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How to Choose and Buy a Toaster

Here are some hints and tips on things to consider when choosing a toaster:

Types of Toaster

Before choosing a toaster, ask yourself what you want to use your toaster for. Will it be for home use for yourself and/or your family? Or maybe you need it for commercial usage, such as in a café or restaurant. If you require a commercial toaster, do you need a pop-up model or a conveyor model?

Domestic Pop-up Toasters

Most homes have a pop-up toaster in their kitchen, designed to toast two, or maybe four, pieces of bread at a time. A timer controls the toasting time and an adjustable thermostat varies the browning. Usually there is also a cut-off control to eject the toast before the time is up (especially useful when the toast is burning!).

Commercial Pop-up Toasters

These toasters work very much in the same way as their domestic counterparts, but feature higher capacities and greater durability. Their advantage is that they are compact and fit easily on a counter, a useful feature when space is at a premium. They are also less expensive than a conveyor toaster.

However, this type of toaster is limited by the fact that they are designed for small operations, generally of about 200-300 slices per hour. If you require this amount of toast, you should consider purchasing a heavy duty pop-up model. Also be aware that bagels, sub rolls and croissants do not generally fit into a pop-up toaster.

Conveyor Toasters

A conveyor toaster is specifically designed for large-scale commercial use. Bread is put on the conveyor at the front of the machine and passed through under the filaments, and is then sent down a chute to be collected at the bottom. Conveyor toasters are also suitable for toasting bagels, croissants etc. Production capacity generally ranges from 350-800 slices an hour, making conveyor toasters ideal for a large restaurant that is constantly busy.

Extra Features

Toasters come with different extra features that you may wish to consider when purchasing:

• Programmable memory: These presets can be programmed in, allowing you to select your preferred level of browning.
• Defrost/reheat: The defrost function allows you to thaw out the bread before the regular toasting cycle begins. The reheat function allows you to warm cold toast or un-toasted bread.
• Viewing window: Allows you to check the progress of your toast.
• Cool-to-the-touch housing: Ideal for domestic use. Protects you or your family from burning your hands.

Further Information

You can find out more about some of the top models of toaster available on the market on our Top Toaster Models page.

If you want to buy a toaster, you can find out more about some of the top online toaster suppliers including details of their delivery times and postage and packaging costs in our Where to Buy section.

You can learn more about other types of cooking appliance in our Types of Cooking Appliance section.

You can find out about specific cooking appliance manufacturers and brands in our Brands of Cooking Appliance section.