I try to be open-minded when I taste-test a new fast-food product, but admittedly I approached DiGiorno’s Microwave Pizza with a scrunched nose. Microwaveable … frozen … pizzafi Yuck. Frozen pizzas aren’t tops on my list. And microwave ovens wreck pizza. That’s two strikes against DiGiorno before it even steps up to the plate.

DiGiorno was the first to make a rising-dough frozen pizza for the oven, back in 1995. And it was good — surprisingly good. Freschetta followed with its own rising-dough pizza in 1996.

But microwave pizzafi That remained the elephant burial ground for pizza. Microwaves and pizza just couldn’t click. Oh sure, I’d nuke some leftover pizza the next morning, but it always came out soggy and tougher than a dog’s chew toy. We’ve all been there, done that.

Now, here comes DiGiorno, leading the pizza pack again, promising “oven-baked taste” from the microwave in only five minutes. Right away, I’m thinking that’s a dumb promise to make. If DiGiorno can offer a microwave pizza with true oven-baked taste, why waste your time with a regular DiGiorno pizza, which takes a whole 15 minutes to bakefi This is pizza for people who stand in front of a microwave oven and yell “Hurry up!”

Here’s the blueprint for a Supreme DiGiorno Microwave Pizza: pepperoni, Italian sausage, hamburger, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and spices on a rising crust.

Calories (for 1/4 of a pizza): 410. Fat grams: 18. Dietary fiber: 2 grams. Carbs: 44 grams. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (for the whole pizza): $3.49.

Never mind this one-quarter-of-a-pizza nonsense. The whole pizza is about 7 inches across and weighs only 9.9 ounces. In other words: serves one. So, multiply the calories, carbs and fat by four for a true nutritional guide. This isn’t Atkins, this isn’t South Beach, this isn’t Weight Watchers. Unless you want to watch your weight going up.

DiGiorno Microwave Pizza also comes in Pepperoni, Four Cheese (asiago, Parmesan, Romano and mozzarella) and Three Meat (pepperoni, sausage and hamburger) varieties.

When it comes to pizza, my favorite is from an independent, local pizza joint owned by some guy named Louie. Then come the chains like Pizza Hut and Domino’s. Then rising-crust frozen pizzas by DiGiorno and Freschetta. Then regular frozen pizzas by Tombstone and Red Baron, etc.

Then comes school lunch pizza. And even below that … microwave pizza.

Until now. I was surprised — no, stunned — by DiGiorno Microwave Pizza. The crust did billow, and it got a toasty golden brown. The cheese bubbled, and the meat got crispy around the edges.

The secret is a unique crisping ring and cooking tray, similar to the foil-lined sleeves that make Hot Pockets so crunchy. It’s better to cook this pizza in a microwave oven equipped with a spinning carousel dish. That way, the cheese melts evenly and the crust doesn’t get lopsided.

Alas, DiGiorno has created a perfectly fine, totally acceptable pizza from a microwave in only five minutes. If you listen real closely, you can hear the research-and-development geniuses at Freschetta getting a tongue-lashing from Mr. Freschetta.

Microwave pizza presents a whole new problem in my life, though: What am I going to do with those extra 10 minutesfi

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.