So After about 20 years my toaster started sparking and arcing when I went to make toast for my eggs this morning. I decided I probably don’t want to toast my future sourdough by setting the kitchen on fire.
However the last time I went shopping for toasters 12 years ago I didn’t do a whole lot of feature comparison, is was more of a , “Hey Mom wants a new toaster, do you want the old one, or should I throw it out?”
All I really want is something that will make proper number 3 toast and number 2.5 bagels. I live alone so I don’t need a brigade’s worth of toast at any one time But are all these microchips, integrated advanced quantum toastatilating models worth it? has anybody had their quality of life improved by their toaster purchase? I also couldn’t give a crap about style, it could be painted in lime green turds for all I care if it makes good toast.
I’ll second DCnDC’s comment. I grew up with slot toasters and never understood what the need was for a giant toaster oven. When our last slot toaster died, I’d found a great deal on a toaster/convection oven. I absolutely love it! Not only does it suitably toast (and hold the toast warm if I don’t jump right on finished toast), it takes the place of my microwave for so many things that need reheating. It evaporates moisture resulting in crispier day-old pizza and breakfast sausage. It uses less energy and radiates less heat to the kitchen than my full size oven does, so I use it to cook potatoes, broil meat, bake chicken, make cookies and garlic bread. For simple toasting, you never have to worry about the size of your bread: so thick, crumbly sweet bread or elongated oval sourdough finger slices for bruschetta (of which I can toast a dozen pieces all at once) are no problem whatsoever.
Honestly, I kind of kicked myself for not getting one sooner once I realized how useful toaster ovens are. I haven’t really figured out how to use the convection part of the oven properly, so I don’t feel its as necessary as the regular baking, broiling, and toasting functions.
FWIW, my last slot toaster was a nice looking T-Fal wide-slot toaster that had a very short life-span (as toasters go). So, I wouldn’t recommend *that *one.
ETA: I see my old slot toaster is on DCnDC’s link under “Don’t Bother”. I concur.
I had on of those. It was possibly the slowest toaster ever made. I finally junked it (while still working, slowly) and got a cheap generic. Not perfect, but a lot better than the T-Fal.
IMHO, the science of decent toaster design is still in its infancy.
I have anAroma Prestige 4-slice toaster that does the job very well. Toast, bagel, defrost and warm functions. Pretty sure they make a 2-slicer, also. No electronic pads, which is a plus. Easy to clean.
I have a different T-Fal toaster that I like. I almost exclusively use it for very big bagels, and they fit nicely. I’ve had it for a couple of years, and it is still going strong. I stayed in a B&B in Nova Scotia a couple of years ago, and they had the four slice version. I figure the B&B gets a lot more use out of a toaster than I do, so I assume that it is durable.
I purchased the Breville Die-Cast Smart Toaster about 3 years ago. Reluctantly, because it was $130. But I’m happy to report that after 3 years, buyer’s remorse has not set in. I’m very happy with it. It has a bagel button, “a bit more” button (which lowers the toast down for another 20 seconds or so). And even though the outside is brushed stainless, it somehow manages to stay cool.
Previous $49 toasters I’ve had all have broken down within 12-18 months.
Throwing in another vote for a toaster oven. Ours is an ancient 80s model my husband picked up off a curb, so you don’t even need a fancy one. It’s so versatile… for all the reasons listed above.
My old toaster died a while back and I had been living without a toaster of any kind. On the relatively rare occasions I wanted toast, I would put the bread on the lowest rack of my oven and set it to 500 for a few minutes. That was a pain, but it worked well enough. (besides, I kind of liked it toasted on only one side)
Anyway, I was at Walmart a couple of weeks ago and an endcap display of Rival brand toasters caught my attention with the price of $6.97!
How the hell can someone making toast in the oven turn down a friggin’ toaster for $7? So of course, I got one. We’ll see how long it lasts…