Pizza at Home ... Microwave in Minutes - Consumer Watch - Consumer Reports | ABC30 Fresno

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By ABC30

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Consumer Watch Ahhhh pizza! Freshly made at the pizza parlor it looks and tastes so good. Many people think cooking a pizza in their microwave can't even come close.

"Not crispy, not fresh, doesn't taste very good."

"It reminded me of eating a cardboard box."

But with new microwave claims, Consumer Reports was hungry for a challenge. Testers cooked frozen cheese pizzas, pitting a microwave against a conventional oven. First contender - the $200-dollar Apollo Half Time Convection Microwave Oven that claims it's "the only oven in the world that cooks like a gas or electric oven in half the time."

Consumer Reports Bob Markovich said, "The Half Time is speedy. In the convection-microwave mode, pizza took just 13 minutes to cook. But it wasn't too crispy."

Next up - this top-rated Electrolux Electric Range on the non-convection setting.

"The Electrolux took some time to get to the goal line, cooking the pizza in 39 minutes, including preheating. And the pizza wasn't too crispy either," said Markovich.

But the Electrolux had a comeback play. Consumer Reports cooked another pizza this time using the convection setting. The pizza took 34 minutes to cook a little less time. And the pizza was the crispiest of all.

"The Half Time microwave is one speedy running back. But if you crave a crispy pizza at game time, cooking it in your range oven on the convection setting is likelier to give you winning results," said Markovich.

Consumer Reports testers says a convection microwave can still come in handy if you want to cook crispy chicken or a grilled cheese sandwich. One that did well in Consumer Reports tests is the Kenmore Elite model number 64-28. It's a midsized convection countertop microwave that goes for $250-dollars.

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