What is the best toaster to buy in New Zealand?
Two, Four Slice or a Long Slot?
Choosing between a two-slice or four-slice toaster? Delve into the essential considerations to ensure your toast emerges perfection every time.
Four-slice toasters, ideal for larger households or hearty appetites, often feature separate levers and individual browning controls for each pair of slots.
Some models with only two 'long' slots provide versatility without the width of a traditional four-slot design.
On the other hand, two-slice toasters, space-efficient and accommodating wider chambers, cater to diverse bread shapes and sizes, making them perfect for those favouring artisanal loaves.
Ease of Use
When evaluating ease of use, prioritise toasters with easily removable crumb trays and intuitively labeled controls. A smooth shell is convenient for cleaning, avoiding intricate designs that trap crumbs.
Features to Consider
Beyond safety enhancements, upscale toasters often incorporate features that, while not strictly essential, can enhance your toasting experience. While a budget-friendly, straightforward model may suffice, consider these additional functionalities for added convenience:
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Defrost/Frozen Setting: Perfect for those who store bread in the freezer, this setting extends the toasting cycle slightly, ensuring thorough thawing of frozen bread.
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Reheat Setting: Useful for adjusting to kitchen timing mishaps, the reheat setting mimics the effect by lowering the browning control without initiating a full toasting cycle.
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"Lift and Look" or "Quick Check" Feature: Elevates the carriage momentarily, allowing you to inspect the toast's progress and proximity to perfection without interrupting the toasting process.
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LED Progress Indicator: Provides a visual countdown, keeping you informed about the remaining seconds in the toasting cycle.
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Motorised Lift: Instead of a sudden pop-up, a motorised lift delicately raises the toast when it reaches the desired level of doneness.
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Audible Alert: A sound notification signals the completion of the toasting process, ensuring you're promptly aware when your toast is ready.
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High-Lift Carriage: Enables you to raise smaller items, like crumpets, above the toaster slots for easy retrieval.
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Crumpet or Bagel Setting: Tailored settings that concentrate heat on the inner face more than the outer, perfect for achieving ideal results with crumpets or bagels.
While these features contribute to a more sophisticated toasting experience, their necessity depends on individual preferences. Assess your priorities to determine whether these enhancements align with your specific needs.
Price and performance
The cost of a toaster doesn't always reflect its toasting performance. Numerous pricier and visually appealing models may not achieve the same level of toasting excellence as their more affordable counterparts.
If reliability is your key consideration in selecting a toaster exploring models from Breville and Delonghi is a good place to start. However, the alignment between performance and reliability may not be straightforward. In fact there is quite some variation in satisfaction rating between various models within brands - just to make it more confusing. Russell Hobbs is a cheaper option but measures high in consumer satisfaction. Sunbeam is a solid all round toaster based on the sheer volume of toasters sold and their solid market share.
It worth checking some nz online reviews to improve your over all insight.