Know the difference between microwave and OTG oven

What is an OTG Oven?

An Oven, Toaster, Grill (OTG) is essentially a smaller version of a traditional oven. It uses heated coils to cook meals and requires much less setting up. The thermostat present in the OTGs helps control the temperature, ensuring the food is cooked or heated properly.

What is a convection microwave?

A convection microwave is more sophisticated than a regular microwave and has many additional features apart from reheating and boiling. As its name suggests, it uses microwaves to cook your meals, which takes less time to heat or cook your food. You can bake delicious cakes and cookies without any hassle using a microwave oven.

Differences between microwave and OTG oven

Whether heating your food or baking cookies and cakes, microwave oven and OTG are both very helpful. However, based upon your usage, you can easily understand the difference between an OTG and a microwave oven. By knowing these differences, you can make the right decision to buy either of the two appliances for your kitchen.

Can a microwave be used as an oven?

The simple answer is yes; you can use your microwave as an oven. However, for that to be possible, you need to have a convection oven. In ovens that come with a convection mode, the appliance will behave like any regular oven and can be used to bake bread, cakes, cookies, or anything else you would want to bake.

Factors to consider before purchase

Now that you have learned the difference between an OTG and a microwave oven, you must also consider various factors before purchasing either appliance. These aspects will help you buy an appliance that is best suited to your cooking needs.

The science behind cooking

When cooking with an OTG, the heat is radiated by the coils and absorbed by the food. A fan is present to distribute the heat, but most of the heat is dispensed directly below the coils. On the other hand, convection microwaves heat the water molecules present in food, thereby cooking it. A rotating plate and the microwaves ensure that the food is cooked evenly.

What to cook

An OTG is best used for baking, toasting, and grilling. For example, you can bake cakes, grill meat, and toast bread with ease. A convection microwave can perform all of these functions and reheat, cook, and de-freeze, which the OTG cannot.

Capacity

An OTG’s capacity may reach up to 60 litres, whereas convection microwaves reach a capacity of just 32 litres. So, for large batches of food, and OTG might be the better option. Additionally, the rotating surface in a microwave is relatively small, making it a problem to put large dishes into it. Moreover, though OTGs have larger capacities, they are much easier to handle owing to their lightweight.

Temperature

The temperature range of both a convection oven and an OTG is almost the same, but the preheat time varies. While an OTG can take 15-20 minutes to preheat, the convection oven only takes 5 minutes. This can considerably decrease the cooking time.

Ease of use

Convection microwaves have a digital display, which allows you to keep track of the temperature and time easily compared to the knobs on an OTG.

Cost

The upfront cost of buying an OTG is around Rs. 10,000 for 42 litres, whereas a convection microwave costs around Rs. 16,000 for 30 litres. Although the upfront cost of an OTG is lesser, the energy efficiency of a microwave oven is greater. The microwave oven uses 20% less energy than an OTG, saving money in the long run.

Now that you know the difference between the two pick the right one for yourself. Then, make a smart choice by breaking the cost of your microwave or OTG into easy instalments with Bajaj Finserv EMI Network or visit Bajaj Mall of Bajaj Finserv. Check your pre-approved offer and buy the appliance of your choice affordably.