Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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436 of 439 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't think I'd like it this much!, June 16, 2005
I finally had to replace a Delonghi that I used for 13 years. That is a pretty good run for a small appliance these days. Plus, I used it a lot. So I naturally set out to get another DeLonghi to replace it (presumably for another 13 years).
What I discovered was that toaster ovens have become much more advanced and perhaps more complex as well. I usually embrace technology in all other aspects of my life but I really liked the simplicity of 3 knobs to turn. Idiot proof. I didn't relish the idea of having to punch a bunch of buttons to reheat a casserole or even make toast.
However I did a little research and decided to get a convection type oven. I narrowed it down to 2 or 3 and chose this one based on some key factors:
1. The crumb tray must be removed from the FRONT. Rear removal is a deal breaker.
2. The LCD should light up. This one does, but many don't.
3. The oven should shut itself off after cooking time is done, just like a microwave. I multi-task in the kitchen so setting separate egg timers for separate dishes gets to be a nuisance. Plus it is safer.
Okay, one real choice -- the Krups.
Now the bonuses:
1. Fast foods like fries, fish sticks, chicken tenders come out evenly cooked and very crisp.
2. There is no interior light (I didn't need one) but the heating elements are so bright that you can pretty much see everything when one is activated.
3. The controls are very easy to use. A quick read of the manual and I owned the controls.
4. Food is invariably cooked in less time with better results. This may be seen as a negative initially because you need to guesstimate cooking times. I find that with foods/recipies that provide a range (i.e., 15-18 mins.), just go with the lower value and it comes out pretty near perfect.
5. The price is very competitive and well-worth it in my opinion. I even paid more for mine at the time of purchase (price has gone down since).
In conclusion, I am very pleased. But I guess that is clear by now.
P.S. The instructions say to run the oven empty for 15 mins before using it. Do this. Mine emitted a smell when first running empty (residue from manufacturing I suppose). As a precaution, I did it a second time and no smell.
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176 of 178 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent design, May 22, 2005
I previously owned the Cuisinart Toaster-Oven that is the top seller here, and it worked well enough for a couple of years, but did not cook evenly and did not have a timed shutoff. It was annoying to always have to carefully remember when to turn off the oven.
Finally the Cuisinart died due to a power surge (the only outlet I had forgotten to protect), and so I decided to purchase this Krups unit from Amazon.
After just a couple of weeks of use, I cannot speak to its reliability, but it performance has been excellent. The elements that turn on and off, do help to heat the food more evenly than other toaster-ovens. The controls are simple and easy to understand, and thus quicker to use even for tech-savvy users.
The unit is also solidly constructed and designed. For example, other toaster-ovens have places that are hard to clean, and crumb trays that have to be removed from the back or bottom (which requires you to pick up and move the unit). The Krups oven instead allows the crumb tray to be removed from the front, and in fact uses the crumb tray to focus the heat (don't lose it!).
The best part of the Krups toaster-oven is the simple feature that the timer turns off the oven. The Cuisinart has a timer - but it only beeps. The Krups turns off the oven, and thus I don't have to worry if I am distracted by something like the doorbell right when I otherwise need to go turn off the oven, to prevent the food from being burned.
Again, I don't know about this unit's reliability (small appliances are notorious for breaking down right after the warranty expires), but in terms of performance and design, it's top notch.
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109 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little scrapper that knocks out the competition, January 11, 2006
I decided to replace my Black & Decker toaster oven not because it broke down, but because I was so irritated with the hit-or-miss way it had worked since I took it out of the box. This seemed to be a trend with most of the toaster ovens I've owned, which now total 5 including the Krups.
The first thing you'll notice about this oven is how heavy it is. The enclosure has a nice black powder coat finish that is easy to take care of, and it's well-vented, which is reassuring. While the top, sides, and bottom are all insulated (which is to say, the inside wall of the oven is not also the outside wall), the back is only a thin piece of metal, so be sure that it doesn't butt up against anything that isn't heat-resistant... the temperature of the inside of the oven will be the temperature of the back of the oven.
The controls are indeed very intuitive and extremely easy to use. The temperature and the timer are both selected independently, as is the mode of operation (kudos to Krups for using individual buttons for each mode, instead of a common button to toggle the mode from Conv. Bake, Toast, Defrost, etc.). The display is LCD, and is backlit by very nice, bright white LED's. Likewise, each mode button has its own red LED, and the start/stop button is ringed by a number of bright-true-green LED's. Overall, the layout and user experience is really stellar.
Baking, along with every other function, is a breeze, and is quite consistent. Most items take around the same amount or slightly less time than is recommended. The Convection Bake function is outstanding, and when I re-heated a few pieces of fried chicken using it, they came out crispy, tender, and still as juicy as they were when they were fresh. I was amazed.
I was also surprised to find that the door is not switched, which is to say the heating elements and fan do not shut off when the oven door is opened. I find this to be a relief, as the Black & Decker I previously owned lost a lot of thermal ground when the door was opened (which it then had to re-gain by blasting whatever I was baking as it re-heated the oven chamber), and most digital ovens (including my old B&D) have a sickening "beep" whenever you open the door. In case you blacked out. Or were sleepwalking. The Krups has no such beep, which might prove to be a shock if you have a habit of baking cookies while sleepwalking. The rest of your family will thank you, however.
Casseroles come out done perfectly, meats are juicy and tender (try one of those pre-marinated pork roasts... fantastic!), baked goods are crispy. After working all day in a commercial kitchen where our convection ovens are always touch-and-go, I love coming home and cooking with this little monster, and knowing that the results will be picture-perfect.
So, to break it down...
Pros:
Clean, pleasing industrial design
Useful, simple controls
Excellent baking results
Powerful heating elements and convection fan
Cons:
Enclosure gets pretty hot
Fan can cause some vibrations as oven heats and expands
No non-timed baking mode
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