ACCESSORIES:

TURNTABLE & ROLLER RING

HIGH & LOW RACK (For cooking two dishes simultaneously)

CRUSTY PLATE (This Teflon layered plate is used for browning dishes and keeping them crisp in grill / combination mode. Basically, not only is the food browned on the top thanks to the grill, the high temperature of the plate will also brown the top and sides of your food. Can also be used as a frying pan / baking tray)

FEATURES: A closer look at the control panel

Hot-blast Auto makes use of Hot Blast™ technology where hot air is blown through multiple air holes directly onto food. This obviously reduces cooking times, but also allows for crisping / browning of the outside of your dish without taking moisture from the inside. It’s a clever move from Samsung, who have positioned the MC32K7055CK as their top-end free-standing consumer microwave.

OPERATION NOTES

Each of the settings on the control panel will require you to work in tandem with the manual. Pre-set to handle a wide range of common dishes, you first select your desired function from the control panel, then the food type (this will be a number), then move on to a tertiary setting (another number referring to the size/weight or temperature of your food before cooking) before hitting Start.

In short, this is a bit of a faff, especially if you’re used to reading the sleeve of a ready-meal and bunging it in the oven. Until you commit these settings to memory (if you ever do) you are heavily reliant on the manual for cooking. Although Samsung have tried to counteract this by adding a quick reference immediately on the inside of the oven, it does little to take away from the fussiness of it all. Patience is a virtue though, and when you get the hang of what this microwave oven is capable of, you will see a notable difference in cooking times.

The Slim-fry option, once again, has various pre-programmed settings depending on what you intend to fry. Ideal for potatoes and veg, and seafood and chicken, SLIM FRY™ technology combines a grill with warm air circulation so food is cooked crispy inside and out, using only a touch of oil.

So far, we’ve used this setting for potato wedges and they were really tasty. Simply wash your potatoes, cut into wedges, brush with olive oil & season. Pop them on the crusty plate, on the high rack & select the appropriate code (this is 3.1 from memory).

The Healthy-cooking program is pretty self-explanatory. Here you’ll find all your pre-programmed settings for cooking low fat and high protein dishes such as brown rice, quinoa, spinach, grilled tomatoes and fish, chicken and turkey fillets. I use this feature for heating up the kids beans & peas. They’re ready in a matter of seconds so it saves time faffing about with the hob.

I’ve only had this microwave for a matter of weeks, and am yet to use Dough-proof/yoghurt setting. To be honest, it’s pretty unlikely I ever will. Tesco does some cracking low-fat cheesecakes for £30p a pot, so why would I ever attempt my own? I’ll refer to the website for this one then… “Fermentation Function [utilises] advanced fermentation technology for proofing dough or making natural yoghurt, without extra appliances“… Got it? Great. Moving swiftly on…

Defrosting, grilling & baking

As a convenience-cook, the Power Defrost program is also particularly well received. Allowing you to toggle between food types you can quickly and safely defrost meat, poultry, fish, bread, cake & fruit - meaning I’m less likely to cause the family belly-ache.

The Grill is also surprisingly easy to use. Unlike conventional grills, more consistent heat distribution means the Samsung Wide Grill will cook food more evenly. I’ve cooked bacon, eggs, and cheese on toast in here and I all but ignore the grill on my conventional oven now - this is just 10x easier to clean, food tastes less greasy and you’re less likely to overcook dishes as you have confidence the combined weight of the grill + microwave has cooked your food thoroughly.

Naturally, you can combine microwave cooking and the grill, microwave or hot blast, to cook quickly and brown food at the same time. You can also disable the turntable to get the full benefit of the 32L capacity & 345mm turntable. This means it’ll easily take extra-large, square or unconventionally shaped dishes & larger circumference foods such as pizzas, bread loaves & cakes. It goes without saying, if you have a larger family, entire meals can be cooked in this.

AUXILIARY FEATURES

Child-proof feature: Simply press for 3 seconds and the control panel is locked. We have stair gates blocking our two from the kitchen (2 & 4 years old) but this is ideal for slightly older children.

Energy Saving Feature: If you get distracted whilst selecting a function, or have “temporarily stopped” mid-program & failed to continue – after 25 mins the control panel will revert back to the clock and cancel the program. The oven light will also turn off automatically if the door is left open for 5+mins.

Concerns

Aside from it being complicated to initially get your head around, it’s also quite noisy for a top-end product. The handle on the drop down door is also a fingerprint magnet that’ll irk those with OCD. Finally, with a 345mm turntable, this is obviously far deeper than a conventional microwave so I’d recommend measuring up first - shallow work surfaces might be a problem.

Value for money?

In conclusion, I’m really impressed with just what the Samsung MC32K7055CK can do. If you’re not used to combination microwaves, it will take some getting used to so you get the full benefit. But for compact kitchens that won’t take a conventional oven, quick-cooking and larger families, this proves that spending more can be cost effective in the longer-term. The build quality is first rate & aesthetically it also looks the part (I’m loving the drop-down door). With a raft of advanced features it’s more than a match for your conventional oven

Available from AO.COM / find out more at Samsung.com

T: @AO / F: @AOLetsGo

AO

This product was sent to me by AO.com as part of their ongoing customer engagement strategy. They want to hear what WE (as consumers) think of products listed on their site. They regularly send things to us, and dozens of others, in exchange for a video/on-site review.

AO.com are pretty fabulous. In a short space of time they’ve really made their mark as far as kitchen appliances / entertainment tech goes. I placed my order for this microwave in the afternoon and it arrived the very next day. The delivery man was bang on time and the communication was ace throughout. I wouldn’t go anywhere else now, and that’s a pretty strong statement.