Euro-Pro TO156 Extra-Large-Capacity 6-Slice Toaster Oven Review

The Euro-Pro, which I purchased around Christmas 2006, has been an excellent value for me. It can be found at several major retailers, and I paid less than $30 for mine at Best Buy. Now, if you're all about snob appeal (or a stainless steel chassis) then you'd probably do better buying a Kitchenaid toaster. Sure, you'll pay five times the price, but that's what you get when you desire snob appeal. Actually, you get more than that with the Kitchenaid, but my level of culinary expertise doesn't require the extra features of the higher-priced brands.

Let me extol the virtues of this oven point by point:

1. The Price: It's cheap. It's really cheap.

2. The Look: No, it doesn't have the flair of the stainless steel models, but its clean, white chassis is certainly not offensive.

3. The size: It's not too big, not too small. It doesn't dominate your limited countertop, but it's much roomier inside than similarly-priced models. The Durabrand competitor from Wal-Mart is miniscule compared to this one. Unlike other models at this price, there are two racks inside!

4. Ease of cleaning: I once had a small Black & Decker oven that had a little latch at the bottom that made the bottom swing open. It was an interesting idea, but not always practical. With this one, there is a sliding crumb tray. You simply slide it out and rinse it off. Then you return to its position and you're good to go. It fits very nicely and I've not had one crumb get past it and stick to the bottom of the oven.

5. Ease of operation: It's almost a no-brainer. You have a "bake," "broil," and "toast/pizza" setting. There is a temperature setting that ranges up to 450 degrees. There's a 60 minute timer (rotary dial). There's a red light to indicate that the power is "on." Nothing more, nothing less.

6. Performance: I'm certain that a $150 oven would do better. It had better do better! But if you're looking for a BASIC toaster/countertop oven, you're probably not going to find one better. It does exactly what it claims it will do: Bake, Broil, and Toast. Don't be misled by the "Pizza" setting though. It is really for a slice of pizza or one of those small, plate-sized pizzas. If you want to bake a 16-inch pizza, you're still going to rely on the "big" oven in your kitchen.

Of course, an oven this cheap isn't without a few blemishes as well.

1. The rotary timer doesn't seem to work too well for anything under five minutes.

2. Using the black baking tray on the "toast" setting (where the heat comes from above) will blacken/burn your food. Use this tray ONLY while in the "bake" mode. This isn't a fault of the oven, but many users will probably make the same mistake I did.

3. I burned some food in my oven and now I have an ugly brown haze around the door. I scrubbed a bit too hard with a solution of orange cleaner and a Brill-o pad. Now, I have an ugly brown haze with scratches! Overall, this is a good oven. It would make a great gift (Christmas, housewarming, or wedding). I think it would be ideal in a dorm room or similarly-sized living arrangement. Now, aside from pizza bites and tater tots, you can also bake a chicken breast or broil a few chops too!

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Product Description:
Perfect as a second oven or as an energy-efficient alternative to turning on the full-size oven, this countertop appliance offers an extra-large capacity and can toast four to six slices of bread, as well as keep warm, bake, broil, and grill a variety of foods quickly and easily. The toaster oven provides three user-friendly control knobs for selecting the function, temperature, and time. Its full-range temperature-control knob can be set from 150 to 450 degrees F, while the 60-minute timer offers a variety of toast settings, a "stay on" function, and automatic shut-off with a "ready" signal. Use the handy appliance for anything from breakfast toast and English muffins to mini pizzas as an after-school snack to appetizers and side dishes. It can even accommodate cookie dough for baking up a small batch of chocolate-chip cookies. Accessories include two wire racks, one bake pan, a pan/rack remover, and an easy-to-empty pull-out crumb tray for quick cleanup. The 1380-watt toaster oven measures approximately 20 by 13-1/2 by 11-3/5 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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