Panasonic Inverter Microwave - Test Trial Week 1

I recently swapped out my Sharp microwave for a Panasonic model with Inverter Technology. Sound fancy but what it really means is that it cooks food faster, more evenly, and adjusts the continuous power intensity based on the food in it. I am test trying a fingerprint resistant stainless steel model (Model NN-SD987SB). I feel it is a good example of a large family size microwave for everyday families looking to save time.

My kids disliked it immediately. Rather than pushing numbers to enter in your microwave time, this model has a turn dial. When turned clockwise, the time will increase and then you hit the start button. I loved this dial when it came time to set the time on the clock. It was done in seconds rather than fussing with extra buttons and settings. The only bummer about the dial is that if I want to add a few more seconds on the clock, you can't just turn the dial mid-cooking. You have to wait until it is done and add additional time. There is an additional minute button that solves this problem but I tend to forget and overcook things in that extra minute.

There is a turbo defrost option that I love. I have defrosted ground turkey and boneless skinless chicken breasts so far. A pound of meat defrosts very quickly without cooking the meat around the edges. It really does defrost perfectly. This function definitely impressed me. My Sharp microwave had me rearranging the frozen meat very frequently and the Panasonic is not as fussy which I loved.

The popcorn button is a whole different story. This button can be pushed more than once to adjust to the size of the bag. I stuck with the bag size but found the popcorn burned in the middle of the bag every time. We cooked the popcorn for less time to avoid this but we left a bunch of kernels unpopped. Popcorn buttons are tough on a lot of microwaves. I've never found one that pops it just perfectly. There is a microwave at my office that does a pretty good job with popcorn...will have to see what brand that is when I go to work.

Reheating happens very very quickly in this microwave which I love. There is also an option to cook at high power (P10) or move down to as low as (P1) for slow cooking. I have not ventured much in this area yet. I did make a batch of cupcakes and poured the leftover batter in a microwave safe 8X8 pan to see if it would cook the cake. Roughly six minutes later at P7 I had yummy moist cake. I have never baked in a microwave before so this was new to me. It does leave slight bubbling at the top but that was covered up with frosting and nobody ever noticed.

I'll keep you posted on my microwave trial...always love seeing what is new on the market and how companies try to save us time in the kitchen. So far this microwave is definitely saving me time...just need to get to know it more to see what it's really capable of!