On Fri 06 May 2005 09:08:50a, Dee Randall wrote in rec.food.cooking:
Quoted message said:
"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:On Fri 06 May 2005 07:39:19a, Dimitri wrote in rec.food.cooking:
Quoted message said:I am going to chuck my toaster. That Damn thing is starting to [censored]
me off.
Short of toasting a piece of bread what is the best way to judge the
"toasting ability" would the wattage be a good measure of power?
e.g.. Compare shop for Toaster Ovens at DealTime - read reviews and
compare prices ... Slice Capacity: 4 Slice Oven, Power: 1300 Watts,
With Digital/LED Display ...
One would think the more watts the more power however the distance
from the coils I think is also important.
Maybe a better question is what is the best way to judge the "toasting
ability?
Thanks
Dimitri
A lot depends on what your goal is for toast. If you prefer crispier
toast (and more deeply through the bread) with a broader range of
color, then a lower wattage and/or greater distance from the
coils/elements would probably work better. By it's nature, this type
of toasting takes more time. If you want quick toast, well-colored,
but with no concern over a softness within the slice of bread, then
higher wattage and/or less distance from the coils/elements would be
the better choice.
Older, high quality toasters tended to toast more thoroughly (deeply)
and produce a crisp slice of toast without burning the bread. I wonder
if today's hurry...hurry...hurry attitude has led to a generation of
faster toasters that don't do a particularly good job.
In general, I have found that good toaster ovens produce toast more
like earlier generation toasters.
Wayne, I sure agree with you on the last sentence.
I also have a Cuisinart 4 slice toaster that will toast 2 slices and has
a number of settings for light/dark and reset, etc. I still find that
if I set a slice to toast at #4 -- which is about the darkest it will go
on mine without burning -- that I will come back a little later, hoping
it has dried out a little, and set it to #2, just to get it a little
dryer and toastier -- reminiscent of toast on the farm made with a
wood-stove. I know this 'farm' toast is a little like melba-toast, but
probably the youngsters today didn't get to know about this kind of
toast that some of us really enjoyed and may not like at all.
Yes, that's the type of toast I remember and really prefer, although we
didn't have a wood-fired stove. The toast was often made in the oven of
our range. My parents had a GE toaster, purchased in 1937, that also made
toast like that. I tend to think that people of today's generation would
not like it as well, since they've probably never been accumstomed to it.
Quoted message said:Toast at a lot of the diners really leave a lot to be desired.
Oh, I am remembering that when I was in Japan in the mid-80's a lot of
the business hotels had a single toaster that looked like the old-time
toaster on the bread table; the kind that was available here in the 40's
(not the revolving kind that you see now).
I think the majority of restaurants, of almost any ilk, make substandard
toast today. Having said that, the last time I had breakfast in Peacock
Alley at the Waldorf, toast was still served in toast racks and it was
"proper toast", absolutely perfect. The Brits had a good idea in using
toast racks. The toast doesn't get soggy. I wish more restaurants here in
the US used them.
Quoted message said:One time years ago at the Heritage House (movie: Same Time Next Year was
filmed there) in California, they put individual toasters on your table
in the morning whereby you could cook your own toast to your preference.
What a great approach! I would enjoy that.
Quoted message said:I recall it because they were the chrome-like finish and they were
sparkling clean! Mine at home always had a piece of saran wrap stuck to
the side -- I was happy when they came out with the plastic toasters --
how many times I've burnt my arm on the metal ones.
Ah yes, plastic on chrome. Not the most fun thing to try to remove. :-)
Quoted message said:Back to the subject at hand -- I would recommend the Cuisinart toaster
-- I bought a back-up -- I like it that well.
Dee
Glad you found one that works that well for you. I've pretty much settled
on a Panasonic toaster oven that's handy for an assortment of tasks. It
does make great toast, but the only drawback is that it needs to preheat to
do the best job of it.
--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974
