Operating a household microwave appliance

A method for operating a household microwave appliance, said method comprising:

• loading a cooking compartment with food to be cooked;
• performing an initial scan by supplying microwaves into the cooking compartment using at least two different parameter configurations set in a control apparatus, with the food treatable differently in a localized manner using the microwaves having the at least two different parameter configurations, measuring with a thermal imaging sensor temperature distributions associated with the at least two different parameter configurations on a surface of the food, and determining heating patterns from differences of the temperature distributions, and following the initial scan
• (a) setting at least one target temperature distribution for the food, based on a standardized target state and a prevailing temperature distribution;
• (b) determining, based on the prevailing temperature distribution, a most suitable heating pattern for achieving the at least one target temperature distribution;
• (c) applying to the food microwaves having a sequence of the at least two different parameter configurations associated with the most suitable heating pattern;
• and
• (d) determining as a new prevailing temperature distribution the previously prevailing temperature distribution in addition to the most suitable heating pattern.