Effects of microwave cooking/reheating on nutrients and food systems: a review of recent studies

Microwave-oven technology has been improved by the use of low power. With the utilization of low-power techniques, studies showed equal or better retention of nutrients for microwave, as compared with conventional, reheated foods for thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, folacin, and ascorbic acid. Beef roasts microwaved at "simmer" were comparable with conventionally cooked roasts in sensory quality, while vegetables cooked by an institutional (1,150 w) microwave oven were superior to those cooked in a domestic (550 w) microwave oven. Microwave-cooked bacon had lower levels of nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon; however, the use of a new alpha-tocopherol coating system has been found to be a safe N-nitrosamine inhibitor regardless of cooking method used.