Author Topic: Toaster or Toaster Oven (Read 3222 times)

Stubborn · « **on:** November 14, 2013, 07:52:25 AM »

My toaster is on it's last leg and I'm thinking about replacing it with a toaster oven, but I'm not sure if I really would use it for anything other than toasting bread or muffins etc.

What all do you use a toaster oven for and what features are important?
Size? Watts? Broiler?

Dolores · « **Reply #1 on:** November 14, 2013, 08:26:33 AM »

I had a toaster oven in the past. I thought it would be great; I would use it for all sorts of things, and be able to stop using the microwave and even cut down on the conventional oven. However, after a few months, it became clear that I was using it as a giant toaster and for nothing else. I got rid of it and returned to a normal toaster.

MaterDominici · « **Reply #2 on:** November 14, 2013, 04:35:35 PM »

We use our countertop oven a lot, but not often for toasting. We use it much more as a small convection oven. Some would argue that it's no more energy efficient than your regular oven because it has less insulation, but we've never been convinced of that, so we use the small oven whenever possible.

This was the one we had for the past several years, but one of the elements went out.
Black & Decker TO1640B 1500-Watt 6-Slice Countertop Convection Oven and Broiler with Nonstick Interior

We would have purchased the same one again, but then read that the interior was Teflon (this one is slightly different than the one we had, so there's a small chance we weren't being poisoned

) and decided to pick a different one.

Black & Decker - Slice Toaster Oven

This one is a little smaller than our last, but really my only complaint is that the cooking tray is significantly smaller and cheaper. But, we still have our well-used one from the previous oven and could buy a new tray separately, so it's not a big deal for us.

As for what we cook... any time we have sandwiches or sub sandwiches, some of us prefer them toasted a few minutes in the oven. We use it to reheat some types of leftovers, like pizza, that don't microwave very well. For a quick meal, we usually have breaded chicken patties on hand to toss in the small oven. We use it a lot on fasting days when our meals don't necessarily line up since it's a good size for baking a couple pieces of fish or a few breaded shrimp. I'm a big fan of egg rolls, so I seldom make fried rice or stir fry or orange chicken without cooking a few egg rolls in the toaster oven. We don't have many baked goods around here, but it's a good alternative to the microwave for warming a biscuit or muffin or slice of pie.

Marlelar · « **Reply #3 on:** November 14, 2013, 05:48:34 PM »

I use my toaster oven all the time, haven't had a toaster in 20 years. If you have a large family it might not be useful but I like being able to just bake 6 cookies at a time, broil garlic bread, make a small pan of brownies, or broil an open-faced sandwich. You can buy pans especially sized for them, even a mini-muffin pan and a small roaster pan which could be used to make lasagna for two. I have a Black and Decker and it will only hold two, maybe 3 slices if you squeeze them, so if you use a 4 slice toaster a lot it may not be a good replacement.

Marsha

shin · « **Reply #4 on:** November 15, 2013, 11:53:46 PM »

Well, it's the time of year to find deals on these things.

From what I understand energy efficiency wise

microwave - toaster - toaster oven - oven, in order of most to least.

So part of it depends on what you're going to use it for. If you're just making toast, you don't need a toaster oven. But if you want to heat up a lot of stuff that doesn't microwave well, or is not so big it's oven sized..

I always liked toaster ovens but my eating habits changed and I put it away to save counter space in the end.

Marlelar · « **Reply #5 on:** November 21, 2013, 01:32:41 PM »

So Stubborn - what did you end up buying?

Marsha

Tiffany · « **Reply #6 on:** November 22, 2013, 01:29:16 PM »

My toaster oven caught on fire a few months ago and I still miss it.

For a small family it was much more convenient than using the big oven.

Stubborn · « **Reply #7 on:** November 22, 2013, 03:49:12 PM »

Quote from: Marlelar

So Stubborn - what did you end up buying?

