ABSTRACT
The use of microwave appliances for home and institutional preparation of foods has grown considerably. Cooking power or output indicates the speed of heating within the microwave oven; this is information that would be useful to the consumer or researcher. In microwave heating, nonionizing electromagnetic waves vibrating at microwave frequencies create temperature rises when absorbed by certain materials. Most of the research on microwave heating effects on nutrients in meats has centered about vitamin losses, particularly of the B-complex vitamins. The use of microwave energy for heating or reconstitution of frozen and refrigerated prepared foods has important implications for the food service industry. The commercial samples were heated by microwave and infrared processes, and thiamin retention was comparable, although slightly higher in microwave-heated samples. Institutional as well as home uses of microwave energy must be carefully examined since it appears that microwave heating has great potential in mass feeding systems.
