Benefits Of Using A Toaster Oven – Are They Worth Your Money?
Advantages Of Toaster Ovens
As more of us are staying indoors these days, there has also been a big rise in home cooking. So, it is worth analyzing your appliance and cooking device situation. Toaster ovens have long been a popular feature of kitchens, but in recent years, the technology has developed significantly and now they can operate as functioning mini ovens. We are going to look closer at the main benefits of toaster ovens in this article, as well as assessing whether they are worth your money.
What Is A Toaster Oven Good For?
Toaster ovens can be used for a variety of different cooking tasks including baking, toasting, broiling, roasting, defrosting, and dehydrating. With such a range of options, it is easy to see why people are happy to rely on toaster ovens as their main cooking device. As well as providing a variety of heating options ranging from very low to very high temperatures, they can also be used as warming devices.
What Are The Main Benefits Of A Toaster Oven?
- Smaller Size – While an oven is a bulky piece of equipment that takes up a significant amount of space in the kitchen, a toaster oven only takes up a fraction of this space, making one ideal for an apartment or a house with a smaller kitchen.
- Greater Efficiency -Toaster ovens also have the edge in terms of efficiency. They take a lot less time to heat up and cool down than normal ovens, which is useful if you are concerned about energy usage in your household.
- Targeted Heating – Rather than using energy to heat up the entire area around the device, toaster ovens offer a much more targeted heating approach. This means that you will not walk into a roasting hot kitchen as it is only your food that will be warmed up.
- Versatility – As we have already talked about above, a toaster oven is not just for toasting. It can also handle a range of other cooking tasks, so you have a nice range of meal options from such a small and simple device.
- Easy To Clean – There is no doubt that cleaning the oven can be a difficult task involving a lot of hard work. Thanks to its smaller overall size and the ease of removing the different racks and trays, you should be able to clean a toaster oven with much greater ease.
- Browning Capabilities – Toaster ovens are superior to microwaves when it comes to browning food, which is thanks to their broiling component.
- Portability – You can bring your toaster oven anywhere, giving you cooking capabilities wherever you have a decent amount of counter space.
Is A Toaster Oven Healthier Than A Microwave?
Toaster ovens and microwaves are used for different purposes, so it cannot be conclusively stated that one is healthier than the other. Everything depends on your ingredients and the meal that you are preparing. In terms of safety, you obviously have the risk of burns from toaster ovens as they have exposed heating elements. You also need to be careful about where you put them as there is the risk of a toaster oven toppling onto the floor. As for microwaves, the main risk is putting something in which is not microwave-safe.
Are Toaster Ovens Worth It?
Ultimately, this is a decision that you have to take based on your kitchen space and your cooking needs, as well as factoring your budget into account. If you only have a limited amount of space, toaster ovens can prove to be a useful and versatile piece of equipment. Similarly, if you are on a tight budget, you can do all sorts with one of these items. Another advantage is the amount that you will save on your electricity bills thanks to their high level of energy efficiency.
However, there are some downsides to discuss too. First, they are only small devices, so you are not going to be able to cook huge meals. If you have greater cooking needs, you will require a bigger device. There is also the danger of burns that we discussed earlier, so you need to make a special effort to put your toaster oven in the best location that is out of the reach of children and difficult enough to access so your pet isn’t going to knock it off the surface.
Toaster ovens and microwaves are not mutually exclusive, and you may choose to have one of each in your kitchen space as long as you have the room. Each of them serves a different purpose, so you need to match your cooking needs to the correct device. As long as you are going to get plenty of usage out of your toaster oven, it will certainly be worth the initial investment.