Speedcook Microwave

In case you're not familiar with them, a speedcook microwave oven essentially adds halogen and quartz lights to allow browning, grilling, and broiling. These ovens can pretty much do all of the tasks of a conventional oven only 4 to 8x faster without any preheating. Most of these advanced ovens also provide convection cooking, baking/roasting, and even a warming oven.

These ovens are made by Maytag, Sharp, Whirlpool, GE and other major manufacturer's. A speedcook microwave is ideal for those who want to cut meal preparation time significantly. They are more expensive than a traditional microwave oven, therefore, if you will use your microwave mostly for heating, reheating, and defrosting, they aren't a good choice due to this extra cost.

When choosing your speedcook microwave be sure to consider:

Style

Built-in, countertop, and over-the-range/cooktop are the primary options. Countertop models offer ease of installation. Built in models and over-the-range models can save precious counterspace. Over-the-range models can also provide cooktop lighting and exhaust fan options. Of course there are also combination units that are paired with conventional ovens.

Size

If you'll be cooking meals for a family, a capacity over 1.2 cubic feet is recommended. Of course the exterior dimensions must also match up with the space you have available.

Power

More power means that the microwave will cook faster. The difference between 900 Watts and 1,000 Watts may not be too noticeable however.

Cooking Modes and Other Features

Sensor cooking allows the microwave to make automatic adjustments to time and temperature. Many of these ovens offer one touch control for cooking and defrosting a number of menu items. Convection cooking allows heat to be distributed more evenly. This is ideal for everything from reheating to baking. Elements and lights within the microwave will allow you to grill, brown, and crisp foods. Many of these speedcook microwaves are really 4-in-1 ovens: convection, speedcook, sensor, and warming.

Racks can allow you to cook multiple items at once. Being able to add time during the cooking process is a very handy feature. Some of these speedcook microwaves also provide a clock, timer, cooktop light, and so forth. Interior lights, glass windows, and turntables are fairly standard.

Warranty and Customer Reviews

As with any appliance that you buy, you should check the warranty. In addition, knowing what current owners think of their microwave can be useful. There is nearly always a dissatisfied customer out there, but looking at the reviews of several customers will give you a good feel for how the product performs. Most major retailers offer a customer review section on their site (You will see this if you click on any of the products here) or you can do a search online using the specific product name/number.

GE Advantium 240 speedcook microwave.
This 925 Watt speedcook microwave from GE is available in stainless, white, and black finishes. It is an over-the-range/above-cooktop appliance, with a 1.7 cubic feet capacity. It measures 16" D x 16.38" H x 30" W.

You can prepare meals in a fraction of the time as this oven eliminates the preheating stage and cooks 8 times faster than a conventional oven. It's acutally 4 ovens in 1: a speedcook microwave, sensor microwave, true European convection oven, and Warming/Proofing oven. It has 175 preprogrammed recipes, speedcooking grill trays for meats, 10 power levels, and 11 cooking sensor controls.

This microwave oven also features delay start, a clock, a timer, an add time feature, and much more. It has microwave cooking controls such as time cook, melt, soften, defrost by food type, defrost by weight, defrost by time, and simmer. It's cooking modes include convection bake, broil, warm, proof, toast, and speedcook microwave.

GE Profile Advantium 120 speedcook microwave. This 925 Watt over-the-range/above-cooktop speedcook microwave oven from GE is also available in black, white, and stainless finishes. It has a 1.7 cubic feet capacity and measure 15.38" D x 16.44" H x 29.94" W. It comes with 2 full width oven racks for multi-level cooking, a grill pan, and glass turntable.

It is also a 4-in-1 oven: speedcook microwave, true European convection oven, warming/proofing oven, and sensor microwave. It features 175 preprogrammed recipes, 10 power levels, 11 sensor cooking controls, and a variety of microwave controls such as time cook, melt, soften, defrost by food type, defrost by weight, defrost by time, and simmer. Other features include cooktop lighting (bright/night/off/auto nightlight), an exhaust fan (high/medium/low/off), and controls such as add time, timer, pause, clock, and more.

GE 30 inch speedcook microwave/oven combination unit. This unit includes a 900 Watt speedcook microwave oven and conventional oven. It measures 42 3/8" H x 29 3/4" W x 26" D. The upper microwave oven provides a 1.4 cubic feet capacity and the lower oven a 4.1 cubic feet capacity. The speedcook microwave can cut cooking time by 47% using halogen and quartz lights. It can both grill and bake.

The upper oven includes TimeSavor Plus convection cooking, a 1200 Watt element for broiling, and a feature for adding a minute while running. The lower oven provides convection baking, roasting, bread proofing, and more. It comes with three racks. This unit has a hidden bake element for easy cleaning, TimeSavor Plus convection cooking with a rear fan and 3rd heating element to cook foods 30% faster. It also has delay bake and "convection conversion" to allow you to input the time and temperature for a given recipe for the oven to automatically set it up for convection cooking.

Whirlpool Microwave/Hood Combination. This microwave/hood combination unit is from Whirlpool. It provides a full 2 cubic feet capacity and 1200 Watt cooking power/1500 Watt grilling/convection power. It measures 29 7/8" W x 18 1/4" D x 18 1/8" H. This oven provides True Convection cooking, speedcook, microwave, and steamer.

It offers sensor cooking functions that will automatically adjust cooking time and temperature for you. It comes with a 4 speed exhaust hood, grill rack, sizzle pan with handle, turntable, time clock, and cooktop light. It can desfrost without cooking, melt or soften without splattering or scorching, and much more. You can grill, brown, bake, roast, and steam as well. This speedcook microwave also has a warm/hold cycle, reheat, and defrost as well.

Maytag speedcook microwave/hood combination. This oven from Maytag provides a 1.8 cubic feet capacity and 1100 Watts of cooking power. It is a speedcook microwave/range hood combination with 5 adjustable fan speeds. It measures 29.5" W x 17.25" H x 17.75" D.

It has a night light, cooking rack, grill rack, Halogen cooktop light, and an oversized turntable. It can steam, microwave, bake, and grill. It has 10 power levels and sensor cooking to automatically adjust cooking time and temperature when needed. If also has features such as quick and auto defrost, sensor reheat for even heat distribution, and add-30-seconds for easily adding time during the cooking process.