Customer Reviews

Panasonic NB-G100P 7.2-Quart 1300-Watt Infrared Toaster Oven

5 star:		(144)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

First I must say that this toaster oven makes better toast than any other toaster oven I have used. That said, there are a few things that disappointed me.
1. There is an on/off button. It would be better if using the other buttons turned it on automatically and it should turn off automatically when the cycle ends.
2. That light is bright! Very strange to have space-alien lighting emanating from the toaster over. A tinted door would be nice.
3. Not good for baking. This oven does a great job of heating the surface, but not so great heating the center of things. Even cookies did not fare well.
4. The oven is hotter in back and cooler in front. It even mentions this in the instructions. Large items such as pizza need to be rotated partway through heating.
5. The temperature increments are weird and won't match most recipes.

It does, however, make great toast. Even Pepperidge Farm's Texas Toast worked well. Any other toaster oven I have used has always toasted the top and bottom unevenly, leaving a crunchy top and soggy bottom. Grilled cheese sandwiches work great too. I love the Frozen Toast button - the button I use most. Hopefully Panasonic will correct the annoyances with the next model, but I'm still keeping this one.

This machine is the best toaster ever -- all my goodies come out evenly browned with just the right crunch factor. But it's best to think of it as a toaster, not a toaster oven. Let's talk about the "40% faster" advertising claim: this set me up to expect toast in microwave time. Not. It takes just as long as a pop-up toaster. But it does a far, far superior job. And let's talk about the "blinding light" complaint from some reviewers: Not. The machine uses visible light in the cooking, so imagine a 60 watt light bulb in a box -- it's not a problem at all. But it's weird at first how the light goes on & off to control the temperature. The little buzzer at the end of the cycle is melodic and pleasant. The quality is excellent, and the controls are sensical and well designed. All-in-all: This is one awesome machine. I'm emotionally bonded with mine, and I'm generally cranky about gadgets that don't meet advertising claims. This machine just makes such darn good toast & browns my bagels so perfectly that I can't part with it.

Oven uses 3 bulbs to heat instead of metal resistance heat,2 tubes (top+bottom)produce heat and 1 tube(top)produces heat and light.Button for light will activate bulb for a few seconds but since bulb produces heat it goes on and off by itself controlled by thermostat so there is a lightshow.Power is not cut when door is opened so be careful with children.Timer is limited to 25 minutes then oven shuts off,to extend cooking time requires setting timer again so it is more french fry friendly than baked potato friendly.Door is connected to rack which helps raise door since rack is spring loaded.Tray is square and holds small Freshetta brand pizza I enjoy,pictures here show teflon color but tray and interior are plain metal.Crumb tray slides out easily from front but front ledge of oven will collect crumbs since rack moves in and out above this area.I do not know how spills on tube will affect them,interior is heated so much by bulbs drips will turn to smoke requiring tray anyway.Display shows red LED which count down time other lights are red LED also.Toastmaking requires extra step to push on/off button before and after toastmaking and old time ding is replaced with soft beep like wristwatch so mornings will be peaceful.Feet provide air circulation under oven but produced tiny wobble on area I placed it due to uneven carpentry.Warranty card is sent to address in Colorado known for collecting marketing information.This toaster is for people who want something different and value their countertop real estate.

This is a wonderful little oven. It's great for toast, reheating left overs and convenience foods. It can be used as well for baking casseroles and meats. Meals for one to four can be prepared in it, cooked by the preprogrammed menus or by temperature selection. Using the latter, I've baked salmon filets, lean beef patties and a noodle casserole in it. It takes about 30-35% less time to cook an item than in an ordinary oven. It also uses 1300 watts as opposed to the usual 1500 of most units. Best of all there is no preheating, which also saves time and energy. It is a nice size as well, fitting perfectly on my stove top under the exhaust fan. Note! The instructions give detailed safety precautions in regard to use. I'm careful not to have a burner operating when the toaster is on. Otherwise I move it elsewhere. Having used it for less than a week, I may rate it higher. There are a few drawbacks, however, that caused me to give it a 4 this time. Panasonic does not have a cook book other than the instruction manual, which isn't very detailed. Cooking in the oven is by experiment as to time and doneness. Also, it is advised to use only metal pans as opposed to heat resistant glass. I called Panasonic and was told the latter might break because of the intensity of heat and being too close to the heating element. I have used stainless steel pans instead of aluminum and found them to work quite well. In cooking meats or fish it is suggested that it be wrapped in foil. I prefer not using foil, although I did cover salmon loosely with it to shelter the unit from any spattering. Overall, I highly recommend this oven.

UPDATE FEB 02, 2010:
It's now Feb of 2010 and my NB-G100P is still going strong! It gets used every day and I'm still really happy about this machine. Over the years, I've found the one drawback to be that it's just a little too small for the one thing I like to use it for: frozen pizza. I can't seem to find small enough frozen pizzas to fit inside of this thing, unless I use Ellio slices, or the really cheap Totinos pizza. I simply can't find decent pizza that will fit in here, so my next infrared toaster over will have to be larger.

