Have any of you had to buy a toaster lately?
Word of advice: If you can't afford the high-quality varieties that start around $150 and go up, stick to a toaster oven or put your bread in the oven and let that do the toasting. Today's toasters literally come with settings that burn your toast. I learned that the hard way.
Having had to retire the old heavy-duty Oster, and being I have a child who eats toast like every 3 hours, I was a bit desperate for a replacement. I looked on marketplace and other places online for something used and similar to our Oster but couldn't find anything. After doing a quick search on "high quality reliable toasters that don't cost a bazillion dollars", I settled on the $55 unit, the Elite Gourmet. Nice sound, right? It had rave reviews for its high quality and many saying it quickly and evenly browned the toast on both sides. I only wish someone had expanded on the "browns quickly" comment.
It arrived in the mail about a week later. Unpacking it I paused as I realized how light it was. That's not good, I thought. The site said it weighed 5 lbs. Take off 4 lbs and that's more like it.
Placing it on the kitchen counter, I examined it. Pretty. Stainless steel. About 16" in length. Defrost option which is good considering I like to make large batches of waffles and freeze them for later use. And a dial that went up to 6. Our last one went up to 10 and at that setting, it gave the bread that crispy brown experience. If that's your preference, of which it is not mine. I'm more of a "wee bit crisp with soft center" type.
Deciding to give it a test run, see if it worked, I plugged it in and immediately smelled something just horrid. A combination of burned metal and plastic.
UGH!
"That's not good," I thought as I unplugged it, opened the window, turned on the vent fan and got out my room spray I make and covered the space with peppermint. I looked inside the box for the owner's manual. Some year I will learn to read those first before using the new toys. Finding it, I looked through it and found the section that advises you to plug it in and let it go through a cycle at least three times to remove the chemical smell.
Question: What the frig are they putting on our appliances and most importantly, WHY? I wonder if it's the same sort of things they put on new clothes and towels that require several washings with a gallon of vinegar to remove the odor. Whatever happened to new car new towel new clothes smell of the past? Oh, how I longed for that.
Returning to the toaster, I eyed it with suspicion. Keeping the fan going and the windows open, I plugged it in again, letting it run 3 more cycles until, just like the manual said, the smell was gone.
That was good. I did not like that smell and neither did my daughter who very vocally yelled from her room "Good gawd mom what is that SMELL make it STOP!"
Next up: insert bread and see how it toasts. I decided to turn it up to 3. Halfway to the max. A nice balance. That's me - always seeking the balance in things. I walked away for a few moments only to return to smoke and the putrid smell of something burning. "YIKES!" I yelled, unplugging the toaster.
Again.
I can't say what I removed was once bread. That's how charred it was.
Ok then, I thought. Let's try this again, grabbing another piece of bread, starting to think this was turning into an expensive project I was not consenting to. Into the toaster it went, setting the dial all the way down to 1 (because I ain't crazy and I have trust issues already with this thing), and let it do its thing. A very short time later up it pops, not quite brown but not burned.
Well after some time and experimentation, I realized 1.5 is the good setting for light toasting. The maximum you should go? 2.5, for 3 and beyond leaves you with burned toast.
Which brings me to the title of this piece and asking the obvious question:
WHY ON EARTH DO WE HAVE TOASTERS THAT LITERALLY BURN YOUR TOAST?
Isn't the purpose to AVOID that?
Isn't the purpose of a toaster to TOAST the bread? You know, that brown color?
In days past if you wanted burned black bread (yes, those people exist), you would reinsert the bread and repeat the cycle.
But today?
Just insert and put it on 3.
But warning - you are on your own if you put it beyond 3. If you dare to enter that territory, make sure you have working smoke alarms, nearby windows and peppermint room spray.
Victoria
WHO AM I: Good question. Who am I? I am mama Victoria, and I am seeking to share my creations with the world in order that I might bring a smile to your face and touch your heart. Your support helps me feed my child and change my life for the better. Thank you!