Toaster Oven Thread ... what's on your counter?

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Always like the Panasonic Flash Xpress oven, but the price has always put me off.

As an aside, I've made a number of TV dinners successfully in my Cuisnart. I'm not at all sure why so many TV dinner instructions say not to use a toaster oven. For a Swanson's Hungry Man Chicken dinner, microwave usually falls short; a toaster oven of sufficient size and quality does a much better job.

Also use the toaster oven for smallish stuff like hor d'oeuvres.

Another aside: I give extra points for toaster ovens with interior lights. The spare Oster has one, I just prefer the Cuisinart for the way it cooks. I see that the Flash Xpress has a "Light" button which I'm assuming is for an interior light as well.

Final question: Are there any toaster ovens with real insulation? Although they can be more energy efficient than a range or wall oven, seems to me they'd be even better with some fiberglass stuffed between the walls. And they'd heat up a kitchen less on a hot summer night.
 
Mmmm. Nothing like a plastic fire to add that 21st century smoke flavor...

No, really, never had a problem putting a TV dinner in plastic tray in the Cuisinart or Oster. But then these are larger cavities than the older designs pictured in this thread, or even the B&D's that are still probably sold. I think I also use the convection mode, which allows for lower overall temps.

Now I'm craving some of that nasty Swanson's "fried" chicken, LOL.
 
Ge Toaster Ovens

Have always been good performers.

 

Be careful however with the design at the top of this thread [ I would always unplug it when it is not being used ] we had a customer that got a whole new kitchen from the fire that started from something placed on the counter that held the start lever down. They had brought a lot of food etc home and placed them on the counter and went over to a neighbors house and saw the blase from the neighbors in their kitchen and hour or so later.

 

You will notice that the GE TRO that Paul C has , has the safer start button that is s rounded by a plastic frame so it can not be pushed by something falling against it. Our customers insurance company found out GE had had many fires with the earlier design.
 
I've never heard of a GE Versatronic.. handsome-looking little toaster oven.

Paul/PhilR/Whiskybil/Louie..and others.. I do like your toaster ovens. Have a feeling I might be looking at more toaster ovens after seeing these other units. We almost bought a Breville, convection oven. It has great reviews.

I would love an interior light feature... you don't see that too often. If you are asking for insulation I'm sure it would add a big premium. That's one to research.

Combo52... thanks for the tip, John. Fortunately nothing like that would ever happen but it's good to know. I always unplug the appliances except for the microwave. That includes my recent Whirlpool Calypso washer(not dryer). When I lived alone many moons and comet visits ago, I unplugged every single appliance. I had a buddy in California whose dad was a fireman. He told me a story and suggested that the safest thing to do is unplug everything when I leave the apartment everyday. Then he laughed and said,"Yeah...but how many people wiil do that?" I did, even before he told me. It was just an efficiency apartment- not a problem. Well someone else could cause a fire for sure.

It seems the aluminum cover on TV dinners has gone away? I haven't bought TV dinners for myself in a long long time. So I don't know. But surely if it was not flameproof, why would you want to start a Weenie Roast bonfire? LOL

I'm enjoying the thread ..thank you guys!
 
My daily driver...

 

 

 

 

Circa 1984 Toastmaster System 4 Toaster-Slow Cooker (Dehydrator)-Convection Oven. MOD. 7060A, 1320 Watts. My folks had one of these. Lasted for decades until the timer failed. I got this one 6 months ago while thrifting. I was lucky it came with the paperwork. I have the manual/recipe booklet as well. The door is easily lifted off for cleaning. It's also insulated, but the door is not of course. I'm not sure the pans and handle are original though, but glad I have them.











 
Totino Pizza Rolls

I had never tried these things, and had little intention, but SNL kept on running these fake commercials for them so I figured sooner or later I'd try one. Sure enough, as I cruised Costco after work today, I noticed the usual mass quantities cheap display now included industrial quantities of Totinos.

What the hell, I thought. Nothing to lose here.

So after enduring the checkout line replete with certified idiots, I got home and one of the first things I did, (the cat came first, he's a deaf Siamese and VERY loud when he wants his dinner), was to crank up the Cuisinart toaster oven and pop in a tray full of TPR's.

First impression: the cooking instructions are defective. I cranked up the oven to 450F as commanded, and let the rolls bake for a full 13 minutes. I should have known to pull them out when I first detected a not unpleasant pizza aroma. But there were still 7 minutes left! When the timer beeped the rolls had almost all barfed their contents onto the oven tray. What was left was overly browned puffed up shells with a smidgeon of pizza filling still inside.

But of course I ate them ALL anyway.

Not to be dissuaded, I washed off the pizza sauce decorated tray and fired up the oven again. Why not? It's a mission from God.

On the retry, after having to scour the tray with steel wool (Thankfully it's a stainless steel tray), set the temp for a more sedate 375 and the timer for 10 minutes.

At 10 minutes I could see some sauce was coloring the outside of some of the rolls, and they all looked very lightly browned, so I terminated the experiment and set them to cool. Word to the wise: Totino says wait 2 minutes. One needs to wait more like 5 minutes, maybe ten, or the filling will burn the mouth.

At the much lower temp and time, the rolls were pleasant. Not as crispy as with the 450/13 minute run, but quite nice. There was a bit of crunch imparted by the obvious addition of semolina flour to the roll wrapping.

Next time (not tonight, I'm quite full) I'll try 400F and 10 minutes. There will probably be a happy medium.

And so it goes.
 
GE Versatron

I LOVE this thread! I actually was about to make a toaster oven thread, and am glad that there is one already!

Our GE Versatron is one of our favorite small appliances. Picked it up for a song at an estate sale years ago, and it's really one of the hardest working gadgets in our arsenal. It bakes, broils, toasts, and we use it every single day. We call it our "microwave"! I need to look up and see what year it's from. It's just a wonderful thing.

