How to choose a toaster for your home

Each person has their favorite dishes: some prefer to start the day with light porridge, while others do not imagine a full breakfast without a cup of coffee with crispy toast. Given the fact that usually there is not enough time in the morning to prepare special dishes, the second option has more advantages compared to the first. After all, following the well-known wisdom, it is breakfast that should ensure a person’s working capacity for the whole day. Therefore, a toaster is a very useful thing in household goods.

This simple device helps housewives to leave with dignity any most unexpected situation, because rosy, appetizing slices of bread will satisfy the heart of households. They will always please guests. Toasts are an excellent base for making nutritious sandwiches. It’s necessary to spread on fried bread, for example, cheese paste and garnish with fresh herbs - and a gourmet appetizer is ready. The combination of toasted bread with ham, a piece of unsalted herring, and amber honey attracts with taste. It’s easy to pick up a harmonious duet for toasts, the main thing here is to choose the right home helper. In this article, we will study this issue.

Key selection criteria

Of course, any type of technology requires a competent attitude. When wishing to purchase a useful unit for home use, one cannot rely only on visual impressions and feedback from colleagues. Household equipment, even the most primitive, requires a respectful attitude. Therefore, before you go shopping, you need to study in detail the rules for choosing goods in this category. And in order for this process to be fruitful and crowned with a successful purchase, here are some useful recommendations.

Criterias of choice
Let's start with the characteristics of the device, which should be guided in the selection process. There are few of them, so remembering will be easy. So, in the list of basic criteria:

1. Unit dimensions (the convenience of its placement in the kitchen depends on this indicator).
2. Design is also an important characteristic, since complete harmony should reign in the interior of the kitchen.
3. Power - its productivity depends on this ability of the toaster, as well as the amount of energy consumed.
4. Additional functions are always a bonus that is pleasant for any housewife, which makes it possible to turn the preparation of toasts into a creative process.
5. Cost is a key criterion, as the price affects the family budget.

Taking this list into service, it will be easy to navigate the abundance of the assortment of modern household appliances even to a person without experience. Of course, the final choice will be affected by which criterion for a particular buyer is of paramount importance. But we will tell successively about all the nuances, as well as the technical ups and downs of this issue.

Types of Modern Toasters

For most housewives, any device is considered, first of all, from the point of view of its productivity. As for toasters, the unit's performance is determined by the number of ready-to-eat slices of bread that the machine is capable of delivering at the same time. Therefore, all modern devices are divided into three types:

1. Automata work independently. It is enough to provide the machine with raw material, that is, bread, and it completely controls the entire operating mode. When the toasts reach the desired condition, the device itself will turn off the power and issue ready-made toasts. Some machines have an option that allows the unit to give a sound signal announcing a successful operation.
2. Semi-automatic devices also perform almost the entire process on their own.
3. Manual models make the hostess connect to work. Such machines need constant human control. He is forced to remove ready-made toasts with the handle, follow the roasting, and then turn off the unit. Of course, it’s not very convenient, but such simplified options also have their advantages. If you lift the car a little, then the task will be greatly simplified.

Analyzing the capabilities of each group of units, we can conclude that the most practical machines are all the same. Such a toaster does not require much attention, and its price is not too different from the cost of simplified models.

Key Features

Now it’s the turn to study what abilities modern machines are capable of feeding seven delicious toasters. To get the finished product, the unit must have many technical characteristics.

Power - This is the most important parameter. The speed of work and time depend on this criterion. True, the number of useful departments also affects the device’s performance, but power is still a priority. In different models of household machines, this parameter varies from 600 to 1700 watts. It is clear that the higher the power indicator, the faster the toasts will appear on the table. But such efficiency is relative, because a large potential increases the amount of energy consumed, which will negatively affect the family budget. In addition, a powerful unit will produce over-cooked toasts.

Therefore, when choosing, it is better to give preference to a device with an average power indicator. A good option is a two-section toaster, the power of which will be 800-1000 W.

