389581 Sun Apr 08 11:01:23 -0700 2007 18 41 Cookware 0 2461200 The new issue of Cook's Illustrated rated toaster ovens. the 6-slice Krups FBC was judged bed. The reviews on Amazon are generally very good. But I am fed up with spending money on toaster ovens & being disappointed. My current TO, the top of the line Cuisinart, is great for oven functions but "toast" turns out to be bread toasted on one side only. Plus after only a short time, the white finish began chipping & cracking ... now it's ugly & still can't manage to toast both sides of a piece of bread. So, the question is: does anyone have the Krups toaster oven and what do you think of it? Sun Apr 08 11:01:23 -0700 2007 11069 fauchon 1 2461264 I've been happy with mine. Toast is seldom perfect but usually acceptable -- and I am not obsessive about the position of the rack, so you could probably do better. The most serious thing I've cooked in it was a pheasant, which barely fit but turned out great. It's good (and fast) for heating things like frozen pizza, frozen lasagne.... I use the "convection bake" setting for anything other than toast. Sun Apr 08 11:29:22 -0700 2007 2461200 56081 HPLsauce 2 2461733 The best toaster oven is the Panasonic NB-G100B. Believe me. PERFECT toast, bagels etc. Also great for reheating and frozen pizza etc. Sun Apr 08 15:51:35 -0700 2007 2461264 19279 phillyjazz 3 2462815 Thanks...do you have a link? Neither Amazon nor Google can find this.... Mon Apr 09 06:55:41 -0700 2007 2461733 11069 fauchon 4 2466579 try this http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-Toaster-Oven-Silver-NB-G100P-S_W0QQitemZ320096545625QQcmdZViewItem Tue Apr 10 08:36:17 -0700 2007 2462815 55556 gargantua 5 2591778 another vote..this is the best toaster!!!! toast bread and bagels in less than 2 mintues. great for reheating other food (i no longer use microwave oven) and even great for frozen bread. Tue May 22 10:08:36 -0700 2007 2466579 14734 Monica 4 2592264 i bought this from Amazon in January. Tue May 22 11:47:26 -0700 2007 2462815 14734 Monica 1 2463278 CI did rate the Krups the best, but they also said at the end that you're still better off with a regular toaster and conventional oven. Maybe you should just get a toaster for toast. Mon Apr 09 09:35:54 -0700 2007 2461200 38577 wak 2 2466597 I totally agreee! The best ten dollars I have spent in along time was on a regular toaster at CVS! Now our toast is toasted! We do have a Krups toaster oven that we use for baking,broiling and heating. Tue Apr 10 08:41:58 -0700 2007 2463278 11492 sandramrma 2 2593457 I agree about having a toaster for toast. We've got a cuisinart toaster that is perfect. But, I felt like the CI folks left out the one main reason we've got a toaster oven which is for doing some baking without heating up the whole house. Our gas oven is great, but pumps out the heat and if its a warm day/night to begin with, really puts us off cooking with it. In the toaster oven I can do two ramekin sized souffles or custards, a small bird or, most often, reheat already made and frozen lasagna or enchiladas which just aren't the same without the lovely brown cheesiness on the top. Our Delonghi toaster oven is perfect for such things and I would give up my microwave before I gave it up. We've got the fairly high end digital controlled one that we got from Williams Sonoma a few years ago. Tue May 22 17:08:39 -0700 2007 2463278 80141 ccbweb 1 2467603 I have the Krups FBC2, which is a bit cheaper (I think we paid about $150) and does all the same things as the one CI reviewed (the CI reviewed one has a program bake, I think). It does excellent toast and everything else, too. We're very happy with it, have had it about three months. Does a pretty decent frozen pizza, great bagels and baked potatoes, and pretty much anything else we've thrown at it has worked very well. If all you do is make regular toast and bagels, you are better off with a toaster, using a conventional oven for the big stuff. But try doing two slices of cinnamon toast in a conventional oven sometime. Tue Apr 