Guest blog by Neil Smith
I have been using the Sharp R664KM microwave for a few weeks now and find that cooking and reheating meals and drinks has never been easier. Whether I was heating up soup or making popcorn and hot chocolate for movie night I have not been disappointed with the Sharp’s performance. It comes with a grilling feature too, which is ideal for toasting bread or browning off food.
The 20 litre capacity is ample for my bowls and plates while the smaller capacity means that the unit as a whole is very slim and takes up little surface space which is brilliant as counter top space is limited in my kitchen.
The Eco mode is a nice touch for the environmentally conscious which is important in this day and age.
The ease of use lends itself well for those that don’t get on with overcomplicated tech, some microwaves these days do too much in my opinion and the control panels look daunting! However, this Sharp microwave is incredibly simple, so much so that I didn’t really need to read the instruction manual, although I did have a flick through and all is perfectly comprehensible.
When using the grill I like the fact that I can set it on the timer, walk off and do something else, and if I forget about it then the grill shuts itself off so there’s no risk of burning or over grilling. I can say that my chorizo baked eggs are now the most requested meal in this house – and it couldn’t be simpler!
A feature that both my family and I like is the fact that it’s one of the few microwaves that has a turn dial to set the timing – as opposed to touch. It is just so much easier and quicker to set your time by turning the dial until you reach the required cooking time, as opposed to pressing a combination of buttons. There is the accuracy of a digital display to get your timings spot on. For even quicker use the ‘Start’ button also acts as an auto 30 second quick timer so if you just want to bung something in quickly you can do this at the press of just one button (pressing repeatedly adds 30 second increments). The remaining buttons – like the auto menu – are touch buttons which mean they are easy to keep clean with just a simple wipe over.
Another pleasant surprise was the defrosting options. Historically, with older models, it has been difficult to gauge how long to defrost food, like mince beef for example, without basically cooking it. This model actually has 2 express defrosting options so you have the confidence in the appliance that you are defrosting safely with the options available.
There are also a variety of auto cook menus options. I would advise reading the manual at this point as it properly explains the weight and water ratios and the relevant times which will take the guess work out of your cooking. There is even an option for cooking a chilled pizza which is a house favourite here.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at what this microwave was capable of doing. Whilst maintaining simplicity for every day reheating, it still offers all the options and flexibility to play a major part in your entire household cooking set up. The slimline design looks great in the kitchen, the price is very reasonable and family-safe features like child lock combine with ease of use to make this a great addition to any kitchen.
Buy online today, collect in as little as one hour with our Click & Collect service or ask your local Hughes store about a demo.
