February 23, 2007
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Is there a particular kitchen small appliance that you've had a hard time finding one to suit you?
For me, it's toasters.
For more years than I care to think about, I've been on the search for a reliable toaster that toasts the way I want it to. Two slice toasters, four slice toasters, a couple of toaster-ovens....it's silly.
My most recent (as of maybe one to two years ago) acquisition was a pretty nice toaster-oven than has two racks and a rotisserie function. I've never gotten around to using the latter, though I'm intending to one of these days, but it's a dandy oven and a crackerjack broiler. It's baked pies, cookies, biscuits, casseroles, meat loaves, and broiled chops and burgers.
Sad to say, it's a total loss as a toaster, so I finally threw in the towel and picked up yet another toaster at Target on Monday.
Don't much like this one, either, though admittedly it does a far superior job than the toaster-oven, but then laying bread on the sidewalk and waiting for the sun to toast it would probably do a better job, so that's not much of a recommendation. This one's a nuisance to get started - I have to click the "bagel" button and the "frozen" button then click the "toast" button (which is the default function, only it doesn't seem to work that way) to get the thing to work. When it does, it doesn't toast evenly, but one edge will be much browner than the rest of the item (bread or Pop-Tart, so far).
This is just dumb. How can it be so dang difficult to find a decent TOASTER?
Comments (7)
You ask way too much out of life, Anne. All technology is being put into cell phones. Just wait and soon enough there will come a cell phone that also toasts bread just the way you like it.
I wonder if you have the same toaster I do? When I push my lever down, there is one button lit (the toast button I believe). I then usually press the Defrost button, since I toast frozen waffles every morning. My biggest gripe for my toaster is that while it has a bagel button, the slots aren't really wide enough. I do agree though, toaster ovens are worthless as far as toasting goes. Here's what I use the toast feature for: When I make cookies, I freeze them. Then when I want one, I put it on a piece of foil in the toaster oven and press Toast. The cookie turns out like it is fresh from the oven. Yum!
I actually recently started shopping for a toaster myself and went to Consumer Reports.com. I found that I didn't like any of the toasters and found a great toaster oven on Amazon.com that has just come out. It is a little hefty in the price and I will have to wait to purchase it, but I love the features and it is rated at toasting as well as a toaster. Consumer Reports has an entire article on which features are better and which to skip. Check it out.
Oh, Mo-om!
She's the Consumer Reportsmeister in the family.
Do you have the issue regarding toasters?
I only paid $20 for this one, so it's not as if I'm heavily invested in it or anything.
my goodness gracious. My toaster cost about $20.00 at...where DID I buy that thing? Albertson's? in the kitchen gadget aisle? It has slots that accomodate bread, waffles or bagels. It has a knob that toasts from #1 through #6, and #4.5 is about my favorite, making the bread crispy and deep brown, hot enough to melt or soften whatever spread I'm using. The kids use smaller numbers, in order to thaw, or just make warm whatever it is that they are toasting. It has a button that I can push if I want to pop the toast earlier than the toaster wants to, and it has a plastic "keep cool" cover.
perfect!
What I'm having a hard time finding is a decent hand mixer and a blender. ugh.
Who's the manufacturer of your toaster, Heidi?
And what's hard about a hand mixer? I mean, it's got beaters, push a button and presumably they beat.
That's what I mean, though...it's odd how one person has a hard time finding this small kitchen appliance while another person has a hard time finding that small kitchen appliance.
Heidi, I've heard the KitchenAid hand mixer is a very good one. I've never had a hand mixer myself, though.
Blenders I know nothing about -- I've never owned one.
I've been happy with my B&D six slice toaster oven that I've had for a couple of years. Of course, I don't think I'm as particular as you are about toast, because I've never noticed "good toasting" vs. "bad toasting." I do know the that I like this one better than any of the just plain toasters I've had though -- the just plain toasters always seemed to wear out or break quickly for me. I never use it for "baking" bread-type goods or casseroles though I do use it for heating up frozen mini-pizzas, broiling hot dogs, stuff like that. The heaviest use it actually gets is my kids' endless Sculpey baking.
If you're looking for something that toasts fairly evenly, though, I think you'd be happy with mine.
I've looked around a bit, though, and I can't seem to find just that model. There are similar ones that are four slice models, but I know mine's a six.
http://www.blackanddeckerappliances.com/product-178.html
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