[Junk Box Nick]

Not the same model as mine, Les, though I learned in the early days the techniques of cooking required to get food to even temperature. This one has the rotating platter. At one point, many moons ago, it was the only means of cooking I had and thinking, like many back in the day, that an MO was just for heating things up quickly I was amazed at what I was able to cook in it, though it was often a laborious process. (I had a Zanussi (made in the UK it said proudly on the front!) of similar vintage in the office which didn't have a rotating platter but required the same technique. I brought it home to be able to do accompaniments. It was built like a battleship and I've not long disposed of it - the rotary timer failed.)

These days I cook conventionally on the hob or oven (used yesterday evening and only a couple of years younger so another now vintage item in use) in bulk and freeze so the Panasonic heats from frozen most days. I don't blast a frozen meal full tilt but use lower settings for longer and stir and stand in between as I am usually cooking potatoes, pasta or rice, etc., conventionally alongside.

From my recipe books of the time, uneven cooking and lack of browning was a recognised problem with early microwave ovens. I found that baked potatoes were terrible - I like a crisp jacket. I daresay modern microwave ovens have overcome all these problems.