Most efficient toasters
What makes a toaster efficient? Read through reviews of popular toasters, and you’ll see that many people seem to care more about the bells and whistles — automatic lowering of bread, pleasant dings when toasting’s complete, and the like — than anything else.
Of course, one could argue that if a toaster automatically lowers your bread, the gadget efficiently saves you the energy of pressing a lever to lower it yourself. But beyond just not being lazy enough to appreciate that little feature, I fear that more bells and whistles mean more components that could break or malfunction — in the end, making the toaster less efficient.
All that’s to say your definition of an efficient toaster may be different from mine. If you like to toast really really long slices of bread, you might want something like the Russell Hobbs Glass Toaster, for example. If you drool over double-duty kitchen apps, you might opt for the Hamilton Beach 22708 Toastation Toaster, which also works as a small oven.
But for this list, I focused on three main things: 1) Relatively even toasting of bread, 2) Ease of use, and 2) Potential for long-term use. Hope you find it helpful:
Krups 2-Slice or 4-Slice Toaster
These Krups toasters’ unique efficient feature is its built-in warming rack. As a Slate review points out, “the top of the toaster is slightly concave, so that you can rest rolls or sandwiches on it.”
Toaster Review named Krups 2-Slice Toaster the “Best Toaster Overall” because its many settings give the user a lot of control. Other useful features include a bread lift, a dishwasher-safe crumb tray, and a sleek, partly stainless-steel exterior.
For those with small kitchens though, the toaster’s large size might be a dealbreaker: The 2-slice toaster’s 8 x 11 x 7.5 inches and weights 5 pounds, while the 4-slice toaster weighs a hefty 11 pounds. Users also note that this toaster’s slower than some others — and Slate’s reviewer found the control panel too confusing: “It’s not nuclear physics, but I did have to consult the manual.” At Amazon, the Krups 2-Slice Toaster costs $59.99, and the 4-Slice Toaster $110.
KitchenAid KMTT200 2-Slice Toaster
If you usually toast just one slice of bread at a time, this KitchenAid toaster’s your best bet. Because heat radiates from empty toaster slots, a single slice in most toasters will brown more on one side than the other. But the opposite happens with KitchenAid KMTT200, according to Fine Cooking: Single slice toasting delivers perfect results, while two slice toasting yields uneven sides.
I especially like that the KitchenAid toaster comes in an all-stainless steel housing option, though red, blue, and black (above) plastic siding options are also available. Like the Krups, KitchenAid has a bread lift and a dishwasher-safe crumb tray — and is similarly bulky, weighing in at 5 pounds. Get it at Amazon for $69.99.
DeLonghi DTT900 Esclusivo or DTT980 Esclusivo
Love bells and whistles? Go with the DeLonghi Esclusivo (DTT900’s the 2-slice version, DTT980 the 4-slice), a toaster that gets rave reviews for its many cool features. Most notably, the DeLonghi raises and lowers toast automatically, a feature that won Slate’s reviewer over: “If your temperature control has already been set, it’s possible to make toast without ever touching the toaster. It’s magic, I tell you.” The alert chime that signals when toast is ready also had reviewers raving about this machine. And Fine Cooking notes that toast rises well above the slots, rendering a bread lift unnecessary.
However, bells and whistles can break — as some the reviews on Amazon point out — and unique features are tough to fix. And Toaster Review found that the slots, while extra-wide, “still seem inadequate for bigger and longer bagels and rolls.”
Still, I do like the toaster’s rounded edges and sleek design. On a more practical level, the DeLonghi has an efficient crumb tray. The entire bottom of the toaster can be removed to dump out the crumbs. Amazon sells the DTT900 for $79.95, and the DTT 980 for $99.95.
Oster Counterforms 2-Slice Toaster
The Oster Counterforms 2-Slice Toaster looks like the best value for families with picky kids. First, the toaster has a lot of kid-friendly safety features: Both the sides and the top stay cool, and a locking high-lift lever makes it easy to pull out bread without burning fingers. Second, the multiple settings on this toaster will please all family members. Third, a pull-out crumb tray makes cleaning after the family a snap.
Fine Cooking says that the Oster Counterforms toasted “even hard-to-toast English muffins in less than 3 minutes (on setting 6).” The review also notes that two slices toast more evenly than a single slice — but this is an issue that plagues almost all toasters.
The one big downside of this toaster is that according to Toaster Reviews, the handle is flimsy, loose, and looks cheap. The Oster Counterforms 6335 is available for $57.99 at Amazon.
__
Last but not least: The most efficient toaster of all may be the toaster you already have. If you’re reading this post because you recently broke your toaster, you might want to save yourself a few bucks and try your hand at fixing it first. Here’s a short guide on eHow for fixing small problems, and a longer guide with a complicated diagram if you really want to get into it. Down with planned obsolescence!
Related posts:
