Honouring the world’s most proficient accidental cooker

By SAMANTHA JOHNSON Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on December 8, 2022.

Tuesday was National Microwave Oven Day, a day to celebrate something that was invented by accident but can now be found in over 90% of households.

It’s unclear why Dec. 6 was chosen since the patent was applied for on Oct. 8, 1945 by Raytheon. One of their engineers, Percy Spencer, was working on a military grade magnetron and when he attempted to increase the power level, he realized it could cook food. The popular story is Spencer had a candy bar in his pocket that melted, but according to popularmechanics.com, who interviewed Spencer’s grandson, it was a peanut cluster, which has a much higher melting point than chocolate.

Next up was an egg, which exploded. The following day, Spencer brought in corn kernels and made popcorn for everyone. Raytheon released the first commercial microwave oven in 1947 called the Radarange, which wasn’t a huge seller. Sources vary on the cost, citing anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000, but it was definitely big and heavy, about six feet high and weighing close to 750 pounds.

By 1967, the cost and size of microwave ovens had both reduced and one could be purchased for under $500. By the mid-1970s over 1 million had been sold and they were becoming a must-have household item despite some models leaking and concerns over the safety of using them.

While there are no studies showing long-term effects of using microwave ovens, there are still those who insist they are harmful. Microwave ovens produce non-ionizing radiation, a stronger form of the radiation as that produced by cell phones.

Healthline.com did a review of the literature. They found that because microwaves have a shorter cooking time at lower temperatures, they generally preserve the nutrient level in foods and reduce the formation of harmful compounds.

Two downsides are using plastic containers that aren’t microwave safe, which can release hormone disrupting compounds into the food. Another downside is sometimes food heats unevenly in the microwave and, if not cooked long enough or at a high enough heat, will not as effectively kill bacteria and other pathogens in the food.

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