Translations:Mikrowelle/7/en

The early microwave appliances were scarcely affordable for private users and were used primarily in catering owing to their size and weight. Siemens began producing microwave ovens for the German market in 1957. The first German microwave weighed two hundred pounds, however, required a water cooler and cost 7,000 deutschmarks. The appliance was therefore not considered a practical option and plans were quickly shelved again. Manufacturer Neff also began integrating microwave technology in its ovens in 1957 and presented Europe's first combined microwave oven or electron oven – the microwave – to the public at the Cologne trade fair for home appliances. Yet the appliances still failed to make the breakthrough initially. It was only in the 1970s that the popularity of the microwave began to grow rapidly in the U.S. and Japan. It was to take a little longer in Germany. The Germans remained skeptical about the microwave oven for a long time. Many feared that the appliances were not radiopaque and were therefore a health hazard. Manufacturers like BSH tried for years to dispel this misconception. BSH trained consumers in its microwave studios, published specific recipes for the microwave oven, provided information for journalists at large, or opinion leaders as they were called internally, etc.