10 12:40:56 -0700 2007 2461200 62998 DebL 2 2467620 I do two slices of cinnamon toast in a conventional oven all the time: 30-45 seconds under the broiler, max. What's so hard about that? The overall tone of the Cook's article was basically "Toaster ovens are stupid and useless. But if you MUST..." Tue Apr 10 12:45:03 -0700 2007 2467603 17548 BarmyFotheringayPhipps 3 2467977 I have a gas oven and hate using it when cooking for myself - why heat up 8 square feet when all you want is toast or a baked potato or something equally small? The toaster oven works well for these items and doesn't generate as much heat or waste as much energy. Also, electricity is cheaper than gas (at least where I live), so using the toaster oven saves money, too. Tue Apr 10 13:59:25 -0700 2007 2467620 82797 itsrob 1 2468052 I have the expensive Krups (it was a wedding gift, and I said "wow, someone actually spent that much on a toaster for us?!"). I have had no complaints, but the key is in how you want to use it. If I was a true toast lover who wanted both sides of the bread evenly toasted then there's no substitute for a vertical slot toaster. I tend to use my toaster oven to melt or brown things on top of the toast or english muffin, or for toasting nuts or coconut. Yes, a regular broiler could do this just as well, but in the Midwest sometimes it's just too darn hot to turn on the big oven, or I'm in a hurry in the morning and don't want to wait 5-10 minutes for it to heat up. So, butter side up or butter side down, it's all in what you want to do. Tue Apr 10 14:18:35 -0700 2007 2461200 39747 ExercisetoEat 1 2472018 I just got one from an Amazon deal, having looked at the CI recommendations, online reviews, and as many actual shops as I could manage over a week or two. Seemed like the only properly built piece, which for the amount of money they ask for these convection toasters, it better be. It replaced a seven year old Cuisinart basic toaster oven, which was taller, but not as wide. The current Cuisinarts are all significantly flimsier, as you describe (for similar prices, in most cases). The taller oven interior wasn't great, anyways, as it took longer to heat up toast. The big problem is that the Krups has an unbelievably huge footprint for a toaster. However, it can fit a 10" frozen pizza, or six full slices of bread at once, truly. The Hamilton Beach combo toaster/oven at work is closer to normal toaster size, but can't really handle a slice of pizza, much less two. After six slices of toast, one frozen pizza, and some melted cheese topping pasta, in 48 hours, I'm convinced that it will help us get through the iminent kitchen renovation. Afterwards, finding counter space will be the challenge. Wed Apr 11 15:53:17 -0700 2007 2461200 10211 i8dumplings 1 2591738 I have an FBC 2, and after experimenting with the rack level I've got it to toast bread to equal darkness on the top and bottom--but not evenly across the whole slice on the bottom side. No problem for me, but if you're a perfectionist about that, you need a regular toaster. I use it for all kinds of things not worth heating up the gas oven for--just crisped up some lahmajoun for lunch, it took less than 5 minutes--and feel my $150 was well spent. Tue May 22 10:00:28 -0700 2007 2461200 18797 John Francis 1 2591852 Another vote for the Panasonic. Great toast, heats up unbelievably fast, and puts on a good light show. Tue May 22 10:23:30 -0700 2007 2461200 50333 tomishungry 1 2593642 Yes, I've bought Krups toaster ovens and coffee mills and just replaced them when they eventually wear out - for years now. First: price - cheep, cheep, cheep. Second: operation - simple. Third - they last just as long as the more expensive brands, which is about 5 years. Tue May 22 18:41:15 -0700 2007 2461200 23824 niki rothman 2 2597886 I bought the Panasonic referred to above on Ebay for around $100. It is tip top, I have retired my regular Krups toaster to storage for now. The ne guy is much faster and much easier to control. Thu May 24 06:58:09 -0700 2007 2593642 55556 gargantua