Last Updated on August 10, 2023 By Emma W. Thomas
Opting for the best toasters made in the USA can support local manufacturing and potentially higher quality. However, your choice should also consider features, reviews, and budget. Some popular American toaster brands include Breville, KitchenAid, and Cuisinart, known for their performance and durability.
What Is The Purpose Of The Toaster?
Whether your toaster is USA-made or not, the major purpose of a toaster is to brown or toast bread. It is a common breakfast appliance that is found in everybody’s home. Apart from browning and toasting your bread, a toaster comes with serving several purposes. For example, you can toast different kinds of bread. White bread, brown bread, sandwich bread, whole wheat bread, or regular bread, all can be uniformly toasted in a toaster. You need to closely monitor when toasting whole wheat or whole grain bread, as they tend to toast much faster than regular ones.
Similarly, you can also use a toaster to defrost your frozen bread. Some of the top-branded USA-made toasters come with a defrost button. On pressing the defrost button, the toaster will quickly defrost the bread first and then toast it. This option comes very handy if you have a pack of frozen bread, and you’re in a hurry to eat your breakfast.
A toaster can also serve the purpose of reheating your bread. Let’s consider a scenario where you already made your breakfast but suddenly got a meeting call from the office. When you return from the office call at your breakfast table, and you notice that the toasts are cold. It is the time when the reheat button comes to your rescue. All you need to do is keep the cold toasted bread loaves inside the toaster and press the reheat button. You don’t have to go through the entire toasting cycle all over again.
All toasters come with a cancel button. This feature helps you to gain control over the toasting process. The cancel button lets you decide whether you want to stop the toasting or browning operation midway and have the bread half-toasted.
How Does A Toaster Work?
Have you ever wondered how a toaster works? Does the question keep on coming to your mind? Well, before moving forward, let us have a look at the different parts of a basic USA-made toaster. All toasters come with a heating element, a spring, a bread rack, a heat sensor, a timing mechanism with a regulating knob, an electromagnet, nuts, and bolts. The toaster uses the electrical heat coming from the heating element to transform your piece of bread into a toast in a matter of seconds. The electricity flows through the heating wires/springs and gets converted into heat. The best toasters tend to have thinner heating wires as it allows more electricity to flow through them. This, in turn, generates more heat and takes less time to toast the bread.
The timers present in the toaster help switch off the electricity flow after a certain time has elapsed. The thermostat of the toaster senses when the right temperature is reached and automatically switches off the heating element. This is the reason why the toaster turns off automatically.
Basic Steps On How To Use A Toaster
Is it the first time that you purchased a toaster? Well, there’s nothing to worry about. The given below steps will guide you on how to use a toaster for first-timers.
- You need to plug the toaster into an electrical outlet.
- Place your bread slice in the toaster. You can either put the regular ones or the sandwich bread or even the whole grain bread inside a toaster. The choice is entirely yours. You need to place them in the space. In this space, there is a metal that will produce heat to burn the bread.
- The toasters have an adjusting knob. Use the knob to adjust the level of how much you want your toaster burned. Remember that the higher is the number pointing at the knob, the more toasted your bread will become. As soon as you have selected the toasting level, you need to pull down the lever. It will indicate the toaster to start with the toasting process.
- A red light will glow and you will have to wait for the toasts to pop up.
- Once the toasted bread has popped up, it’s time to take it out from the toaster. Try to be careful when taking it out as the bread will still be hot, and you don’t want to burn yourself.
Voila! Yes, it is very simple to toast bread in a toaster. Enjoy your breakfast.
What Are The Different Types Of Toaster That Are Made In The USA?
The USA is the largest toaster manufacturing country globally and makes premium, top-quality toasters of different types. Toasters come in three types. Let’s get a brief look at it.
1. The Pop-Up Toaster: They are the classic ones and are found in every household kitchen. The pop-up toaster is used to toast two slices of bread. If you have an extended family, consider buying the four-slice pop-up toaster. People often get confused about whether to buy a 2-slice or a four-slice toaster. It is recommendable to buy a 4-slice toaster. The reason is simple. You don’t have to wait if you are someone who takes four toasts at breakfast. The 4-slice toaster will make your life easier.
2. The Toaster Oven: Apart from the regular ones, the toaster ovens also work in the same way. They can hold six slices of toast at one time. The toaster ovens provide you the extra room to cook more at once. Thus, you end up saving your effort and time. Some of them come with a setting for baking and broiling too. It comes with a tray, and you can make pizzas or simply microwave dinners. Toaster ovens are more versatile than regular pop-up toasters and are a must-have kitchen appliance.
3. Convection Toaster Oven: These are used for commercial purposes. They have functionalities similar to toaster ovens in every way. But the way a convection toaster oven distributes heat varies from that of regular toaster ovens. It comes with a fan. The fan assists to circulate the hot air around easily and allows the food to cook faster. If you want to have a toaster for business purposes, the convection oven is the best choice.
What To Look At When Buying A Toaster?
Some of the main factors to consider when buying a toaster are given below:
1. Cost: Different types of toasters come at different prices. Some are super cheap and affordable, whereas others are at a high-end price point. It all depends on the brand and model you go with. The pop-up toasters are cheap compared to countertop toasters. Sometimes low-end toasters are made with more inexpensive materials and do not last long. Hence, most of the time, customers look for something in the middle. It is advisable to go with those toasters that won’t exceed your budget and last a long time, along with doing the job of making toast nicely.
