Is it okay to use a microwave in convection mode without the turntable?

Question

I just bought a muffin tin which is too large and certainly won't rotate on the turntable. My microwave doesn't have a "stop turntable" button. So is it okay if I remove it altogether and use just an oven rack to place my muffin tin on? Will it result in uneven baking?

Asked by Uday Kanth

Answer

I'm specifically answering your question "Is it okay to use a microwave in convection mode without the turntable?" -- Yes.

Your own answer points out the reality that if a pan is too large then the turn table will simply hit the sides of the microwave oven and then stop turning. There is nothing wrong with this. There is nothing wrong or damaging to have a metal tin touch the metal sides of your oven.

How was your baked items bottom? If you can sit your tin up so there is air flow under your tin, then you will improve the baking efficiency and it will bake more evenly.

CAUTION: If anyone else is reading this question and wondering about their own machine, then you really need to take caution about the "convention only" mode. You have to make sure there are NO microwaves in this mode or else your metal will conduct and you could have a serious explosion or break your microwave oven.

Answered by MADCookie

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Uneven baking in a convection microwave oven

Question

I'm just starting to learn to bake. I have a convection microwave oven and I've read at a lot of places that a convection microwave can be used for baking. But, everytime I bake something, it gets baked unevenly. I have never baked in anything but my own convection microwave oven. So, I don't know that the uneven baking is due to the oven or not. If anybody has ever faced a similar problem and has a fix for it, please reply.

Could it be because of rotation inside the oven? Thanks.

Answer

Convection-baking in a "convection microwave" is a bit like conventional baking in a toaster oven; it's more or less the same principle but you really can't expect the same results as a conventional oven (or full-size convection oven).

That being said, if you're attempting the recipes in a convection microwave or even a real convection oven without any modifications, you may be using too high a temperature, or cooking for too long. The guideline for conversion (and this is just a guideline, not a rule or guarantee) is to subtract 25-30° F / 10-15° C from the temperature, and 25-30% from the cooking time.

So, for example, if a recipe calls for baking at 350° F for 60 minutes, your first attempt in a convection oven should be 325° F for 45 minutes.

Again, please keep in mind that a convection microwave is still fundamentally a microwave oven. No matter what their marketing claims say, it is not a substitute for a conventional/convection oven and you are not going to see equivalent performance.

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Can I roast peanuts in convection microwave?

Question

I found a small bag of raw un-roasted peanuts, around 200 grams, in my cupboard. Any idea how can I roast these peanuts in my convection microwave oven? Would appreciate if some one can add suggestions :-)

Answer

In the book "Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian", Madhur says one of the few uses she's found for a plain microwave oven is to roast cashews. She dresses them in a little bit of oil, then spreads them out on a plate in a single layer and cooks them in the microwave oven until they turn brown. I assume dressing them in a little bit of oil helps browning. I found a web page which has similar instructions for cashews and other nuts, but which implies the oil contained in the nuts themselves is enough to get them to brown. And finally, about.com has a page which is specifically about microwave roasting peanuts.

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