating from 5 °C to a defined minimum temperature of 70 °C is measured in the food simulant using a purpose designed multipoint thermocouple ‘hedgehog’ probe. The temperature, weight loss and heating time data from the test are entered into a spreadsheet analysis program, which provides a simple oven performance ‘score’ and/or comprehensive heating performance data.