Having a good toaster oven in your kitchen will give you a lot of versatility. Of course, you can use a toaster oven to make toast, but it also can accomplish many other cooking tasks. For example, a toaster oven can bake, warm, reheat and broil all sorts of foods. In fact you can use this handy appliance for many routine cooking tasks, and you never have to turn your regular oven on. And, this appliance has the advantage of cooking without preheating – a big time saver. But what to look for and think about when choosing a toaster oven?

First, you will want to figure out if you want to buy a model that goes on your countertop, or buy one that can be fitted under a cabinet. If you want to have an oven that is more portable, you should get one for the countertop. If you want to have the toaster oven available all the time and not take up precious counter space, then opt for a built in.

Next, you should take a look at the space where you want to use your toaster oven. If you want to store it away when you are not using it, you also should measure the storage space where you want to place it.

Then, you should measure how far from where your toaster oven is going to sit to the closest electrical outlet. You should not use an extension cord with your appliance; this is a dangerous fire hazard. You will want to plug it straight into your wall. You should try to buy a toaster oven that has a long cord so that it can reach the outlet without any extension cord.

The next step is to think about what are the most important features for your toaster oven. What do you really want to use it for? Think about some of the following ideas:

– If space is at a premium, buy a smaller unit to make more counter space. Or, if you want to do a lot of cooking with it, you might want to buy a bigger one so that you have more cooking options. A big toaster oven can be used to bake whole chickens or large beef roasts. If the device has a rack that you can take out, you will have a lot more flexibility in what you cook with it.

– Choose a toaster oven that has a touchpad if being able to keep it clean is important. You can keep a flat touchpad much more clean than a dial. You will not have to worry about food debris getting caught in the edges of the dials. Also, a touchpad appliance is more accurate in terms of temperature than a dial unit.

– Choose a product that lets you to select warm/reheat or defrost, if you want to have that option instead of just with your microwave.

– You may want to pay a little bit more and buy a product that has a light on the inside. This will allow you to better see your food as it is cooking. This is very important when you are doing cooking tasks that are time sensitive, such as broiling or melting cheddar cheese.

As you can see, there are many things to consider when you are buying your toaster oven. If you do your homework, you can buy an inexpensive, versatile product that will help you to cook everything that you want and rarely needing to turn on your oven. Also, you will be able to really cut down on your electric bills.

Lawrence Reaves is a freelance writer with knowledge in kitchen appliances including toaster ovens and toasters. For more information about toaster visit this site.

Lawrence Reaves is a freelance writer with knowledge in kitchen appliances including toaster ovens and toasters. For more information about toaster visit http://www.proctorsilex.com/products/kitchen-appliances-toaster-ovens.php

Author Bio: Lawrence Reaves is a freelance writer with knowledge in kitchen appliances including toaster ovens and toasters. For more information about toaster visit this site.

Category: Food and Drinks
Keywords: Kitchen Appliances, toasters, toaster oven, toaster ovens