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Ultimate toaster design tier list (thelemmy.club)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/memes@lemmy.world
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Based on decades of research. No feedback or change requests will be accepted.

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[–] 11 points 7 months ago (9 children)

If you prefer to avoid single-purpose kitchen appliances, then you will prefer toaster ovens to toasters. (Also, a normal oven can do.)

A toaster oven is also the superior appliance for making toast as it can toast bread that has already been loaded up with things like butter or peanut butter.

I think I see one toaster oven in the list, listed as D tier, which makes sense for that one because it has a built-in coffee maker.

But where's the normal toaster oven in this list? That would be S-tier.

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  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    Beg to differ, I traded my S tier standard toaster for my dad's toaster oven because he liked mine so much when I stayed with him during COVID times. The toaster oven is top notch but the added utility of preloaded toppings is offset by the counter top footprint. It also only really toasts one side properly.

    The kicker is, most of the best applications are better done on a real oven. That's how I do garlic bread, for instance. The only advantage is if I want to make something quick and sad, such as a pretend grilled cheese sandwich for the kids while I'm sick, I can slab cheese on each slice of bread and put them together at the end. Luckily little kids have no taste, so they don't mind.

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  • [–] 10 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    Toaster oven is superior. I don't mind the counter top space because it is a superior appliance.

    Mine toast both sides, as there is a top and bottom heating element. It's was better for reheating pizza than a microwave (takes longer, but the end result is way better). It's really handy to have a smaller secondary oven when cooking big meals. I roasted a turkey breast in mine last year, while the stuffing cooked at a different temp in the oven.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    I'll concede it's good at pizza reheats. We don't do that often but it's much better than microwave and about the same quality but faster than oven.

    Depending on the size, it might not be that useful for secondary dishes but that's mostly cause mines just slightly too small for my standard casserole dish. At some point it's just a mini convection oven, which I have used before for Thanksgiving and it's admittedly a godsend (although I'd only borrow it. I very much do not have the space for one).

    Mines also both sides heat, but I think it's a little different still as only one side will have hot metal pressed against the bread. You get a little different taste/texture with both sides pressed against the hot metal. I suspect it's also more energy efficient, too. Suffice to say it'll still be S tier for the standard toast case.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    reheating pizza

    Blasphemy!

    Cold pizza is the world's greatest food and this is a hill that I am willing to die on!

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    All toaster ovens are D because of the size, slower heat-up time and more complicated access (it's all hot and you need to put your hands inside. in other toasters the bread is easier to grab). All ovens can be used as toasters, yes, but it's an overkill to use them to toast a single slice of bread. As such, they are very good and useful appliance but not the best toaster.

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    When I open the door on my personal toaster oven, it automatically pulls a rack partially out of the oven (using a little hook on the door), so there is no need to put my hands inside the appliance. Knowing this, I position the food items toward the front of the rack so that they will come out easier.

    You might have to be careful when removing things that have toppings or whatever, but since a normal toaster can only produce dry toast, it would be unfair to leave those items in the comparison criteria. So, we should just stick to dry toast.

    With a toaster oven, you can always just grab dry toast from the top edges, and your hand, which we've already established doesn't need to actually enter the toaster oven if it has a feature like mine, doesn't even have any chance of coming into contact with the rack, either.

    I also don't think a toaster oven is necessarily slower than a toaster. It simply depends on the heating elements. Even among toasters, some are faster than others.

    I will admit that subjectively, it probably feels like toaster ovens are slower due to a difference you didn't mention, which is their more complicated controls and mechanisms. But since my recommendation was predicated on not needing overly specialized tools, I think a lot of specialized tools are simpler to use than general use tools. And this difference becomes smaller and often irrelevant as you get used to the tool.

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