The top appliances can pop your popcorn without burning it and leave only a few kernels unpopped. Once it stopped, we looked at the popcorn to see if either the bag or the popcorn was burnt, as well as recorded the number of unpopped kernels. Using the popcorn setting on each microwave, we popped a regular-sized bag of popcorn. As a lover of popcorn, I was definitely excited to have a guilt-free reason to pop lots of popcorn. Popcorn test: One of the most obvious use cases is popping popcorn. If the levels corresponded to different levels of heating, then the rate of temperature change between the three stages should be distinctly different. To see if there is actually a difference in the microwave’s power levels, we heated up one cup of tomato sauce in a ceramic dish for 30 seconds on level 2, 30 seconds on level 6, and 30 seconds on level 10, measuring the temperature in between each stage of heating. the ones that have inverter technology built-in), actually have different power levels so that you can adjust the level at which your food is nuked. Tomato sauce test: Most advanced models, such as those that have multi-stage cooking abilities (i.e. Typically, more powerful appliances will result in hotter water temperatures. Water test: To get a sense for the raw power available, we warmed up three cups of water for two minutes on the microwave’s maximum power setting, and then measured the temperature of the water. LG NeoChef with Smart Inverter and Eas圜lean.Magic Chef MCM990ST 900W Countertop Oven with Stainless Steel Front.These are the best affordable countertop microwaves we tested: So be sure to scroll through all our recommendations for all our reviews. Ultimately, you should pick a countertop model with the wattage you need, the control panel that's easiest for your cooking needs, and in a size that fits your space. It's well-designed, has top-notch performance, and has a significantly low price.
1100 WATTS 2.0 CU COUNTERTOP MICROWAVE SERIES
After a series of tests from popping popcorn to making Hungry Man frozen meals, and taking into consideration that you're looking to spend less, we discovered the Magic Chef 1.1 Cubic-Foot Countertop Microwave ( available at Amazon) is the best affordable microwave you can buy. We've even debated whether it's necessary to even formally test these countertop appliances, but we wouldn't be Reviewed if we didn't!Īs we suspected, the scores were very close, but testing found a few performance weaknesses. Most hire a less-famous manufacturer to make countertop models for them, then put their well-known name on the front. How do we know? Well, we’re experts at testing appliances and we've been behind the scenes at some famous appliance companies. We know you’re reading this to find out which affordable microwave you should buy, but we’ll let you in on a little secret-most of them are essentially the same.