Modern toaster ovens

[maytagbear]

I know, I know, but this was asked of me by one of my best friends....his wife wants a new toaster oven, and she wants an undercabinet/spacesaver one.

I told him to take a gander at blackanddecker, but when I did, it seems that they got out of that end of the business, even with shields, so I emailed him back immediately, and I said that I would ask you dear people.

Are there any still made, or were they all too firehazard-y?

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[rp2813]

I had no idea B&D had stopped with the space saver stuff. Your friend's choices could be limited if they want this type of arrangement. If they can consider other types, then the main thing is to see what type of heating elements the oven uses and how quickly they respond. My partner recently bought a rather large counter top model made by Villa-Ware and it's slow as molasses with toast, taking about 8 minutes to do a couple of slices from a cold start. This is due to the heating rods being your standard oven type--and they never turn red even when you have that thing set to 400 degrees. I had issues with the primitive and cumbersome touch pad from the beginning and now he's realizing that we hardly use this thing that he considered a must-have item. Sigh, such a common situation with him. I've dusted off the old automatic lowering Sunbeam toaster for the time being, but that one is limited to your basic sandwich sized bread so as much as I like the way it toasts, its services are only being provided on a temporary basis, I'm afraid. He's already eyeing toasters in the tons of advertising that's accompanying nearly every issue of the daily paper this time of year.

I'd tell your friends to make sure the heating elements on whatever they buy are the type that are fairly instant-on. And they shouldn't expect decent toast from ANY model they buy--that has been my experience.

 

[retro-man]

black and decker toaster under cabinet

I believe they stopped making these back a few years ago because of the fire hazard they produced. Even with the shields if a fire started in it the flames would lick the front of the cabinets and there goes the kitchen. They still make several different brands that sit on the counter or get put back in the closet after using. I have seen them in Sears Essential and Wallmart and I think Home Depot is carrying them now.
Jon

 

[petek]

I don't think I've seen any under counter models for awhile. The trouble with toaster ovens is that none of them actually make toast very well or they're very slow. The absolute best toaster oven there is, that actually outperforms any regular toaster for making simple toast in both speed and eveness of toasting bread is the Panasonic Flash Express toaster oven. It uses two different type infrared lights on top and one on the bottom. I bought my mom one about a year ago now when the Philips I'd bought her about 10 years ago was going wonky. She's always commenting how fast it is and she uses it all the time instead of her pop up toaster. Wasn't cheap and I think they've discontinued them but they're still available on-line and in some stores for around $70, half the price they were last year.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NB-G100P-S-7-2-Quart-Express-Infrared/dp/B0002I40GU

 

[maytagbear]

I know, I know.

I don't particularly care for them either, I think they are only average at baking, and less than average at toasting, but when baking just a potato or two....

Furthermore, it's not for me, but for my friend's wife.

Thank you all, again.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[drhardee]

I had (truly) one of the LAST undercounter B+D Spacemaker Toaster Ovens. I bought it about 2 years ago from B+D.com, and then the woman was reluctant to sell it to me, as the recall was about to begin. 6 months later, I get a letter from B+D.com, asking me to call a toll free number and send them the cut-off plug from the thing which they would trade for a new on-counter model. I did, and so did they. It doesn't make toast well, but it is a handy small oven. I use my Sunbeam T-35 for great self-lowering toast every time!

Home Page

 

[dalangdon]

I have a Sunbeam self-lowering toaster that I love, but I got tired of not being able to do bagels in it. So I picked up a Toastmaster toaster oven at a Rite-Aid that was going out of business.

What a hunk of junk. It blows the circuit breaker when you use it for more than a couple of minutes, and gets hot as hell on the top and sides.

Back to the Sunbeam for us. We just won't do bagels ;-)

 

[supersuds]

I can't tell you what to get, but avoid the GE-branded toasterovens at Walmart. AWFUL toasting, clunky, sticky doors, cheap timers.

I wonder if some of the fancy branded ones at Bed Bath and Beyond would be any better. I think they had T-fal and DeLonghi (not sure about the spelling.)

They're all probably made at the same Chinese factory, though.