2. Durability: Everybody wants a good toaster that can last over a decade. If you wish so, before buying, try to check out the reputation of the brand and read customer reviews. Most of electrical appliances come with warranties.
3. Usage: People do not want to complicate their lives with a toaster. Prefer the ones that are simple to use. The settings must be user-friendly. Buying the right toaster can make your mornings easier. Otherwise, you will end up making your toast with some trial and error.
4. Ease of cleaning: Sometimes, cleaning a toaster can turn out to be a real pain. If you are buying a toaster, try to find one with a crumb tray. A toaster oven with non-stick interiors will make your cleaning process a lot easier.
5. Size: The size of a toaster depends on how many slices you want to toast at once or how big you want the toaster slots to be. If you live alone, then buying a 2-slice toaster will be appropriate. If you are living with a family, go with the 4-slice pop-up toaster. If you are buying for any commercial purposes, go for the countertop ovens that allow you to toast four to nine slices at one go.
Top-Rated Toaster Brands In The USA
Finding the best toaster brand can be a challenging task. Thus, we have listed down some of the top-rated toasters that are made in the USA.
- Jacob Bromwell
- Polytron Corporation
- Star Manufacturing
- Toaster Central
These companies and brands manufacture both home and commercial electric toasters. Their range varies from pop-up toasters to stovetop and campfire toasters, and all the materials and components are 100% manufactured in the USA.
Best Toasters That Are Made In The USA
The products made in the USA tend to last for a long, including toasters. All electric toasters meet strict requirements and market standards. They have a sturdy design and classy features that make the appliance quite attractive.
Some of the best toasters that are made in the USA are as follows:
1. Cuisinart CPT-122 2-Slice Compact Plastic Toaster: If you are looking for simplicity and uniqueness, this toaster is made for you. It shows consistent and even toasting capabilities. The toaster is easy to operate with multiple toasting functions. The body of the toaster is stain-resistant. Hence, you never have to deal with any discoloration or staining issues.
2. Kitchen Aid Toaster With High-Lift Lever, 4-Slice Long Slot: They look great in all kitchens. It comes with a long slot design and has 1.5 inches wide slots. It has under-base cord storage that comes in handy for chefs. The toaster is used for toasting either four regular-size toasts or two extra-long slices.
3. Breville BTA820XL DIE-Cast 2-Slice Stoaster: The smart toaster comes with an intelligent one-touch auto lowering function. The extra-wide 2-slice slots can hold bread of all types, including the large sandwich bread. The product also comes with a one-year warranty.
Table Of Pros And Cons
Product Name | Pros | Cons |
Cuisinart CPT-122 2-slice compact plastic toaster | It has extra-wide slots that make your toasting more versatile. One can easily remove the crumb tray. Thus, cleaning becomes easier. It contains easy-to-operate controls. | Sometimes you have to be careful when handling the toaster so that you don’t end up getting injuries. The surface between the slots gets heated up excessively. |
Kitchen Aid Toaster with High-lift Lever, 4-slice long slot | It has a high-lift lever. It is durable as the body of the toaster is made of metal. It also comes with a complete alert feature. | The control buttons are smaller in size. |
Breville BTA820XL DIE-Cast 2-slice smart toaster | It is easy to operate and clean. The size of the toaster is compact and even lightweight. You can easily move around the toaster without creating a fuss. | After consistent use, the slots become hot. |
Tips For Cleaning A Toaster
Do you remember when the last time that you cleaned your toaster was? If not, then it is essential to clean your toaster today. Even though you don’t use it daily, the toaster should be clean after every use. But before cleaning, there are a few tips and tricks that you must know.
- You should never clean a toaster while it is still plugged in. Unplug the toaster and then start the cleaning process.
- You would need a trash can, a small pastry brush, warm soapy water, a dry dish towel, a damp dishtowel, and vinegar to toasters having a stainless steel exterior for cleaning purposes.
- Firstly, you need to take the tray out. If the trays are not removable, try turning your toaster upside down and shake it gently.
- Wash the tray in the warm soapy water solution.
- In case the tray has some leftover crumbs, use the brush to clean it.
- Use a soft, damp cloth to wipe the exterior.
- Place the crumb tray back into place. And you are done with the cleaning process.
Conclusion
Do not forget to select the best toasters that are made in the USA. They make good toasts and show consistent results. Toasters made in the USA have an aesthetic design. They are durable, compact enough to save on space in your kitchen. The toasters are also very easy to clean.
References:
https://foodsguy.com/best-toasters-made-or-designed-in-the-usa/
https://tannatnyc.com/product/best-toaster-made-in-usa/
Emma is a graduate of Domestic Science or Family and Consumer Sciences (Home Economics) from the University of Wisconsin. She has 7 years of experience Working with the strategic section of BestBuy and now writing full-time for Homeeon.
From Managing the Home, Interiors, Cleaning, and Exteriors to Gardening and everything about Making A Home Liveable – is her passion and this Homeeon is the result of this.
Emma loves decorating her home with the best stuff found online. She cares about quality over anything and writes reviews about them here in Homeeon. Get in touch with her over Pinterest.
Keep reading her blogs.