New technology improves microwave-cooked, processed food
TrueCookPlus is an embedded software product that is installed along with the microwave oven’s operating system at the factory. It’s a software interpreter-similar to the PostScript programming language interpreter for laser printers. Create instructions, enter them into the system, and in the case of a microwave oven, the embedded interpreter decodes the instructions, takes into consideration the food type (its condition, starting state, weight and packaging characteristics), atmospheric pressure, humidity, power-line voltage, magnetron state, etc.-and adjusts the cooking process to match the particular food product. The instruction set for the microwave is a three-, four- or five-digit number the consumer enters into the microwave-instead of the usual time and power settings. These instructions are interpreted by the software, compared to a laboratory reference oven in which the food was originally tested and cooked and then translated to the specific instructions needed by the consumer microwave to cook the food.
Currently, according to Microwave Science Chief Technology Officer Steven Drucker, microwave partners include LG and Kenmore, and food processor partners include Pinnacle Foods, General Mills, Pop Secret and Diamond Foods.