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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different kind of toast, 12 Aug 2009
I've had this toaster for almost a week and am very impressed so far. Although it's clearly far too early for me to know whether it'll last long enough for the very high price to be worthwhile, my initial experience has been good.
Having read the many varying reviews already for Dualit toasters, e.g. for Dualit 2 slice toaster and Dualit 4 slice toaster, and noted the numerous concerns, I felt the benefits outweighed the concerns. I've had three conventional (i.e. cheaper) toasters over the last 15 years. On the last two, the thing that broke was the electronic control. Although each one has lasted longer than it's predecessor, the simplicity of the Dualit (no fancy electronics, just a switch and a clockwork timer) appealed.
Whether this toaster is for you will very much depend on what sort of toast you want. If you like slow cooked toast that's crunchy all the way through, as produced by most toasters, then the Dualit is not for you. The Dualit toasts very quickly, so a thickish slice will be well toasted on the outside whilst the centre is not totally crunchy. For me, this gives a nice slice of toast that doesn't shatter into tens of pieces. It also means that I can make thinner toast than I could with a conventional toaster. My last toaster couldn't cope with thin slices and would consistently burn some patches whilst other parts of the slice were barely brown. Again the speed of the Dualit seems to help here, toasting the outside without burning all the way through.
The timer took a bit of trial-and-error to get the right setting for my bread (just like it does with a cheaper toaster with an electronic control), but now I am getting nice evenly done toast every time. As the instructions say, it needs a slightly higher setting if being used from cold, but that's not much to remember.
I have used the sandwich attachment that comes with this toaster and again that worked quite well, giving an evenly toasted sandwich, following the manufacturer's instructions of lightly buttering the outside of the sandwich. It does have to be quite a thin sandwich to fit in the slots.
Of the concerns raised by some of the other reviewers of Dualit toasters, my experience so far has been different:
1) "You can't leave the toaster unattended and it's a fire hazard." The instructions do say you should not leave it unattended but, given how fast it is (2 minutes for the average slice, compared to 5 minutes with my old toaster), there's really not enough time to walk away.
2) "A timer rather than a browning control gives inconsistent results." So far, it's been more consistent than my old toaster with electronic browning control. That toaster seemed incapable of handling any inconsistencies in the bread (I make my own) and would far too often interpret 'browned' as 'burnt black in patches'. As I've said, you need a slightly longer setting for the first batch of toast made when the toaster is starting from cold, but in all other respects it toasts consistently. There is also the advantage with the Dualit that, because the timer is not connected to popping up the toast, you can raise the toast up to see how it is doing without resetting the timer if you are not sure of the setting.
3) "It toasts unevenly." I've had no problems, even though I'm toasting homemade bread which is itself uneven in consistency.
4) "The slots aren't big enough." The slots do seem to have been designed to be an exact fit (in width and depth) for a factory produced sliced white loaf. Having said that, the slots are slightly deeper than on my old toaster.
The only criticism I have is of the crumb tray. It is rather flimsy in comparison with the rest of the toaster and leaks at the corners (which matters if you're making a sandwich where the filling might drip).
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