In June, Meredith Goade wrote a piece for the Press Herald entitled, "Worth the Dough?". An entire article dedicated to whether the $400 Dualit toaster - the "The Rolls-Royce of toasters" was worth the hefty price tag. She staged a "toast off" between the Dualit and a $29 Cuisinart toaster, trying both bagels and breads. The verdict? The Dualit was worth the dough. Even the owner of Standard Bakery has a Dualit toaster. And so must I. Thank you Meredith for conducting this experiment and making my purchasing decision easy, precisely at the time when I am in the market for a new toaster.
Just to be safe, I did some independent research, checking out the reviews on Amazon & Cooking.com. Five star ratings from most everyone. Sold.
So my husband and I ventured out to Williams Sonoma and picked one up, along with some fresh Mister Bagel bagels and a half pound of veggie tofu. We went home with high hopes. Problem was the bagels at Mister Bagel are so plump (which I love) that they didn't fit in the toaster slots. We had to mash them down inside to get them to toast. But they did come out PERFECTLY toasted. Crispy and golden brown. We then tried When Pigs Fly Bread, which is oblong in shape (as opposed to traditional square bread). Only three-quarters of the slice fit into the toaster, so I had to toast one half, stop the toasting, then flip the bread around and toast the other side. We eat When Pigs Fly all the time. And bagels too. So this toaster - as grand as it is - was not going to make the cut.
Back to Williams Sonoma we went. The only other 4-slot toaster they carry in the store is the Breville Ikon. On-line reviews warned that the exterior of the toaster becomes extremely hot when toasting, causing burns on some of those who wrote reviews; others cautioned against putting the toaster too close to cupboards. But the folks at Williams Sonoma had not heard such claims and offered to fire up the Breville toaster in the store so we could all see how hot it would actualy become. As it turns out, the exterior did remain cool-to-the-touch. Sold. And only $100 - bargain!
So we brought this toaster home, picked up another 1/2 dozen bagels at the Falmouth Mister Bagel (I think we're keeping Mary in business!) and gave it a try. While waiting for my bagel to toast I admired this toaster's slim design; it took up minimal counter space. And it had extra wide - and very long slots to accommodate both our plump bagels and When Pigs Fly Bread. Lost in thought, I screamed out loud when all of a sudden the toaster handle popped up and 2 bagels halves went flying in the air, ricocheted off the underside of the cabinet and landed on the granite counter. Major spring action in that toaster. The bagels were well toasted - not to the even, golden perfection of the Dualit, but pretty darn good.
But each morning those flying bagels, bread and English muffins (those were the worst, being so light), flying through the air scared me half to death. I just couldn't take it any more. Back to Williams Sonoma (they are so good about returns!).
With no other 4-slot toaster options left at Williams Sonoma, I went on-line in search of what is now our third attempt. I settled on the KitchenAid Metal Classic with an average customer rating of 4.7 on Cooking.com. "Four extra wide slots with self-centering bread racks and a rugged metal body construction with brushed stainless steel finish provide this high-tech toaster with a new meaning of durability and dynamic style." Sounded pretty good. $99.95. It arrived and my poor husband was sent, yet again to Mister Bagel for another 1/2 dozen bagels.
Bagel in - no problem. Bagel popped up and remained in the toaster in "keep warm" mode until I could retrieve it. Golden brown for the most part...a bit of an uneven toast, but nothing too dramatic. When Pigs Fly Bread fits pretty well - just a slight angle needed, creating a tad unevenness in the browning. It could be a keeper...and would have been the final toaster to grace our counter....except....
Except that I am apparently easily influenced by brand placement in television shows. And in the midst of our Search-For-The-Perfect-Toaster, we happened upon a new sitcom, Carpoolers. In this particular episode one of the guys became insecure that his wife might be making more money than he was because she came home one day with a fancy-shmansy toaster. This toaster actually had self lowering toaster racks! Start the toaster and watch your bread or bagel slowly and gently lower into the chamber. When done, it slowly and gently raises the perfectly toasted item, and a beautiful little "ding" chimes completion. What is this toaster? The KitchenAid Nickel Pearl, typically $200 -but I just ordered it on Cooking.com for a mere $132 - (big KitchenAid Sale going on right now).
Will this be "The One?" Will the arrival of the Kitchenaid Nickel Pearl end my search? Will my bagels experience toasting nirvana? We'll know as soon as...(where is that UPS truck anyway???).
1 comments:
Well, I have to admit the toasters in the picture do look very snazzy on the kitchen counter. However, I have sacrificed snazzy for simple with my modest toaster oven. The benefits are many: I can watch the toasting through the glass and stop it too much; it fits all types of bread (it can even manage four slices of some bread at a time) and bagels; I can even bake in it (small serving of lasagna or left over egg rolls); and I can broil garlic bread without heating up the big oven. And it even attaches under my kitchen counter. I wish my toaster overn looked as nice as these...oh well at least I have never had to smoosh, pry or avoid flying bakery products with it. Of course if it was When Pigs Fly bread that would be pretty ironic.
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