It doesn't seem to require much maintenance, either -- just clean the glass, and wipe down the bottom, which actually is a constant battle because crumbs do seem to collect there frequently. Do these things need any other kind of upkeep or preventative maintenance?

moderncleveland-2023030615294105033_1.jpg
 
Just checked my toaster oven inventory.

 

The big Oster is still in the main kitchen. The Cuisinart is in the patio kitchen. Haven't used either in years. Part of the reason is the skyrocketing cost of electricity in California. And that I'm now on a special reduced rate outside of 4 pm and 9 pm every day (significantly higher rate between 4 pm and 9 pm). Which are usually the times when I'd use an electric toaster oven.

 

It is what it is.

 
 
Whatever happened to the Toast-R-Oven trademark?

Black + Decker inherited it from GE. Years later, GE licensed Walmart to sell small appliances under the GE name. Most recently, Haier brought back GE small appliances. No one’s selling a Toast-R-Oven.

Just toaster ovens.
 
My T95 purchased in '74 or 75 died last year, still looking like new. Suddenly the switch would not turn it on. After looking over the newest offerings, I found a T94 on ebay that was new in the box. It works OK, but I still miss my 45 year old model.
 
This is a fascinating thread. To my knowledge, and I’ll happily be corrected these have never even existed in the UK yet seem almost ubiquitous in the US. How do they compare to using a pop up toaster? To my mind that would be simpler and faster. I’m wondering if their popularity in the US is due to your ovens often being larger than ours, making it useful to have a tiny oven for small jobs. It’s incredibly rare in Europe to encounter an oven wider than 24” which is our standard size. We did in the 80s have “table-top ovens” which looked very similar to toaster ovens but as far as I know never had the toast function, and they never really took off. I’d love to hear your thoughts on their usefulness and why they never arrived here.
 
Paul. The reasons I believe they were basically unheard of in the UK back in the day (50's thru 70s) is that, for starters, disposable income in the US & Canada was higher and there was a lot of competition amongst the manufacturers. Not to mention the prices for these small countertop appliances was a lot less because of it I wouldn't say it had a lot to do with the presumption that most US houses had huge kitchens and counter space because the reality of many houses in the US (and Canada as well) don't always have these grandiose big kitchens and still don't. They were though what you call fully fitted with cupboards etc often to the point of not having a lot of counterspace left for the plethora of small appliances at the time.
As for the classic toaster oven they never toasted bread as fast or as evenly as even as many cheapest two slice pop up toasters could do, but the fact that they could toast just about anything, make melted sandwiches, maybe a couple of baked potatoes etc was a big selling point for them.
 
 
My GE of Reply #26 failed (bad thermostat) and was replaced several years ago with a Breville that I use often for (baking) anything that fits into it.  The very nice included baking pan is dark porcelain which overbrowns the bottom of baked items so I routinely use a (smaller) aluminum pan from the GE, or other aluminum pans (or glass).

Toaster ovens are slower and less efficient for toasting than are dedicated slot toasters which have the heating elements closer to the food and typically better designed for it.

dadoes-2023030814393505289_1.jpg
 
Black & Decker TRO series

I'm surprised no one has posted pictures of the humble Black & Decker Spacemaker Toast-R-Oven. The simple ones with the two dials and one lever are amazing little ovens. We have had one on our counter for years, and I've sold a pile of them on eBay over the years. I poached the picture because mine is really homely--a $5 junk sale purchase with rusted paint, etc. Works great though.

Sarah

sarahperdue-2023031712070301195_1.jpg
 
Neat thread!
We have a simple Toastmaster unit, probably from the 1990s. It was a gift from my mom, when I set up my first home away from home.
When I got married, we used it a lot. Essentially, it was our oven; since we were both a little hesitant to use the antique Glenwood that was in the apartment.
I haven't seen or used the toaster oven since we bought our house, about a dozen years ago.
I'm pretty sure it's a sort of almond color.
Actually, we left it in the apartment, because my sister was supposed to have moved in when we moved out, and we thought she'd use it. She never ended up moving in there.
I'm supposed to be visiting family this evening, downstairs in that same house. I think I might just take a walk up to third floor and grab the toaster oven! This thread has me missing it!

Barry

P.S.
I love the looks of some of those GE units![this post was last edited: 3/17/2023-15:29]
 
A portable oven is the only one I would have because it can be easily moved, they are cheap, they are easy to fix, and easier to clean.

Whether a basic oven or my electronic air fry oven, I almost always take it outside to the patio area when in use. That way all the heat, oil mist, humidity, smoke, and smells just float away. Can't do that with a built in oven or even a freestanding.

I made chicken yesterday in the air fryer oven and though it smelled good when cooking, I don't want it in the house. I mean you get some cooked food smell in the house when you bring it in, but it's not over whelming. It's the same affect as when cooking outside on a grill and bring the food in.

My current basic toaster oven is a Hamilton Beach mdl 31407 that is 1300 watts and I got it at a charity thrift store in 2019 for $10. It has the bubble out the back so one can put a full size pizza in it. It looked like it had been used once and was nothing more a gift someone got and never used. It was like new and that's the only way I would buy it. Haven't had any problems with it. I made a pumpkin pie in it a month ago. Turned out perfect.

bradfordwhite-2023031716582103773_1.jpg
 
I guess, after not seeing it for so long, I was "misremembering" what I had.
Turns out, I think you'd call it more of a broiler oven than a toaster oven.
And, I'm ashamed of how dirty I let it get, back when we were using it regularly.

justjunque-2023031721210305198_1.jpg

justjunque-2023031721210305198_2.jpg
 

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