In a method for operating a household microwave appliance, a microwave treatment operation is controlled as a function of a temperature of a microwave generator. The household microwave appliance includes a cooking chamber, a microwave generator for routing microwaves to the cooking chamber, a temperature-determining apparatus for determining a temperature of the microwave generator, a microwave distribution device designed to change a field distribution in the cooking chamber during a microwave treatment operation, and a control device designed to control the microwave treatment operation as a function of the temperature of the microwave generator effected by a change in the field distribution.

In a method for detecting a standstill of a rotatable microwave distribution apparatus of a household microwave appliance, while microwaves are being supplied into a cooking compartment of the household microwave appliance, a microwave leakage radiation for angle-dependent recurring fluctuations is monitored and an action in the absence of such fluctuations being detected.

A microwave oven includes a muffle that includes a plurality of walls and defines an internal cavity for housing food, a radiofrequency supplying assembly that is configured to generate and propagate radiofrequency waves into the internal cavity via an access opening provided on one of the plurality of walls of the muffle, and a mounting flange arranged on an outer side of the muffle in correspondence to the access opening and configured to establish a coupling with the waveguide of the radiofrequency supplying assembly. The radiofrequency supplying assembly includes a radiofrequency generator, and a waveguide coupled to the radiofrequency generator and configured to guide the radiofrequency waves from the radiofrequency generator to the internal cavity.

A cooking device may include a cooking cavity configured to heat food using microwave, infrared and/or other energy. A mode stirrer may be provided to adjust directions in which microwave energy is introduced into the cooking cavity through a port, and the mode stirrer and/or a motor or other drive for the mode stirrer may be positioned outside of the waveguide. A food holder may be configured with openings size, shaped and/or otherwise configured to attenuate, transmit or otherwise effect microwave energy with respect to a food item. One or more cooking racks or other food holders may be held in a space below the cooking cavity by one or more feet that support the cooking device.

A microwave oven includes a chamber (6) for receiving foodstuff. A microwave generator (20) feeds microwave radiation to the chamber (6) via a recess (14). A stirring wheel (24) is arranged in recess (14) for homogeneously distributing the microwave field in the chamber (6). A light source (28) is provided for illuminating the chamber (6). Its light passes through a light guide (30) extending through the recess (14) past stirrer wheel (24), thereby preventing the stirrer wheel (24) from affecting the illumination.