Product Review: Haier 600 Watt Microwave

The Haier 600 watt, .6 cubic foot microwave is definitely not the best microwave I've ever owned. In fact, it leaves much to be desired. I've never had as much trouble with a microwave as I have with this Haier brand. I would not recommend it to anyone, especially those who enjoy decently and evenly cooked food. If you are looking for a good microwave oven, keep looking, as this one fails in every respect. Here is my personal experience and review of the Haier 600 watt microwave.

I received the Haier microwave oven as a housewarming gift for my new apartment. I needed a small microwave, one that would fit in the small space on the kitchen counter between the refrigerator and the regular oven. It fit perfectly, I must give it at least that much credit. But that's about all that's good that I can say about it, except possibly that it's relatively easy to clean.

The downside is in the cooking, which trumps any of the benefits of ease in cleaning, or proper fit for my particular kitchen. A microwave needs to cook or warm foods and drinks consistently and evenly, and this Haier microwave oven fails miserably. It can't be the small size, as I've had other microwaves that worked perfectly fine. It's possible I just got a bad one, and other oven of the same model work perfectly fine, but I doubt that for some reason. I'm pretty sure this is just a cheap microwave, and I just need to get new, better one that costs more money.

I have small children and a busy family, including a teenage who likes to be able to come home and cook something quickly between school and work. I like to be able to cook raw vegetables, potatoes, and thaw meat from the freezer, and the Haier microwave doesn't work for any of my most basic microwave cooking needs.

First of all, and most importantly in my opinion, is the horrible uneven cooking I've experienced with the Haier microwave. Virtually everything I've attempted to cook has come out badly, with frozen or cold areas right next to hot or even burned spots. No temperature or timing adjustments have worked to remedy this situation. I can warm things up ok if they aren't frozen, but only if I stir the contents constantly. I can only warm up foods that are easily stirred, like rice, noodles or vegetables. Heating up or cooking any type of meat is out of the question.

About the only thing I ever use the Haier microwave oven is for heating up my coffee, and occasionally for warming up something from the refrigerator. If you're looking for a good microwave oven, my recommendation would have to be to look elsewhere, as this one leaves too much to be desired.

Sources:

Personal Experience
Haier 600 Watt Microwave Owner's Manual