All recipes found on my blog have been made with microwaves that are in the 650-700 watt range. If your microwave of a different power rating you will need to make adjustments to the recipes called for on my blog.

First, check the owners manual and see if it tells you how much the power rating on your microwave is. If so remember/write this down so you won't forget. If you are lucky enough to own one that is within the 650-700 watt range than you are set golden.

If you can't find your owners manual or it doesn't indicate the output rating of the microwave than you'll need to perform the following test to find out the power rating:

1. Fill a cup with 1 liter(34 ounces) of cool water.

2. Record the temperature of the water.

3. Place the water in the center of the microwave or offcenter in a turntable oven.

4. Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.

5. Immediately stir the water with the thermometer and record the temperature again.

6. Subtract the starting temperature from the heated temperature.

7. Multiply the answer by 19.5 if using Fahrenheit or 35 if using Celsius.

Doing this will give you your approximate power output for your microwave oven at full power.

To figure out the output of your microwave at other settings then you'll need to multiply your HIGH setting by the percentage listed below:

Level           Power Setting    Numerical Setting   % of HIGH
HIGH            650 watts        10                  100%
MEDIUM HIGH     455 watts         7                   70%
MEDIUM          325 watts         5                   50% 
MEDIUM LOW      195 watts         3                   30%
LOW              65 watts         1                   10%

If you find that your microwave is a 500 watt no variable power microwave then use the following steps as a guideline to get you started in the right direction toward following along our recipes.

HIGH Add 10 seconds for each 30 seconds the recipes calls for
MEDIUM HIGH Use the same time as the recipe
MEDIUM Decrease time by 1/3
MEDIUM LOW Not suitable to be used
LOW Not suitable to be used

If you find that your microwave is a 400 watt no variable power microwave then use the following steps as a guideline to get you started in the right direction toward following along our recipes.

HIGH Add 20 seconds for each 30 seconds the recipes calls for
MEDIUM HIGH Use the same time as the recipe
MEDIUM Decrease time by 1/5
MEDIUM LOW Not suitable to be used
LOW Not suitable to be used

James Otten runs Cooking With A Microwave blog. It is updated regularly with new recipes that use a microwave, no stoves necessary. It can be found at http://www.microwavecooking.blogspot.com

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