Test method

How we test microwave ovens

The uses we score and the tests we run on every microwave oven: reheating rice, convection preheat, cakes, paneer tikka, curd, noise and inverter use.

Microwave Ovens reviews

Every microwave oven we review goes through the same uses and tests below, in a home kitchen, on the unit we bought or borrowed. Solo ovens only face the reheating, defrosting, noise and power tests; grill models add tikka; convection models add preheat and baking; rotisserie and curd tests apply only to ovens that have those features.

Running the same tests is what makes the results comparable across brands and sizes. Each test result in a review links back to the matching test on this page.

What we score

Reheating and defrosting
How quickly and evenly it brings rice, dal, curries and milk back to steaming hot, and how well defrost thaws chapatis, parathas and chicken without cooking the edges.
Baking cakes and cookies
Convection models only: how fast it preheats, how evenly a sponge cake rises and browns, how large a tin fits, and whether cookies bake evenly on one or two trays.
Grilling tikka and roasting
Grill and convection models: how well paneer and chicken tikka brown and char, how toast and snacks crisp, and how a whole chicken turns out on ovens with a rotisserie.
Indian auto-cook, curd and fermentation
How useful the auto-cook menus are for everyday Indian dishes, and whether curd, yoghurt and fermentation modes set curd and help idli or dosa batter rise.

The tests

  1. Reheat two cups of cooked rice

    Measured in s Lower is better

    All ovens. We reheat two cups of cooked rice with a splash of water at full microwave power, stirring once halfway, and stop the clock when it is steaming hot at the edges and in the centre.

  2. Defrost 500 g chicken

    Measured in min Lower is better

    All ovens. We thaw 500 g of frozen chicken using the defrost-by-weight setting, turning it once, and time it until the pieces separate and no icy core is left.

  3. Convection preheat to 180 °C

    Measured in min Lower is better

    Convection models only. We start the convection preheat to 180 °C with the cavity empty and time it until the oven signals that it has reached temperature.

  4. Sponge cake bake

    Measured in min

    Convection models only. After preheating, we bake a sponge in the largest round tin the cavity takes comfortably, at 170 to 180 °C, and record the bake time, the tin size and whether the rise, crumb and top came out even. Tin sizes differ by oven size, so compare times with care.

  5. Paneer tikka on the grill

    Measured in min Lower is better

    Grill and convection models. We grill marinated paneer cubes on the high rack using the grill or charcoal heater, turning once, and time it until the edges are charred and the centre is still soft.

  6. Whole chicken on the rotisserie

    Measured in min Lower is better

    Ovens with a motorised rotisserie only. We roast a marinated whole chicken of about 900 g to 1 kg on the spit in combination mode and time it until the skin is crisp and the meat is cooked through.

  7. Curd set in curd or yoghurt mode

    Measured in h Lower is better

    Ovens with a curd, yoghurt or fermentation mode only. We set warm milk with a spoon of starter in the curd mode and record how many hours it takes to set firm, along with whether the mode also helped idli or dosa batter rise.

  8. Noise in the loudest mode

    Measured in dB Lower is better

    All ovens. We measure the sound level 1 metre from the front of the oven in its loudest cooking mode: convection or grill on models that have them, microwave mode on solo ovens.

  9. Noise in microwave mode

    Measured in dB Lower is better

    All ovens. We measure the sound level 1 metre from the front of the oven while it reheats in plain microwave mode, with no grill or convection fan running.

  10. Runs on a home inverter

    We run microwave mode, then grill and convection where available, from a home inverter (3 kVA in most of our test kitchens) and note whether the oven runs, trips the inverter's overload alarm, or resets its clock and settings.

  11. Low-voltage running

    We repeat a reheat or a convection preheat on a reduced supply of around 190 to 200 V, as many homes see on summer evenings, and note how much longer it takes and whether the oven trips or resets.