 

[panthera]

Get

A convection unit in any case. They are the only ones which actually bake very well. The halogen/convections (unfortunately from GE) are very speedy and bake evenly...but I hesitate to recommend anything more complex than a light-bulb from that company.
The "Europro" convection oven I got my folks two years ago did an outstanding job at grilling and baking with convection, was brilliant at toast...BUT...it took eleven (11!!!) minutes from cold to do the toast. Perfect, evenly browned, not dry...but 11 minutes??? I mean, that is maybe ok if you are making 40 slices or something...
I would never trust an undercounter anything which uses heating elements. Cupboards are wood covered in flammable paint and, frequently, grease...
Oh, Lawrence, I'm speakable again from Wednesday on.

 

[maytagbear]

Again...

it is not for me, ok?

Get 4 of us in a room together, and there are 1590 opinions

I only use my toaster oven for things that aren't nicely done in the Radarange...like a baked potato.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[washernut]

Oster

I've had an Oster digital toaster oven that has been to hell and back and still works great. Great for broiling a steak or a couple burgers. It does toast but it ain't pretty. Took it with me to Charleston when I lived in a hotel for a year with only a 2 burner cooktop and an over the range microwave for a kitchenette. The partner decided he would bake a cake in it and put a whole boxed cake mix in one half size pan. Yikes what a mess! The cake rose right up through the top rack and baked onto it. So, I just shaved the top off the cake and frosted it and told him he did a wonderful job...lol.

 

[sudsmaster]

I gave away my Oster analog toaster oven last year. The timer had stopped working. It didn't do toast well at all; I used it for a while for (yikes) cooking certain TV dinners like Swanson's fried chicken (which simply don't microwave well). But when the timer went out I realized that for longer baking sessions, the 24 inch GE P-7 wall oven doesn't use that much more energy than the toaster oven, plus it regulates temperature better and is better insulated so it probably doesn't heat up the kitchen as much. For toast I use a KA long single slot affair. It does as well as most of them. I also have an Arize toaster, but it's back in the box... mostly for entertainment value. Plus a couple of vintage toasters, but those are for display.

 

[petek]

Suds, did your Arize toaster ever set the bread on fire? LOL I bought one for the novelty factor alone but it's downright dangerous. I can't believe they were never recalled.

 

[sudsmaster]

I don't think I've used the Arize enough to have a major conflagration, but I think once the bread got twisted in the thing (my error) and it did start to smoke a bit. It's a little disconcerting because it's not obvious how to shut the thing off and get the bread back up. It's been in the box for at least a couple of years now so my memory is a bit hazy of its actual peculiarities. It is however very entertaining. I suppose there were a lot of complaints/returns about it, because I picked mine up at Safeway for $15, new. I think they went for well over $50 new when they first came out. I think they are definitely potential collectors' items.

 

[petek]

I think so too. I got mine NIB at Linen & Things or somesuch similar place for about $15 as well. I'll grab another if I find one at that price and keep it minty fresh. But yes they do catch the bread on fire. I had it happen each and every time I tried it with bread I had sliced myself that wasn't as thin as Wonder. I looked on the web and saw that alot of other people had had the same thing happening.

 

[xyz]

Me and my wife bought a GE toaster oven with the rotisori or however you spell it, from Wal-Mart last year about this time. We have enjoyed it. I never thought by looking at it in the store that it would be so poorly insulated. I mean that this thing is a fire waiting to happen. I can always assume that an oven will be hot to the tough but this thing has zero insulation at it's sides and top.

 

[xyz]

Me and my wife bought a GE toaster oven with the rotisori or however you spell it, from Wal-Mart last year about this time. We have enjoyed it. I never thought by looking at it in the store that it would be so poorly insulated. I mean that this thing is a fire waiting to happen. I can always assume that an oven will be hot to the tough but this thing has zero insulation at it's sides and top.

 

[oxydolfan1]

I hate my GE toaster oven from WalMart (I have the big one with the slanted front and the electronic controls)...

Under-the-counter toasters (and coffeemakers, for that matter) are no longer available in my area.

Before the GE, I had a DeLonghi counter model that worked far better than this one does, and had simpler but far more intuitive controls.

 

[sudsmaster]

Costco is having one of their coupon specials on the Oster convective oven with electronic controls. I might get one, although as I've said earlier, I got a little disillusioned with the last Oster analog control non-convective oven (it leaked a lot of heat, the timer failed). Perhaps the electronic controls will last longer than the windup timer did.