Microwave oven having low-energy defrost and high-energy cooking modes

摘要

A microwave oven comprises a weight detector (42) for detecting the weight of a foodstuff to be heated, a condition detector (36) for detecting a substance emitted from the food as a result of heating, and a control unit that responds to the output of the weight detector by setting a defrost time period in which the food is to be defrosted. The microwave energy is set to a low level during the defrost period (T,, T2). Upon the termination of the defrost, the energy is raised to a higher level and continued for a period of time (T3, T4) determined as a function of the interval (T3) between the instant the defrost mode terminates and the instant the amount of the detected substance reaches a predetermined value.