Beware of its pretty face

After redesigning the whole kitchen and buying stainless steel appliances, our good old Black & Decker toaster oven, which still worked flawlessly, just didn’t fit in at all with its white and chrome finish. It bothered us a bit, but we decided to live with it for a while (the kitchen redesign left us with very little buying power, anyway ;-))

That was until we saw the DeLonghi retro toaster in our credit card “boni-points” catalogue (these are products that you can “buy” with points you accumulate when using the credit card). It was love at first sight, and as we didn’t have to “pay” for it per say, we decided to spend our “boni-points” on it and ordered impulsively.

Let’s give to DeLonghi the merit it deserves: with its fabulous curves and its brushed chrome finish, this retro toaster oven is a real beauty queen. Really, there’s currently no other toaster oven that competes with its looks. Unfortunately, this is about all the good I have to say about it…

Specifications

As this is the first review of the product on Epinions, let me list its technical specifications:
• 2 cooking functions: oven (1000 W) and grill (1000 W).
• Internal light for constant control of the cooking process..
• Internal volume: 12.5 litres
• Adjustable thermostat from 60 to 270 °C.

Inaccurate and cheap

I like knobs to have a solid “look & feel” and I’m sorry to say this one only have the looks… They’re in fact built in cheap plastic and feel like they could spring out at any time.

Also, they’re lack accuracy: the knobs are so loose that you can never be sure of the temperature you set. I would roughly evaluate the error margin at +/- 25º F, which is quite a lot for a recipes that needs meticulous accuracy!

Ours has a particular problem (I don’t know if it is specific or common) with the toasting knob: if we set it at anything over “medium”, the timer stops working (it stays at the level we put it, instead of slowly counting down), even though the toaster activates. Result: if we don’t watch out, our toasts end up all burned. I guess we should have returned it to get a flawless unit, but these were pretty busy days when we received it, and we just didn’t have the time.

At least the door is sturdy. Also, the baking plate and tray that came with it are resistant and useful. But the bottom tray, which you can take out for cleaning purposes, is made in cheap chrome. After only a few months of usages, mine is irremediably stained, with some rust spots. DeLonghi is really convincing selling the “durastone, cavity enamel” interior of its toaster oven, which is “resistant to shocks, scratches, chemical aggressions and the highest temperatures. It lasts forever, is easy to clean and really hygienic.” Wow, great! Well then… Why not put some “durastone” at the bottom, which is the place that needs the most cleaning?

Functionality

The large capacity (12.5 L) of the interior is quite useful. You can put up to 6 slices of bread, English muffins or bagels side by side. I use it to save on energy when cooking cook some meals that don’t require my big oven. For example, it is useful to broil cheese on some nachos, to heat up plates before serving dinner or to keep something warm while cooking the rest of the meal.

Toaster oven sellers seem to have a fancy for putting a whole chicken in it (they always show one on the box). I personally never tried it, having more confidence in my Bosh convection oven for that kind of work ;-)

Ergonomics

I found two important ergonomics problems with this toaster oven:

There are three knobs: the first sets the oven temperature; the second sets the toasting level; the third lets you choose between broil or bake/toast. This last one is a total superfluity. My Black & Decker had two buttons. The first one was for baking, and if you set it at the maximum, you activated the “broil”. The second button was for selecting a toasting level. Why did DeLonghi add a third button? Why can’t the toaster oven understand by itself whether I’m toasting (second button) or baking/broiling (first button)? This puzzles me. Please, take back the third knobs, I really don’t need it!

The other ergonomics problem is probably more a question of habits. When I opened my Black & Decker’s door, the oven stopped immediately. This is a useful option in toaster ovens, since you might forget it is heating, as they don’t have ventilation (as real ovens do) to remind you they’re working. Opened or closed, this one will keep on heating, which I personally find dangerous.