When I was in Jr. High, I went to a Micro-wave cooking class with my mom- I am not kidding. It was sponsored by whatever company she had purchased our very first microwave from.  We attended for the sole purpose of gaining ourselves the necessary cooking cooking skills for our new favorite appliance. As you might guess, the class failed to teach us anything beyond how to press the new-fangled buttons on the futuristic-looking machine.

Everyone was buying microwaves at that time, but I have to agree with my Grandmother’s assessment of the microwave- she called it the most expensive bun-warmer that she has ever had.

I didn’t have a microwave for years, but now have one for defrosting meat when I forget to take it out of the freezer on time. I am aware that I may suffer from terrible radiation effects from using the microwave, but am willing to take my chances.

I am not willing, however, to purchase one of the $1,000.00 microwaves that will soon be coming out on the market. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, microwaves are still hot ticket items; in fact consumers purchased 9.5% more microwaves in the past year alone. More than likely as a result in the increase in demand for microwaves, companies like Sharp are in the mood to give the now old-fashioned appliance a make-over.

Some of the modifications for new microwaves are very elaborate. The innovations include using steam “with a water-reservoir attached to the oven”, heat sensors, and thermal optic cameras so that the elite microwave chefs will be able to tell if their food is done or not.

As a fair portion of microwave cooking also involves “cooking frozen foods”, a new company has created a microwave which enables the users to input the bar code into your microwave so that your food will automatically be cooked for the right time, and presumably at the right temperature. I am not sure whether that is for the lazy Americans among us, or for those who due to learning disabilities actually have trouble reading the directions on the package, but it seems like a strange modification.

Regardless of the new additions coming for microwaves, the actual effects of how harmful microwaves are still being debated.