We have the Hamilton Beach Proctor Silex 31115 (older version of the current 31117) toaster oven. We use it for toast, heating up frozen french fries (the key is to defrost them first in the microwave), and reheating pizza and any other small servings of things we don't want to microwave. We don't do that much broiling and have never used it for that.

It isn't as good at toast as the one we had (I can't remember the brand) a long time ago (two toaster ovens ago) that had a separate lever for doing toast. You are using the timer and it just doesn't seem to have the same adjustability as the old one. If you want perfect toast, you end up getting most of the way there on the first timer setting and then setting/starting it again for a little bit more. We keep our toast in the freezer and put it right into the toaster oven so if you don't have frozen bread, your experience might be better.

I like the model you picked better than ours. The roll up door is a huge improvement over the type we have (fold down). Our door isn't spring loaded (tends to flop right down when you open it) and the glass gets super hot. Our kids use oven mitts when using it.

Having said all that, when we remodel our kitchen next year and install a microwave/convection oven combo (not Advantium), we will probably ditch the toaster oven, buy a regular toaster, and just use the convection feature of the microwave/combo to reheat things.

Hope that helps,
Ken___

There have been a lot of discussions about toaster ovens, but the Gardenweb search function just brings in too man irrelevant links, so it's pretty worthless to do such a search. A lot of us have them.

Here's a link

I have the Cuisinart, mine is white, and I'm very pleased with it.

I wouldn't be without a toaster oven. A good one is fast to preheat, much more energy efficient than the oven for smaller jobs and doesn't heat up the kitchen in the summer. I've linked to a good thread from the kitchen forum for you. I still have my old Black & Decker which is getting the job done for me, but down the road I'm keen on trying one one of the "sexier" (read the thread) models others have posted about.

Here is a link that might be useful: Toaster oven link

We use our toaster oven just about every day. I like it much more than a pop-up toaster. I doubt I'll ever use it to broil, though.

Thanks everyone. I checked out the first link given by momj47 and now I am going to check the link from chefkev. I am leaning towards the Hamilton Beach/PS of which Ken has the older version,or the Black & Decker, because of the size. As long as it makes toast and heats left over pizza etc. that will be good enough. I want small but good at making toast. I have 2 convection ovens available so I only need a toaster oven for quick heat ups and toast. Anything else will be a bonus. The toaster we have now has a long slots for two slices of bread or a sliced bagel, but it does not push the bread above the slot and our toast needs to be retrieved with a fork if we do not want to burn our fingers. I have looked at reviews of toasters, but the toaster oven seems more versatile.

Thanks again. Jane

PS: Chipshot, would you mind telling us what toaster oven you have?

We use our toaster oven every day. We don't have a regular toaster.

We use it for heating frozen waffles, toasting pinenuts, cooking frozen sweet potato fries, making toast, cooking frozen viccolo pizzas, etc.

Ours is a DeLonghi.

It's a six-slice Oster, Jane. I think Oster is one of Sunbeam's brands.

A warning to toaster oven owners about power cord management: the exterior of most toaster ovens can get very hot and can melt the unit's power cord (or anything else) that comes into contact with it.

Who leaves their toaster oven plugged in all the time? My mother unplugs hers, but over time that seems to cause cord/plug failures.

We went thru the same problem. We found a stainless basic toaster oven from Black and Decker. I think it was around $30 from Target.
http://www.blackanddeckerappliances.com/product-322.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Classic Toaster Oven

We recently looked for quite a while for a toaster oven. We wanted it to cook a 12" pizza and although many claim to, when you measure the internal dimensions, they vary a lot. We ended up going with this model

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374303523081&bmUID=1226157972390&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443300651&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true

It has convection, though the fan is really small. It's got two racks which is great. It also has a crumb tray that slides out the front. My only complaint is that there is no light...it's so big and deep that it's hard to see exact state of whatever you're cooking towards the back of the oven.

I would recommend it...especially if you get it for $50 CDN on sale which we did.

Nathan

We have an old black & Decker toaster oven to toast bread/bagel, reheat left over pizza slices and cook frozen hot wings. Very convenient to use instead of firing up the big oven. Now that we remodeling our kitchen, the black and white toaster oven won't do anymore. Like you Janepa, I'm looking for a small toaster oven (around $30-40) in stainless steel that won't cover up the granite counter :). Thanks to djlandkpl, will have to look at the B&D SS one at Target. We were just there tonight, but were in a hurry I must have missed it.

The Cuisinart that momj47 mentioned has the best reviews from the research I've done. I have a Delonghi and I HATE the design (however it does work). You have to push too many buttons just to make toast and the oven is even worse. I've got to replace it soon before I throw it out the window. This Delonghi is not longhi for the world.

My toaster oven is 13 years old and I use it all the time. Some features that I like:
- oven turns off when the door is open (safety feature)
- door can be easily removed for cleaning (most are hinged and attached)
- rack & crumb catcher also remove easily for cleaning

I didn't realize how easy mine was to clean until I tried cleaning my mother's fire hazard. She was using it and you could just smell the crumbs burning. I couldn't get the thing apart to clean. I couldn't get the door off. The best I could do was stand over the garbage and whack it until most of the crumbs came out. It had a tray to catch crumbs, but that didn't come out either! Good Luck.

