While I love toast, I am not a big fan of toasters. I can’t get over the idea that they’d be roach havens if improperly cleaned. But when I saw Nostalgia’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich Toaster online, I wondered how a grilled cheese sandwich could be made vertically. Wouldn’t the cheese drip out?
Still, the toaster sat around my apartment for quite a while. In the past two months, though, I’ve eaten more grilled cheese than I have in the past few years, a perfect time to test this product.
This bright yellow toaster, a flashback to those groovy ’60s and ’70s, is equipped with a drip tray and two toasting baskets.
>> How it works: Assemble a cheese sandwich, buttering only the outsides of each bread slice. Push down the lever and press the preheat button. You can also set the toasting level from light to dark at this time. When the lever pops up, place the sandwich into the toasting basket and place the basket in the toaster slot. Press lever again.
Cheese that seeps out of the sandwich collects in the drip tray. If the sandwich comes out too light it can be toasted again — take note so you can set a higher level next time.
On my first test I made two cheddar cheese sandwiches — one in the toaster at level 5 (medium) and one in a frying pan. I prepared the sandwiches, then heated both the toaster and my frying pan, turning my stove burner up to high.
When the toaster was ready, about a minute later, I placed one sandwich in the slot and the other in the pan. The toaster did its job in 2 minutes and 45 seconds. I removed the sandwich from the frying pan after 2 minutes, 30 seconds (I flipped it once), because the bread was beginning to burn and the cheese was oozing from the sides. When I bit into the sandwiches, the toaster- made product had a better crunch.
>> Does it work?: Yes, better than I expected.
>> Pros: Fast — takes less than three minutes to cook on medium. Instruction booklet has six recipes.
>> Cons: Bread cannot be too thick or too big. Oroweat’s wheat bread was too wide for the slots so I had to cut the sandwich in half before toasting. Love’s Bakery’s regular bread fit perfectly. The toasting baskets and drip tray need to be washed and the latter could be cumbersome to clean, depending on how much cheese drips out and gets caught under the grooves. Some cheese gets stuck inside the toaster and the instructions don’t explain how to clean it. Toasting is uneven — the slice closest to the outside of the toaster comes out crispier than the other slice. Some may feel the toaster looks and feels like a toy since the outside is made of plastic.
>> Cost and availability: $24.07 with free shipping for Prime members on amazon.com.
>> Worth it?: It’s not for me, because cleaning it is a pain. Also, it takes up counter space and I don’t have much. Making a grilled cheese sandwich in a pan leaves me with less to wash, always a plus.
Got a gadget that you love? Curious about one you’d like us to test? Email crave@staradvertiser.com or write Crave,Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813.
