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Experts maintain that breakfast is arguably the most important meal of the entire day, and nothing is more essential for breaking up that busy morning routine than a delicious toaster oven. Once you begin shopping around for a toaster oven, however, you’re likely to discover a massive array of choices ranging from extremely simple single-use pop-ups to elaborate, high-tech, fully-functioning burners with all the latest features. So what should you look for when buying a toaster oven? If you want to get the best price, make sure the toaster you’re looking at has all the basic functions that will be important to you. Here are some things to keep in mind when shopping:
Easy Clean-Up
Air frying cookers, particularly, are extremely easy to clean. This is because most of them have removable trays and racks that make it easy to grab a tray and sink it away in the corner once finished cooking. The key to air frying cookers is to make sure they have tight-fitting lids and are spill-resistant, as there’s little difference in damage caused by spit eggs or spilled sauce if the lid is secure. Also, ensure your toaster has a non-slip handle to prevent your hand’s slipping away while you scramble for that bacon. To maximize air-frying cooking time, keep the temperature moderate, and turn the toaster on heat only when you need it.
High Capacity and Smart Design
Smart Toaster oven designs have very large capacities, including those able to cook over a hundred fried eggs in one sitting. A smart design also means the toaster oven will be able to heat up quickly and evenly, reducing scorched food. The larger the toaster oven’s capacity, the more food you can cook at once. And as a bonus, the larger the capacity the less you’ll have to pay to run it!
High-Quality Bread
Don’t just choose the cheapest bread that you can find. If you buy the cheapest bread you can find, you’re probably going to have to replace it within a year or two, which defeats the purpose of buying it in the first place! Choose bread with a high-quality crust and top. The bread should be well brown and not burnt. You should also choose a toaster oven with a long cooking time.
Broiler Settings
Choosing an oven with the right broiling settings is crucial if you want to get the best from your toasting adventure. Broilers have different temperatures and they can even move around slightly, which can influence the outcome of your toasting. If you’re looking to brown some bread quickly, then you’ll probably need a medium broiler, but if you want to bake a whole chicken or several pieces of bread, a medium-high broiler may be a better choice. Check the manual for your model to see what the recommended broiling time is for your specific oven.
Cooling Options
Most modern toaster ovens come with a fan built-in, which can be great if you’re trying toaster in a hot kitchen. However, if your toaster doesn’t come with a fan, then you’ll need to add a fan manually. Toaster ovens that don’t have a ventilation system are very bad for you and can put your cookware and countertops at risk. Make sure the toaster you’re buying comes with at least one ventilation port and has a handle to keep it stable. You also want to check that it has safety sensors and a timer that can prevent it from getting damaged by heavy objects when in use.
Size
Consider how big your oven is going to be because this will help you determine what size to purchase. The bigger the toaster you get, the more potential issues there are for it to not be strong enough to cook food. If you plan on using it to cook a lot of food, then you should get a bigger oven so it can easily hold all your food. It’s also a good idea to buy an oven that has a removable rack so you can pre-heat or pre-brown food and other items on the top before putting them inside the oven. Some models can come with a built-in microwave, but make sure it’s big enough and has all the necessary features to be useful.
Conclusion
Other features worth considering include whether it’s an automatic or manual cooking oven and what kind of heating elements it has. For example, some have auto-reheat elements that automatically turn on when cooking is finished. Some have front-access buttons for controlling all the different settings and cook modes while others have separate switches for each of these functions. Some models have a slide mechanism to move up or down the trays of the food. These are just a few things to keep in mind when shopping for a quality oven that will last you a long time.
