Single hen

[Melanie]

Until now, we've always used the grill to make toast but I'm now thinking to buy a toaster.

Can anyone suggest a particular model for about £20-£25 that can deal with homemade bread, i.e. toast the whole slice evenly to a nice golden colour, rather than half the slice burnt and the top bit uncooked? Is it worth getting one with a bun warming rack thingy or are they just a gimmick?

 

Thanks!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I posted a similar thread a while back . I'll dig it out!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Here is the thread in question .

 

This is what I ended up getting. I'm really pleased with it, seven months on. It toasts evenly and feels pleasantly chunky not flimsy. My only criticism is that the dial is quite loose and moves easily. I stuck a bit of bluetack on it!

[SAB]

A good toaster that lasts years can be a difficult thing to find - a number of years ago now our gorgeous chrome expensive brand toaster gave up the ghost at a point I was totally skint - got a "temporary" one from Woolies for under a fiver and it is still going strong! Ah Woolies, how we miss you

[Couperwife]

we got ours from Tesco

 

for about £5

 

we dont have toast very often, but I think we have had it for a couple of years now, and its fine

 

cathy

x

[LJ's Chooks]

dualit...dualit...dualit...

 

Had mine for years and going strong... it gets used most days, looks fab too (pricey though)

 

[Melanie]

Thanks, everybody! At the weekend I got the one you suggested, ANH and it's OK, it does! Would have loved a dualit but could not justify the expense at the moment.....after all I was buying a toaster to save on electricity, so it wouldn't have made much sense really!

[..lay a little egg for me]

My extensive toaster research revealed the following:

 

Either buy a really cheap one and replace it about every 12 to 18 months

Or buy a Dualit Vario (not the 'lite' one) which should last forever (with the occasional replacement part)

 

I managed to get a 6-month old Dualit from eBay for about £60 as I could not bear sending so much plastic etc to the land fill site every year (I have been married 10 years and can remember at least 6 toasters that we have been through in that time). The Dualit we have had for 1 year so only another 5 to go and it will have paid for 6 years' worth of cheap toasters!

[bluekarin]

Here is the thread in question .

 

This is what I ended up getting. I'm really pleased with it, seven months on. It toasts evenly and feels pleasantly chunky not flimsy. My only criticism is that the dial is quite loose and moves easily. I stuck a bit of bluetack on it!

 

Thank goodness you didn't get the Tefal one. We had one for christmas and its really hit and miss with its toasting - sometimes underdone and others burnt. Thats when its not firing the toast out and onto the kitchen floor The Russel Hobbs one is the one I wanted as it matched the kettle we had then Maybe this one will meet a sticky end

[Melanie]

We're pleased with the Russell Hobbs and it copes well with the homemade loaves that we make. We've also sussed that we need to change the number dial a bit according to how fresh the loaf is.

 

BUT the toaster is VERY SCARY!

 

Our greyhound (not the one in the picture who sadly passed away a year ago) who's in the kitchen in the morning before he's been out to do his business and had his breakfast virtually jumps out of his skin when the toast pops up!! So my husband (yes, I know I'm lucky to have a husband who makes the breakfast ) has had to hover with his finger over the button so that it doesn't make too much noise!! Rescued greyhounds are adorable but often so frightened of everything. He can cope with the breadmaker and the dishwasher but this toaster freaks him out at the moment....

[Snowy]

I love my Dualit - it's a 6 slice vario in stainless steel, got it for £50 off ebay

It's already outlived any other toaster I've ever had