Customer Reviews

Cuisinart Convection Oven Toaster / Broiler CTO-350PC

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

1. I love this toaster oven. 2. I checked with Cuisinart and it is the exact same oven as the TOB-175 that goes for $[...] and has 5 star ratings and is top rated by Consumer Reports. The CTO-350PC is the price club model number. I got mine for $[...] at Costco.

I have tried this oven for baking & toasting and it works great.
As far as the other review saying it only toasts one side, I disagree.
You must use the wire rack to make sure the bottom burner's heat gets
to your bread. And make sure there is nothing in between bottom burner
and your bread.

Everything works great as advertised except two things I didn't like :

Unlike all the toasting features, the timer does not operate the same way
when baking :

- When toasting, there is an aotomatic timer that is set with duration
depending on the selections made (like 4-6 slices / bagel / defrost/
reheat..) and the oven turns off when timer reaches zero.

- When baking/broiling/conv. baking : The timer is set by the user to
a specified time. However, unlike toasting, the oven does NOT shut
off when timer reaches zero. All it does is buzz the end of timer
signal without shutting off. That means you need to get up from your
chair and walk to the unit to shut it off by pressing Start/Stop button.
This is too much work for the average American, having to get up from
his/her chair and take a walk to shut it off. If you do not shut
it off yourself, it shuts off automatically after 4 hours.

Another thing I didn't like is the manual says to unplug it when not in
use. So for those who like to see a clock display: Well if you follow
that precaution, you will lose your clock setting each time you unplug it.
So why to they bother having a clock when they recommend unplugging it
when not being used ? You would need to reset your clock every time you
plug it back in.

Other than these two issues (timer and precaution to unplug it) I like
everything else and it works as advertised with good results,
toasting as well, when used properly.[...]

This countertop convection toaster oven broiler has changed my life! Namely, now I make roasted vegetables and other oven-needing items without making a big production of heating up my real oven (where I have a HearthKit 20-1/2-Inch Oven Insert that is wonderful but slows down preheating). And I roast or bake vegetables instead of microwaving.

I called Cuisinart to ask if we're really supposed to keep it unplugged, and they said No, that's just a precaution to make sure you don't leave the oven *on*. So I keep mine plugged in. Also, some reviewers complain that the timer doesn't turn the oven off when the time is up. But oven timers aren't supposed to turn ovens off -- think of them as alerts that it's time to check and see whether your food is ready.

This thing preheats in about three minutes. It includes a brilliant "defrost" feature that defrosts frozen bread and *then* makes toast. It's surprisingly spacious inside, and its door is a big glass window. It has insulated handles on the sides so you can move it at any time. I'm a fussy, critical person, and I love this appliance. Got it just over half price at a member-discount store.

I wanted this Toaster Oven so I could experiment with the convection bake feature and for it's large capacity, but I mostly use it to broil so that I do not have to turn on my regular oven to broil a couple of pieces of chicken for dinner. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are a lot of things I do not like about this unit:

- The Drip Pan must be removed from the back which is very inconvenient.

- Even though it has two broiler rack settings, and a broil pan that has two possible heights, I have found that regardless of what rack position or pan height I use, my food is either too far away or too close to the elements and either burns or does not broil properly. (I also suspect that this is not getting hot enough to broil food.)

-There is no way to change the temperature without the unit shutting itself off. You will need to turn it off and then turn it back on again and wait for it to reach the new higher or lower temperature. This is very frustrating.

-You have to be a genius to figure out how you want your toast done! There are five different kinds of toasting, and about 7 different "darkness" settings available (possibly more, I don't know because I like my toast light.) This makes at least 35 different combinations of possible toast settings, and there is minimal explanation of how to select the correct setting. This would certainly be a good machine for a Toast Enthusiast, but it is a little too complicated for me.

I would not recommend this machine for anyone who does a lot of Broiling.

I ordered this oven less than two years ago. After my first use of the convection oven the casing cracked. The handle fell off after a couple of months but I was too lazy to send it back and I had to use a knife to open and close the oven door. After two years (I paid $145) it completely short circuited. This is not a quality product and not worth a penny. I was very very disap[pointed. Cuisinart is supposed to be a strong brand.

Bought and returned 2 of these.

It only toasts bread on 1 side, the other side is not done.

Might be ok for the oven part, but I never tried that.

This is not a replacement for your toaster.

For over $100 I would expect it to toast bread too.

My $10 Proctor Silex toaster works better for toast.

I love all of my Cuisinart small appliances except for this one. When I put a small loaf of bread in to warm or bake, the top gets burnt. When I put in toast, it only toasts one side. Save your money. I'm shopping for another brand.