How do I adjust cooking time for an under-powered microwave?

How do I adjust cooking time for an under-powered microwave? - Man in Gray Thobe Standing Near Brown Wooden Round Board

Example:

I have an 800-Watt microwave. Cooking instructions for a certain product say to cook on HIGH for 4 minutes in a 1,100-Watt microwave.

How do I properly adjust the cooking time so that my microwave will properly cook the product? Is it simple math (such as 4*{1100/800}=5.5, or 5 minutes, 30 seconds), or are there more factors involved?

For the purposes of my application, presume altitude is at or near sea level.



Best Answer

1100 Watt means 1100 Joules per second (energy over time). 1100 Watt over a period of 240 seconds therefore is 264000 Joules. To deliver 264000 Joules of energy with only 800 Watt takes 330 seconds (5.5 minutes), as you expected.

As KatieK noticed, there are some additional concerns. A good recipe will tell you to let the cooked product stand for a while. This allows heat diffusion, so all those Joules of heat will be distributed well. But if you cook at lower power, then the heat will already be diffused more. I.e. at lower power, you don't need to rest the product as long.

Another difference might be that you're not just heating the product, but you're relying on a secondary effect such as killing germs. For that, you'll need to have the entire product above a critical temperature for a certain time. This in general means that you don't need to adjust the times as much as you'd expect by the simple formula.

On the other hand, a warm product will lose heat to the environment over time. I.e. not all of those 264000 Joules will stay in the product you're heating. And with more time spent at medium temperatures, there's more heat loss in a low-powered microwave.




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How do I adjust the cooking time on my microwave?

How do I convert microwave cooking times?
  • Multiply the food's label cooking time (in seconds) by the wattage required.
  • Now divide this product by your microwave's wattage.
  • The result will be the time (in seconds) it will take your microwave to cook the food.


  • How does microwave wattage affect cooking time?

    When it comes to microwaves, wattage equals power. A 1,000-watt microwave will cook quickly and efficiently, so that's a great baseline. Microwaves with 700 watts or less are slower and may not cook evenly. In general, the higher the wattage, the faster the cooking time.

    How do you use a low power microwave?

    Microwave - How to Change the Power Level
  • Press Time Cook, Micro Cook or Cook Time.
  • Enter the cooking time in minutes and seconds.
  • Press Power Level.
  • Select a desired power level between 1-10 (Default is 10 which is the highest power level).
  • Press the Start/Pause button.




  • Microwave Power Setting Explained




    More answers regarding how do I adjust cooking time for an under-powered microwave?

    Answer 2

    There is no simple math equation that will always get you the proper cooking time. Each 800W microwave may differ, even within the same models, due to hotspots.

    You can estimate that a 800 W microwave will be 72% as effective as a 1000W model, and that you want to increase cooking time to about 5 minutes. But since you can't fix over-cooked food, check your food early, and check often.

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: RODNAE Productions, Matthias Zomer, Andrea Piacquadio, August de Richelieu