I ditched my regular toaster years ago and use my toaster oven frequently. I think it is a very valuable small kitchen appliance!

I love toaster ovens but we seem to kill them pretty regularly. I am particularly fond of the Panasonic. It's pleasantly square and doesn't have a big footprint.

I also have the Cuisinart, my model is linked below. I love it and even used it to finish browning a blueberry pie! Very roomy and it toasts great. The convection feature isn't really "true" convection, but you can cook up some chicken nuggets at 25 degrees lower temp and a bit faster - beats heating up an entire full-sized oven. I use it constantly.

A good reason to buy from Chef's Catalog is that they unconditionally guarantee satisfaction on everything they sell. The handle on my original toaster oven slid off (the glue stopped holding after several years) and they replaced it with the newer model below at zero cost to me! I was amazed!

It could be the last toaster oven you'll ever pay for! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Chef's Catalog link to toaster oven

I have a Krups toaster oven. I paid $200 USD from William Sanoma in the US. In Canada it was $300. I bought the white faced one which was supposedly a William Sanoma exclusive. I do not think they carry it anymore. It also comes in black and seems to be available more places and I have seen better prices too. I like it, but if I was buying a new one today, I think I would look at the Waring Pro.

Here is a link that might be useful: Krups toaster oven

I hope I'm not too late in responding. (I'm new to this forum.) I have the same Cuisinart toaster oven as momj47, and have used it extensively for several years. There are just two of us, so I use the TO for everything from toast, baking things like small casseroles, eggs, and potatoes, roasting garlic and veggies, broiling fish. I top brown in it frequently. My wall oven stopped working recently, so I've even baked popovers and a square cake in the Cuisinart. Except for occasional capacity, I don't miss my wall oven.

An oven thermometer confirms that the TO temp is right very accurate.

In May, 2007, Cooks Illustrated selected the Krups 6-Slice Digital Convection Toaster Oven over the Cuisinart. They claim the Krups browns toast more evenly.

I thought the Black & Decker SS would fit the bill - very small, toast, oven and broil function only, less than $70. I checked it out at Targets but did not like the SS finish, toast function does not have a one push button, and the crumb tray does not detach from the unit.

Internet research turns up a Sanyo, only available on-line at Walmart and has the following qualities I am searching for:
* SS finish
* very small in size
* crumb tray comes out so I can dump crumb at the sink.
* toast with a 1-push button instead of dial.
* no convection
* is $76
The review said this TO toasts bread excellently, and has a 5 star review. I am not as TKO anymore, and still using the old white B&D TO. Anybody own this TO?

I'm still looking for a horizontal toaster. The problem with "almost" all toaster ovens is that they take too long to make toast, or dry it out, or both. The key to looking at toaster ovens for 'toast' making is to look at the watts used by the electric elements, and how close the elements are to the bread. Toaster ovens in general are great for pizzas and various reheats etc.. but for toast?? In my experience, not really.

Sometimes I have to set the toaster rack really low, or set it to 'broil' and set the rack up high - and then I get at least one side of the bread 'toasted'.

Sometimes I use my big oven broiler- it's much faster even if I have to turn the bread over manually.

Generally the vertical toasters work better and faster for toast, but can't deal with pizza slices. I wish someone made a shallow horizontal toaster - it wouldn't work as a small oven of course, but for thin stuff would be great. Better yet would be a toaster oven with a movable element that could slide down for toast and slide back up out of the way when used as an oven...

Yes alexr I've looked for that too and found it to be not-yet-invented. Let's join the study group to write up the requirements list, present it to the boss and stay involved as R&D gets a few prototypes out for evaluation. . . : - )

Moving the upper heating element is definitely possible. I've seen it in ovens where they let you pivot it down to clean above it. It must be possible to move it in a plane.

What I'd buy in a flash is one with the upper heating element fixed but the box shape itself being shrinkable, by sliding the top half down a couple inches, the top part fitting over the bottom part. Like those adjustable-height chimney covers they sell with range hoods. It would be insulated.

I'd like to put a toaster oven in a deep drawer in my new kitchen, plugged into plugmold on the underside of the countertop, inside of the drawer. I dislike seeing it all the time (clutter) and I only use it when I use it, not every morning.

In years past I've often used the big oven's broiler element to toast, just like alexr says. With my new wall oven, I might find I like doing that rather than buying a TO. It's my first wall oven; it's 24" wide.

Right now I have a borrowed toaster oven as my only oven -- amazing how much cooking I can do in it. I'm getting ready to renovate and my new oven isn't connected yet. I would be completely oven-less if not for this borrowed TO.

Anyone else with more Toaster Oven criteria?

-david

I have more to ask- What about these infrared lamp toasters? Panasonic made one (now discontinued) that got great reviews a few years back. Or a hybrid with infrared on top and resistance heat elements below? Black and Decker make a few infrared models that have had very mixed reviews... wires burning etc..

I have a Krups toaster oven. I use it more than my stove. Heat up food, broil cheese sandwiches, even make toast sometimes. It's a good one. Now I'm going to make toast just because you all got me hungry.