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Customer Reviews: Average Rating:  Rating :  - Good Points... Bad Points... It's a Toaster Oven
Toaster ovens are the bane of my existence. The only product I have more trouble with are telephone answering machines, so please listen up, I've been through quite a few manufacturers.
First... Black and Decker. We've owned two or three of these over the last 12 years. They last a couple of years, but that's not the problem it would seem since they have the advantage of being cheap. Unfortunately, they have the disadvantage of occasionally catching fire (in a big way), so we don't buy them any more.
Second... Delonghi. Bought one of them. We were very happy with it until it also caught on fire. Lasted about three years. It was certainly better than the Black and Deckers which after awhile only toast one side of your bread.
Third... Sears. It was slightly cheaper than the current Kitchen Aid in question; and it worked well for about 3 or 4 years never once threatening to set the kitchen cabinets ablaze. We would have bought another one, but logistics proved too high a barrier.
Now... this Kitchen Aid.
Appearance and Touch n' Feel :::
We drove to a number of places and looked at more toaster ovens than any sane person would want to, and this Kitchen Aid had the best feel. The handle didn't feel loose, and the door didn't rattle and squeak when you opened and shut it, and the knobs felt solid.
In appearance, it's quite attractive. Basically what you see in the kitchen is stainless, although the sides and top are black. The stainless, btw, is the sort that doesn't show finger prints.
Usage :::
It's an odd duck. I have never had a toaster that took so long to brown bread. Honestly, the instructions in the book (I looked this morning) said that you should warm it up for 5 minutes before beginning to make toast. Huh?
In any case, using the toaster like most moms and dads do, you can expect toast to appear in 7 to 8 minutes. At least on the first round. Try that on the second round and you'll have glowing carbon! (The interior having attained a pre-warm status)
Fish sticks -- the only non-toast oven activity we use it for is the kids' fish sticks. It does a fine job although I must note that you are going to have to get an oven thermometer and calibrate your oven. The readings are way-high.
Finally, it's very odd that this oven's timer only goes up to 30 minutes. No one noticed this at the time we made the purchase, but I suppose it suggests that the oven should not be used for a longer period. (Thankfully for us, fish sticks only take 25 minutes.)
Conclusion :::
This is an attractive, solid feeling, if idiosyncratic toaster oven with a 'classy name'. The heating elements don't seem the sort that will burn our house down. They glow at a low level. The crumb catcher is top rate. None have escaped thus far. The oven comes with the usual mini broiler pan and two metal racks. The manufacturer says 6 pieces of bread fit on the rack. I don't know where they get their bread but I couldn't possibly cram more than 5 pieces on the screen.
I'm giving it 3.5 stars because it's better made than most.
Pam T!
mom, wife, and reviewer-at-large
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