Body material also essential for the quality operation of the toaster. Although the lifetime of the unit is completely independent of this criterion. Here is a purely aesthetic side of the choice. The housing can be of two types:

1. Metal looks more presentable, but it significantly raises the cost of the unit. But on the metal surface, the traces of human activity are not so noticeable: hand prints, all kinds of heels and drips. The listed advantages make devices with metal cases an order of magnitude more reliable and practical.
2. Plastic is several times cheaper than metal, but it is also much lighter, which makes its use convenient. Indeed, if necessary, the unit can be moved to another room, or taken with you to the country. Another advantage of plastic cases is the variety of colors. This quality allows you to choose a device for the interior of the kitchen.

Camera capacity, as noted above, directly affects the number of toasts received at a time. In different models, the number of sections is not the same: there can be only one compartment, there are devices on sale where there are 4 sections. At the same time, sometimes two bread slices intervene in one compartment at once. Therefore, evaluating this criterion, one should proceed from needs: if the family is large, then it is necessary to purchase a device with a large number of departments.

The best option is a toaster with two cells. Such a device will fully satisfy the needs of a family of 2-3 people.

Section Width - this parameter is not so significant, it depends more on the personal preferences of the purchaser of the equipment. After all, some people love thin, translucent toasts, others like a full-fledged loaf of bread. There are models of units in which the adjustment of this parameter is provided.

Cord length also different in different instances, although there are standard versions. Before going to the store, you must measure the distance from the outlet to the intended installation location of the device. And then, when choosing, proceed from this indicator.But one thing can be recommended right away: a short wire is inconvenient to operate the machine, and a long one creates an additional risk of accidental tipping of the unit. This thoroughly reduces the safety of work.

A suitable parameter is when it interferes with frames from 70 to 100 cm. If the toaster is equipped with a special cable compartment, then you should pay attention to such a model.

Features loading bread blanks also not particularly critical. Here the rule applies: to whom it is convenient. Some consumers like the horizontal loading system, dubbed the “sandwich toaster.” In a machine of this type, you can easily cook small pastries, sandwiches, buns. The vertical loading system allows you to cook exclusively toasters. To warm buns or croissants, you will need to install an additional grill.

Heating elements do not play a special role, so this point should not be especially emphasized when choosing a good car. Most manufacturers equip toasters with electric heating elements that do an excellent job of their functions.

In the line of modern devices there are advanced models with quartz elements. Such toasters will be more reliable in operation, because they take less energy, but are able to evenly distribute the temperature. Due to this feature, toasters are well fried on all sides. Of course, such a model will cost more.

Useful Functionality

From the main characteristics by which the practicality and convenience of a household unit are evaluated, we turn to the functionality of the devices. For the acquisition will be promising devices with the following functions:

1. Heating is a very convenient option that allows you not to fry, but only to heat the product if necessary.
2. Toasting on one side only - this feature comes in handy when slicing bread with a hump.
3. Obtaining images can be done by frying toasts using special plugs. In this way, you can get interesting drawings that children really like.
4. The functional of defrosting bread is carried out by heating. This option is very useful when toasts are made from frozen bread.
5. Automatic centering of bread blanks allows you to arrange slices at an equal distance from the heating elements. With such a dislocation, the bread is fried evenly from all sides.
6. Overheating protection occurs when the device is automatically turned off. This function prevents damage to the unit and prevents accidental fires.
7. Turning off the heating in the event of an accidental fall of the device is a possibility similar to the previous function. If the family has small children or animals, then it is worth buying such a model.

Equipment

Additional features of the device provides the presence of various devices. Among them:

• removable tray, where crumbs get in the process of frying bread crumbs;
• lattice;
• automatic mechanism for raising toasts;
• option to control the degree of frying slices;
• backlight, which facilitates the operation of the device;
• thermal insulation on the case, protecting hands from possible burns;
• the display gives information about the unit operating mode.

The latest, more advanced models of toasters can also be equipped with other elements that provide the most convenient working conditions with this type of equipment. Any additional function only increases the capabilities of the machine, and gives the owners even more comfort. Now, knowing the subtleties of choice, it will be easy to purchase a truly worthy unit, both in price and in quality.

Video: how to choose a toaster