Toaster ovens have come a long way since Westinghouse Electric Company scientist William S. Hadaway invented this kitchen appliance in 1910. Today, there are numerous variations of the traditional toaster oven, so choosing just one can be quite overwhelming.
If you’re facing this dilemma, it’s best to learn the types of toaster ovens that are in the market today.
Standard toaster ovens
This is what many people have grown to know. The standard toaster ovens are designed to heat or cook small batches of food. Modern models are capable of broiling, baking, toasting, and more.
Like a microwave oven, a standard toaster oven is often used as a backup kitchen appliance for the wall or convection oven not only to reduce energy consumption but also to lessen prepping and cleaning.
For some people, standard toaster ovens even serve as their main oven, mostly because they require minimal kitchen space and are small enough to move around the countertop.
Toaster Ovens with Infrared Heating
Some toaster ovens are made with infrared heating elements, which remove the need to preheat since it automatically heats up as you turn it on.
A toaster oven with infrared heating should have these two heating elements: “near-infrared” (cooks inside of food more quickly) and “far infrared” (cooks outside of food more effectively), which results in evenly cooked food all the time.
Convection toaster ovens
Convection toaster ovens are designed with a high-speed fan inside, which continuously circulate air inside and result in a more even and faster cooking thanks to a uniform temperature throughout the oven.
This technology isn’t new, but not all toaster ovens have it. If you want an energy-efficient toaster oven, find a convection toaster oven because it immediately saves 50% of the energy that a standard toaster oven would have used.
Convection toaster ovens are ideal for people who bake, broil or cook big meals in the oven, but do not want to deal with the high power consumption of a conventional wall oven.
Toaster Oven with rotisserie
If you’re looking for a kitchen appliance exclusively for roasting chicken, find an oven that is designed with a rotisserie
Convection toaster ovens or standard toaster ovens may be manufactured with rotisserie. The heating method may change, but the way of cooking a chicken is the same. These ovens will include a timer and temperature control, a drip pan, and the actual rotisserie.
In ovens with rotisserie, the heat source is at the top or back of the oven as the chicken rotates and cooks evenly.
When choosing this kind of oven, opt for a bigger sized model if you wish to cook two or more chickens at the same time.
Toaster Ovens with Air Fry
Yes, even air frying can be done in a toaster oven, but you’d have to find a specific oven that supports this function.
With this function, you’ll be able to “fry” chicken nuggets, French fries, fish fillet, vegetables, and many more without buying a separate airfryer.
Other toaster ovens are very common in design but vary only with the functions and settings included. For example, some toaster ovens have:
- Bread or “toast” setting – Some toaster ovens have specific buttons for browning bread. From “bagel” setting to turning your toast a special kind of shade/dark.
- Defrost function – This function is extremely important to some people. I have been using my toaster oven’s defrost button for decades and it would take a huge amount of time from my food prep if I do it manually.
- The more cooking functions, the better – These cooking functions make it easy for anyone to maximize the potential of an oven. The typical cooking functions you’d see are bake, broil, toast, reheat, warm, and defrost. Other ovens go way beyond these functions and include specifics like bread, seafood, and so on.
- Timer and auto shut-off – You’d think that a timer and auto shut-off programming should be included in all toaster ovens, but you’d be surprised to know that some toaster ovens do not come with this basic function.
- Interior light – This is one of the most important elements any oven should have. If your toaster oven has a glass display, the light enables you to see your food and determine if they’re good to go. It totally removes the need to open the oven every now and then, which isn’t really productive since every time you open the door, heat escapes and increases cooking time.
When choosing between toaster ovens, also check the number of trays/racks included, lift level (lifts food up once cooked), housing material, and display (shows the number of times remaining like a microwave oven). These things may not be a priority for some people, but such functionalities may be important to you.
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