I also developed a "rule of thumb" when picking cooking times for frozen food. I typically look at the time listed for a traditional oven, take the maximum time and divide it by two. If the temperature recommended on the package isn't available on the NB-G100P, I go to the next higher one. Yup, that usually works for me.
END OF UPDATE:

The other reviewers don't lie: this NB-G100P rocks!

I'm a single guy who eats a lot of frozen foods and this thing is wonderful. It toasts wonderfully and I even turned a cheap italian hoagie into a tasty warm grinder. It's a nice looking unit, easy to clean, and doesn't take up much space. I do wish that the buzzer at the end of cooking was a lot louder, because I cannot hear it if I have the radio or television on.

And don't believe the other reviewers when they say that you can't make chocolate chip cookies in this thing. :-) I was determined to prove them wrong, so I bought a roll of pre-made dough and experimented over the next couple of days. Here's what I do for the cookies: Place the smallish blobs of cookie dough in a non-stick, 8x8 metal pan and set the over for 320 degrees at 15 minutes. IMPORTANT: after the over turns off, let the cookies sit in there for five more mintues before removing. I have no idea why you need to let them sit, but if you don't, they turn out funky.

Here are some of the other times/temps that I wrote down for foods:

Defrosted, homemade lasagna: 390 @ 7 minutes

Frozen fish sticks: Press the hash brown button and increase the darkness by one bar.

8" Freschetta rising crust pizza: Press the pizza button and increase the darkness by one bar.

Frozen, pre-cooked hot-wings (the ones from Frank & Theresa's Anchor bar are the best!): 390 for 13 minutes and splash some extra Red Hot on there before you start. Maybe cook them a bit longer if the wings are fatty.

Frozen, el-cheapo freedom (a.k.a. french) fries: 460 degrees for 9 minutes.

Barber Foods Chicken Kiev: Microwave on high for two minutes, still in the plastic wrapper, but with an end opened. Then put in the NP-G100P for 8.5 minutes at 390 degrees.

Stoffer's French Bread Pizza: 355 degrees for 13 mintues.

I also learned the hard way, not to exceed the temperatures written on the package, if the food is in a plastic container. I tried cooking a Celentano frozen eggplant parm, which said don't go above 375 on the package. Well, I tried cooking at 395 (what's twenty degrees among friends....) and it started to melt the container. Doh!

Anyways, this thing rocks for everything from frozen food to plain toast.

Yes, this toaster is a little smaller than I expected but it performs so well that I can forgive that shortcoming.

The interface is different (it has a power button like an audio/video component) but once you get used to it the controls and pre-programmed buttons really simplify use.

After owning it for 2 months, I've found that it is great for:
- toasting frozen bread
- making open faced grilled cheese sandwiches (toast bread on light and grill cheese for 4 mins at 460 deg)
- reheating pizza

I particularly like the door which is raised so it can still open fully when there is a plate in front of the toaster.

One thing that disappoints me is that while you can fit a dinner plate onto its deep cavity, the wire rack is not robust enough and flexes under the weight even if there is hardly any food on it.

All in all a well-implemented high tech (cooks with light) advancement on a humble kitchen appliance.

I purchased this toaster oven in large part because of the glowing reviews at Amazon.com. I wasn't disappointed.

I've done all sorts of things with this oven, from toast to lasagne, and it's all turned out great. Lasagne took about 75% of the time as it would have in a conventional oven (that's just cooking time, even faster considering this needs no preheat!), and the kitchen stayed cool. Toast comes out perfect. Frozen treats come out hot and crispy, but in much less time than my old toaster oven.

It's a bit disconcerting at first to have a very bright light cycling on and off in the corner of my kitchen, but you get used to it. And after a bit of paying attention, you'll quickly be able to adjust your existing time and temperature numbers (for your existing conventional or toaster oven) to the slightly quicker infrared cooker.

A lot of toaster ovens leave toast a little soggy. I hate that! This oven makes perfectly browned toast, and it is never soggy. It's also fantastic at warming rolls, bagels, and any crispy foods.

It reheats pizza and leaves the crust nice and crispy. You'll never microwave pizza again. The preset buttons make cooking easy.

This oven is smaller than other toaster ovens I've owned. If you're the type of person who likes to cook whole chickens in your toaster oven, you'll probably be disappointed in this item. But for the rest of us, it's just about perfect.

They say it cooks fast and evenly and I have to agree. I was a little hesitant buying outside the established toaster oven manufacturers but I had always had such good luck with Panasonic microwaves. This little beauty needs NO preheating and the preset cooking options are right on the button. We use it for fish sticks, reheating pizza slices, toast and more. I haven't had a failure yet. Only had it a short time but if it lasts through the one year parts&labor warranty then we will have gotten more than our moneys worth. Well done Panasonic!

This is a nice oven. It cooks things faster than a conventional toaster oven and has nice features. The only drawback I see is there's no ability to broil. But I have found plenty of uses for this oven and I find I can do things in this one that I would never of done with my old one. Great product!