Cooking Method

• Both infrared and microwave oven shoot energy waves into the food being cooked. Infrared ovens cook the food from the outside in, whereas microwaves cook from the inside out.

Features

• Although infrared ovens vary in size and shape, most contain basic settings such as a timer and heat setting; new high-end models contain convection fans, which circulate air. Microwaves typically feature buttons for time and specialized settings for common food such as popcorn or pizza.

Cleaning

• In microwaves you can cook using paper products and microwave-safe plastic, which contain spills well. Infrared ovens require cleaning after each use, unless you use special pans or thick foil as a barriers.

Cooking Times

• A test conducted by Popular Mechanics noted that the infrared oven heated a pizza slice in 5 minutes, whereas the microwave cooked the same sized slice in approximately 90 seconds.

Taste Test

• Taste-testers preferred the pizza slice cooked in the infrared oven because the crust was brown, and the cheese was gooey. Pizza reheated in the microwave had a rubbery crust.