For years I’d been just a regular toaster person. I never had a toaster oven, and I wasn’t really sure what I was missing. If I wanted toast, I’d use a traditional toaster. If I wanted to heat something up, I’d use the microwave. That is until I came across the Panasonic NB-G100P infrared toaster oven. I was convinced after learning about all it’s features, so I purchased one. I must say that it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as a consumer!
Features
Most ordinary toaster ovens use a similar kind of heating element that you’d use in a regular oven. This is alright if you want to wait longer for your toast to turn to a golden brown. The Panasonic toaster oven instead uses elements that emit infrared light to cook your food. This toaster oven also has time control, temperature control, and even shade control if you’re cooking toast! Other options include controls specific to different kinds of food such as rolls, frozen food, and quick reheat. The toaster oven runs off of 1300 Watts and holds 7.2 quarts.
Cooking
I will never underestimate the power of infrared light again. Normally when you reheat food in a microwave, it doesn’t cook all the way through and ends up coming out soggy. Within just a few minutes, this toaster oven can cook your food thoroughly and it even tastes a lot better than food that comes out of a microwave. Instead of soggy food you get crispy well-cooked delights. This machine is perfect for reheating leftover pizza! It comes out perfectly and tastes delicious.
Time
The toaster oven can cook food well within a reasonable amount of time. Of course it isn’t quite as fast as a microwave but you will get far better results with it. A piece of toast or a bagel takes about 3 minutes to cook. A frozen pretzel, a favourite of mine, takes 5 minutes. Pizza takes an average of 5 minutes. Now sure, you could heat up something like pizza in a microwave in an average of 3 minutes, but it sure won’t taste any better. Leftover pizza that comes out of the Panasonic infrared toaster oven tastes like it was freshly made and is cooked thoroughly!
Cleaning
The machine will get a bit dirty after a while, but of course this is something universal to all cooking appliances. It’s still very easy to reach in and clean the inner walls, and there is also an easy to pull-out tray at the bottom which catches whatever crumbs may fall.
Drawbacks
There really aren’t any drawbacks, aside from the fact that it’s often priced over $200. Most traditional toaster ovens are $100 or less on average. But the money is well worth it. This machine even uses less electricity than many traditional toaster ovens with better results!
Sounds
The Panasonic infrared toaster oven does not have a bell like other toaster ovens, but it has a nice little synthesized beep. Usually beeps can be annoying but the beep sounds just right that it gets your attention but doesn’t become irritating.
Conclusion
I recommend this toaster oven to everyone! This is one of the few products that does everything that it says it does. I never want to part with it! Unfortunately these units are harder to come by, and even Amazon seems to be out of stock. If you can’t find one at an appliance store, try buying one from eBay. You won’t regret it!
