A test procedure to characterise the heating performance of domestic microwave ovens |
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| Authors: | Mark Jeffery Swain ,Adrien Spinassou,& Maria Veronica Lyra Swain |
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| Affiliation: | Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Research Centre (FRPERC), University of Bristol, Churchill Building, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK;
Institut Universitaire de Technologie, Zac du Sanital, Rue Nobel, 86100 Chatellerault, France |
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| Abstract: | A test procedure has been developed and used to characterise the performance of domestic microwave ovens in relation to the heating of chilled ready meals. The procedure uses reproducible test loads, which simulate the heating and weight loss characteristics of a chilled ready meal under consumer use. The temperature distribution after heating from 5 °C to a defined minimum temperature of 70 °C is measured in the food simulant using a purpose designed multipoint thermocouple ‘hedgehog’ probe. The temperature, weight loss and heating time data from the test are entered into a spreadsheet analysis program, which provides a simple oven performance ‘score’ and/or comprehensive heating performance data. |
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| Keywords: | Chilled ready meals domestic microwave food simulant heat distribution microwave heating microwave performance temperature measurement |
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