In honor of the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the first countertop microwave oven, Amana has introduced the Amana 40th Anniversary Countertop Microwave AMC7159TAB. Part of a new generation of ovens, this convection microwave boasts the latest in microwave, convection and combination cooking technology, for a truly versatile, full-function cooking appliance.

With 1,000 watts of power and a 1.5 cubic feet of capacity, this unit is all about convenience. Its smooth touchpad control panel consists of a series of easy-to-understand options and a clever display window that lists the available cooking options as each button is pressed and prompts you for additional information when needed. We especially liked the fact that you can change the settings mid-cycle, without stopping the machine. Using the up and down arrows, you can add (or subtract) cooking time or change the oven temperature.

Styled all in black or stainless steel, the Amana AMC7159TAB offers a full range of functions, including basic (manual) Microwave, Sensor (automatic) Microwave, both automatic and manual Convection cooking, and a Combination (Combi) cycle. There is also a countdown kitchen timer and digital clock. It comes with a 13-inch glass turntable, a 13-inch raised metal rack and a 12-inch shallow metal baking pan. The turntable keeps foods moving inside the oven for extremely even baking, cooking and defrosting. When used in combination with the wire rack, it allows heated air to circulate all around the foods, for results that are similar to (and faster in some instances) a traditional oven.

The Amana Convection and Combination functions performed extremely well in our tests. The preheating time was reasonable -- approximately 10 minutes. We appreciated the fact that the display showed the temperature inside the oven as it climbed to reach the correct cooking temperature. We prepared a number of convenience food items, including store-bought pizza, cookies and ready-to-bake rolls. Using the Convection feature alone, we found that the items cooked in about the same time as a standard oven. Interestingly, items with shorter cooking times (e.g., less than 15 minutes) needed the full time called for in the recipe; whereas items that cooked for longer times were ready quicker than the specified time. With the Combi feature, the food cooked much faster than we expected. This was a real timesaver, but created a problem in terms of knowing how long to cook particular foods. The instruction manual provided limited guidance. You may want to invest in a micro-convection cookbook if you plan to do a lot of combination cooking.

We expected good results from the basic Microwave and Sensor Microwave options and were not disappointed. Each function worked as intended and even offered a range of choices. For instance, within the Sensor Reheat category, you can choose from Dinner Plate, Soup, Sauce or Casserole; within the Sensor Cook category, you can choose Baked Potato, Frozen or Fresh Vegetables, Frozen Entree or Rice. Popcorn has its own dedicated button and is preprogrammed to single-serve to large bags (1.75 oz. to 3.5 oz.). The Auto Convection option provides six preprogrammed categories: Meat, Poultry, Fish, Baked Goods, Snack Foods and other foods. If the desired food is not listed, you can choose the closest option or use the manual defrost function. The one option that is missing is a Beverage button.

The Amana AMC7159TAB also has a couple of surprisingly useful extras, such as a Warm Hold button (to keep foods warm using 10 percent power) for short periods of time, and Jet Start, which is a one-touch button that automatically starts the microwave at 100 percent power in increments of 30 seconds (up to three minutes) and one-minute increments (up to 10 minutes) thereafter. All in all, this is a great machine for the price.


Pros: Jet Start button for one-touch operation, manual and automatic settings, plus combination cooking
Cons: No beverage setting, instruction manual does not provide recipes or give suggested cooking times

Warranty
1 year, limited