Marsha

I haven't decided on which one to get plus my toaster has been working great ever since I started this thread. lol

I have an oven and a microwave so I don't know if I even really need a toaster oven - but I think if I can find a deal this Christmas season I'll get one to try.

jen51 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 23, 2013, 07:14:52 PM »

Toaster oven! They're quite versatile. This, of course, is coming from the person who was given a toaster oven for free a year ago and has yet to plug it in. I don't have a toaster either. Or a microwave. I do most of my toasting and cooking on my trusty ol' well seasoned cast iron skillet. Old fashioned, but I prefer it to anything.

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #9 on:** December 10, 2013, 03:08:00 AM »

.

Toaster ovens are great IMHO. You can heat up a TV dinner in one or a frozen pot pie or bake a potato or five, no problem. Good for heating up pita bread or naan or malabari paratha, or even melting cheese on nachos. They're fine for most warm-ups like that, but when it comes to baking cakes or brownies, or fruit pies or bread, they tend to have hot spots that make your baking project overcooked in one place and undercooked in another. But somehow that doesn't happen with those simpler items I mentioned.

I have both regular toaster and toaster oven, and I use the regular sliced bread toaster more often because I make toast more often. But if I was heating up a frozen pot pie every day, I'd use the toaster oven more, perhaps.

If all you're doing is toasting slices of bread or bagels cut in half, you're better off with a regular toaster because they're easier to fine tune for just the right amount of "golden browning." Toaster ovens tend to only toast the top side because that's where the radiant heat is. The heating elements on the bottom are blocked by the shelf tray -- unless your model allows you to remove the solid shelf and just use a wire rack. Even then, your slice of bread would have to be exactly in the middle between the upper and lower elements. If it's too close to either it will overcook on that side first.

But if the bread you're toasting is already buttered on one side (like for garlic toast) then the regular toaster is going to be really messed up quickly. That's when you need the toaster oven, and keep the buttered side facing UP!

Maybe a convection oven is better for consistency, because the air is moving around the food. I've never used a convection oven but people I know who have used them say they're great, and that you get spoiled right away, and you'll never go back.

Anyway, a toaster oven is a lot better than a microwave, because it heats the food more consistently, doesn't dehydrate it so much. It browns, which nukes can't do, and it heats from the outside of the food instead of from its inside. You just have to clean them a bit more often than microwaves, because food tends to get stuck and the heat bakes it on more than it does in microwaves.
.

songbird · « **Reply #10 on:** December 10, 2013, 10:21:45 AM »

Have you seen the latest? A hot dog toaster!

Cera · « **Reply #11 on:** December 10, 2013, 12:45:47 PM »

I use my toaster oven every day, and rarely for toast. Having researched problems with microwaves, we don't use it (except to heat up my coffee cup and then pour the water out.) I have a air-popper for popcorn, and the toaster oven for whatever else I used to use a microwave for.

Stubborn · « **Reply #12 on:** April 08, 2014, 04:58:13 AM »

Ok, about a month or so ago, I went and bought this one from Walmart. It's a cheapo small Black & Decker but it really works great!

I didn't think I would like it - but I was wrong. It makes the best toast I ever made, toasts bagels perfectly, bakes frozen pizza with no preheating and does a great job on whatever else I've put in there. It really is a versatile little thing and is only slightly larger than a toaster so it really does not take up any more room on the counter than a toaster.

I would recommend one of these to anyone.

Quasimodo · « **Reply #13 on:** April 08, 2014, 06:08:34 AM »

I tried a toaster oven. Hated it!
I really liked my toaster, but when my wife got a toaster oven as a gift she gave our toaster to her sister. She eventually replaced it for me with an inferior toaster which she insists is the same kind. Now I have a toaster oven I won't use and a substandard toaster. My sister in law broke my toaster. :-(

holysoulsacademy · « **Reply #14 on:** April 08, 2014, 09:56:43 AM »

Quote from: Cera

I use my toaster oven every day, and rarely for toast. Having researched problems with microwaves, we don't use it (except to heat up my coffee cup and then pour the water out.) I have a air-popper for popcorn, and the toaster oven for whatever else I used to use a microwave for.

We like to heat up our cups too when serving hot drinks. We choose not to own a microwave so we accomplish this by boiling water and placing them into the cups while I prepare the drink I plan on serving. By the time I finish I replace the hot water with the hot drink. (I will then take the hot water and use it for any dirty dishes I have in the sink).