Get another microwave/oven combi or mini oven?

outtatune

casper_gutman said:

outtatune said:

That just means don't place the glass turntable on top of the metal tray. You don't need to use the metal tray or wire rack at all if you don't want to.

I don't think that's at all clear from the instructions. It says the glass turntable must have the metal tray placed on top, not that the metal tray can optionally be placed on top, or that if using the metal tray it should be placed on top.

Nevertheless, that's exactly what it means. 

WIAWSNB

I always use the metal rack. It allows heat to circulate below the thing being heated, and it'll also prevent the 'possibility' of a focused source of heat - say from microwaving some dishes - from affecting the glass TT, which 'could' cause it to crack. Tho' unlikely. 

outtatune

Hmm, I might be wrong!

The manual OP posted earlier is not the right one, assuming they bought the one from their October 6th photo; it's this one:
https://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/2z68f35b8cz1z3f225z656ez706466z22zd1c31a223cdd418920ee90f0da27e1abf24a0014/tsn3/data/ALL/NNCT57JM/OI/962774/F0003BG70BP.pdf

Page 26: for convection says pretty clearly Do not place dishes directly on glass turntable.

Perhaps by 'dishes' they mean 'food' rather than 'containers' as the glass plate has no sides to stop stuff overflowing.

I've happily placed dishes directly on the glass plate for 7 years during convection cooking without any problems. Live life on the edge, that's what I always say! But not so on the edge that I've ever used the wire rack when microwaving.

WIAWSNB

Chances are you'll get away with it; the glass will be tempered and pretty heat-resistant, but still susceptible to variations of temp along its surface. So an item placed directly on top will shield that part of the glass from the oven heat, or - conversely - a microwaved food in that dish will become far hotter than the surroundings. 

In essence, I think the idea is to keep the glass TT as evenly heated as possible.  

textbook

textbook said:

WIAWSNB said:

Don't keep us hanging - I'm drooling...

Lol


Just checking got the correct things in for convection setting

Crumble? ---

textbook

On a slightly different topic,  how does microwave cooking compared to convection cooking compare?  I mean microwave cooking apparently cooks the water inside food but convection cooking is a more normal way and healthier. 

Is it best to avoid microwave cooking as much as possible, so even when heating up food put it on convection setting and just leave it in there for longer to warm up e.g. piece of crumble from fridge or pasta or whatever and fry veggies rather than microwave 

WIAWSNB

MWs heat from within, by vibrating the molecules. Great at getting right in there and heating to some depth right away.
But, it doesn't reach a high enough temp to brown or crisp the outside, and that's why it isn't suitable for certain types of cooking, at least not without the other oven type accompanying it.
But, is it safe? Absolutely no risk to health whatsoever from microwaves acting on your food, unless you simply do not cook it enough - which is true if any cooking.

textbook

WIAWSNB said:

MWs heat from within, by vibrating the molecules. Great at getting right in there and heating to some depth right away.
But, it doesn't teach a high enough temp to brown or crisp the outside.
Safety? Absolutely no risk to health whatsoever - unless you don't cook it enough.

Doesn't microwaving reduce the nutritional value?

The rubber feet (circled in pix), can they stand on enamel plate or just glass plate, will they melt?

WIAWSNB

textbook said:

WIAWSNB said:

MWs heat from within, by vibrating the molecules. Great at getting right in there and heating to some depth right away.
But, it doesn't teach a high enough temp to brown or crisp the outside.
Safety? Absolutely no risk to health whatsoever - unless you don't cook it enough.

Doesn't microwaving reduce the nutritional value?

The rubber feet (circled in pix), can they stand on enamel plate or just glass plate, will they melt?

Good Q re nutrients, and I don't know. But there must be good info out there. 
For most veg, for example, the MW cooking process is far quicker, and requires very little water, so I suspect it retains more vitamins that, say, boiling.
As I understand it, foods being MW'd also don't tend to go much higher than boiling point, and can be kept below this (some foods, fats?, can go higher?), so again can possibly be considered healthier than at least some other cooking methods.
But, I'm not really informed on this.
I thought you were actually asking if MWs formed an actual health risk? In which case, as long as you keep your head on the outside, no. :-)
As for these rubber feet, they are heat resistant. Not all MWs have them, but they prevent the metal stand from sliding around. Also, if you allow food to dry on the glass turntable, it can carbonise and sometimes cause electric arcing if a bare metal leg stands in it. Don't worry if this happens, even though it's scary - just clean up the surfaces, and if the legs should have boots, put them on. Spares are cheap on t'Bay.