A Foolproof Guide
Mom Saves the Day: Learn How to Change Power Level on Microwave
When you leave home for the first time, jobs that seemed easy beforehand start seeming complicated. That’s completely fine! We all go through it. Therefore, to help make your job easier for you in the kitchen, I’m writing a guide to what you need to know about changing the power level on your microwave. How to change the power level on a microwave, and why you’d want to.
What’s The Power Level?
Starting from the basics, let’s first learn what the power level is. The power level is the amount or percentage of power that is being delivered to the food. The microwave allows you to change power level settings to choose the percentage of energy you want to work at, which adds flexibility to microwave cooking.
Changing The Microwave Power Level
Most people think that changing the microwave power level isn’t essential, but it is. Not only does it make your dish taste better, but it also conserves energy when heating foods.
In the video I’ll show you two ways in which the power level can be changed.
One is for a fancier microwave, like the one we have at home. The other is for the type of microwave you may have in your dorm or apartment.
Changing power level on Viking Microwave.
Our microwave at home is a fancier stainless steel microwave that also has a convection mode and several shortcut buttons.On this microwave, the instructions are very easy. It may be this way with most expensive microwaves.
- Step 1: The very first thing to do is open the microwave and place your food on the turntable. Remember to use a microwave safe container.
- Step 2: Press power level on the control panel.
- Step 3: Select Power level. Press the numbers button corresponding to the power level you’re looking for. Each number represents the percentage of power. For example, pressing 4 will give you 40% power.
- Step 4: The microwave will automatically ask you to input the cooking time on the lcd screen. Input the time and hit start
Here’s the second option:
Changing the power level on a countertop microwave
The microwave I show in the video highlights how to change the power level on a Sunbeam microwave.
- Step 1: The very first thing to do is open the microwave and place your food on the turntable. It’s important that the turntable rotate food to keep the heating as uniform as possible.
- Step 2: Set the Time to Cook
- Step 3: Press the Power Level Button, and then input the power level. As stated above, the lowest power level setting is 1 (10%), and the highest one is 10 (100%). The preset or default percentage is 100%. Therefore, if you want your microwave to work at 50% of its total capacity, then you will have to press power level button and then press “5”.
- Step 4: Press the Start Button
Changing the Power Level on a GE Microwave:
The process is similar to the one above
- Press Time Cook, or your model may say Micro Cook or Cook Time.
- Enter the cooking time.
- Press Power Level and Input the Power Level (1-10)
- Press Start
Summarizing those:
Two Solutions to the Question:
How to Change Power Level on a Microwave
You’ll notice that on one model, you press the power button first, set that level, and then input the cook time.
On the second type of microwave, you press the cook time first, then set the power level.
Different Power Levels on A Microwave
Each microwave has about ten power level settings- each with an increase of 10%. This means that if you choose “1”, the microwave will operate at 10% of its total power. If you choose “2”, it will work at 20% of its full capacity and so on. These various levels allow you to utilize a defrost feature for frozen food, reheat different types of foods at the correct power level, simmer delicate sauces, and sometimes even cook ground meat.
· Lowest Setting: Power Level 1
This is one of the lower power levels in the microwave, which provides 10% of the total output power. It provides around 100 Watts. This power level is ideal for keeping foods warm and defrosting frozen items. To explain this better, it takes the chill out of foods and doesn’t do much to cook the food.
· Lower Setting: Power Level 2-4
The percent power this provides is 20-40% which is approximately 200 to 400 Watts. Like above, it is low enough for you to defrost frozen items like ice cream to soften them (you know I love my melted-y ice cream!) or melt other food items like chocolate, butter, and cheese. In addition, it can be used to heat something slowly and peacefully so that it doesn’t burn. You won’t use these low power settings too often, but they do come in handy.
· Medium Setting: Power Level 5
As you might’ve already guessed, the percent power of this setting is 50%, and it provides 500 Watts. This medium power level is usually used for cooking gently, simmering, or baking items that you do not have to stir repeatedly. Dense foods like casseroles with a high cook time can also be cooked in this setting because the meat remains soft. I’d use this or a 6 to reheat something like lasagna, where I wanted the inside to get warm while the top layer of cheese didn’t get all brown and hard.
· High Setting: Power Level 6-8
Providing high levels of its total power (60%-80%), this setting delivers 600-800 watts. Best used for reheating, it can also be used for baking in a lower cooking time. It is primarily suitable for foods that have already been cooked in high heat and need to get warmed up, meaning that it can be used to cook and heat foods like whole fish that need a cook power lower than high.
· Highest Setting: Power Level 9-10
The highest cooking setting that provides 90-100% and 900-1000 watts is the quickest cooking setting. It is common to heat foods with a high fluid content (like soups or canned foods) with a 1000-watt microwave. However, they can quickly overheat, so make sure to keep an eye on it, stirring the mixture well before and halfway through. This, the highest power level, is what we normally use for quick microwaving. Just know that this high power level can burn some foods and that the various power levels are available to help you get the best results with your food.
Working With Presets
The power level settings are critical when we talk about the presets in cooking. If your microwave has particular presets present on it, then that means that you won’t have to put in the power level yourself. Instead, when you choose a particular preset according to what you want (like defrosting), it will select the best power level for you and work accordingly. However, it is said that preset buttons may not work that well in heating or cooking your food, so learning how to use the power level buttons yourself will work out best for you. The only preset I use all the time is the popcorn preset on the microwave, and even that one sometimes burns it at the end!
