Last Updated on October 4, 2021 by
The Bagel setting on some high-end toasters comes in the form of a button, commonly referred to as the bagel button. Needless to say, one has to push it while toasting a bagel. It primarily increases the toasting operation as bagels take longer to get toasted due to their increased thickness. It enhances the heat of the inner elements while decreasing the same for the outer elements, thereby preventing the outside of the bagel from getting burnt. The bagel setting can also prove useful while preparing other thick bakery items such as the English muffin.
Toasters And Bagels
Toasters and Bagels go a long way back. We mean that their relationship is one for the ages and one that we regularly benefit from. The fresh crispy toasted bagel we get every morning on our breakfast table owes its delicious make to your toaster’s efficient procedures. If your toaster comes equipped with the bagel setting, then your bagel gets tastier.
But most of us are unaware of the bagel setting on a toaster and how to use it properly. In fact, there are many more facets of a toaster that not many of us are associated with and fail to acknowledge while using it on a daily basis. There are many common mistakes we commit, which result in incorrect usage of the toaster, and we are here to point it out. Let us start with the bagel setting first and then move on to other major mistakes we have been committing ever since with our toaster.
Common Toaster Mistakes
1. Putting Bagels In Backward
As we are on this topic, let us start with how we treat our bagels wrongly when putting them inside our toasters. Toasted bagels are great for our taste buds, but not when we put in the whole wheat food incorrectly inside the toaster. Toaster machines, in most cases, toast just one of the two sides of the bagel, the cut-side. The same applies to a bun or an English muffin where the cut side is toasted nicely while the other side just gets warmed up. If we follow the Manufacturer’s suggestion, we ought to place the cut-side facing inside for cooking a bagel with a clean, crisp top and an unburnt bottom.
2. Not Considering Warming Up
Just like a major chunk of human who needs their morning coffee to kick start their day, our toasters also need a round of warm you before they can live up to their expected performance levels. We need to ease our toasters into their day of work, much like ourselves. If we start its day by burning slices of bread straight away, it will operate as a cold toaster. Hence the first round of toasting won’t occur under optimum circumstances for the toaster itself. From the second round, it will begin at its best operating temperature, thereby taking less time and giving more quality to the toasts. Kitchen experts suggest that we should take the warm-up round seriously and dial down the controls a bit for the second round in order to avoid burning the bread black.
3. Using The Same Setting Daily
Modern toasters come with a handful of settings that are each suitable for different kinds of bread. Most toasters call them shade settings and are quite effective in toasting varieties of bread in a proper manner. According to expert toaster manufacturers, different kinds of bread toasts differently. Sweeter bread, such as the cinnamon-raisin loaf, takes lesser time to toast evenly, as do white bread. Heavier bread like rye takes a lot more in comparison. The surprising thing is that slices of the same bread can toast in different manners based on the loaf’s freshness. On Monday, a slice of a loaf may toast best in setting number 2, while two days later; another slice of the same loaf might burn under a similar setting. In two days, the loaf would lose enough moisture to make it toast even quicker and hence burn under the same setting.
Hence we advise daily toaster users to learn about the different settings their toaster flaunts and make use of them aptly instead of going for the same setting every day and ruining your toasts occasionally.
4. Ignoring The Crumb Catcher
As mentioned before, a majority of toaster users aren’t much aware of the many features a toaster has. One such feature is the crumb catcher. Many toaster users turn their machine upside down and shake it to get rid of the crumbs from inside them. Now, we do agree that it is a good practice to remove every bit of bread crumb stuck inside your toaster once in a while but shaking them, might not be your best bet. In fact, it can cause some of your crumbs to land on the heating elements or even the lifter. This might, later on, hinder their operability and hence decrease the toaster’s efficiency.
The crumb tray is provided in toasters for serving this exact utility. If your toasters experience daily usage, their crumb tray must be emptied on a weekly basis. It’s quite a simple and straightforward task, but it’s also one that is most ignored. All one needs to do is slide the tray out of the toaster and empty it into the bin. Larger crumbs that stay stuck inside the tray can be removed using soft brushes and occasionally a knife, but after unplugging it from the power source and with caution.
5. Using Toasters Interchangeably
The toaster versus toaster oven debate is one for the ages and might never get settles. Many people have both electrical appliances in their kitchen arsenal. Some of these people use both machines to get their toasts done. Some follow an interchangeable pattern, while others go randomly. But this practice would surely result in an uneven and irregular quality of toasts. Toaster ovens throw heat towards the bread slice from varying distances. The bottom part receives more due to its proximity to the oven floor, while the top remains less heated as the ceiling is farther away. Hence, the toast won’t be even. A toaster will not have such issues while toasting, and the evenness would be sufficiently more. This, however, does not imply that toasts made in ovens aren’t tastier. Some people like their toasts made unevenly.
6. Not Cleaning The Toaster Exterior
I’ll be honest with you even I am guilty of committing this crime. Very few people include taking care of the exterior of electrical appliances when they think about cleaning it. Most of them have OCDs regarding cleanliness. But it is actually a great thing to do. Taking care of the exterior of any product not only makes it appear new and attractive but also maintains the hygiene level associated with the appliance. And when it comes to cooking appliances where you make the best toasts for your breakfast, hygiene becomes even more concerning. Hence we must make sure that we wipe clean and sanitize the exterior of the toaster every now and then and especially while cleaning the interiors.
7. Putting Silverware Inside The Toaster
We have all tried it and got away with it many times, fully knowing that we shouldn’t be doing it. Often we face scenarios where we find large crumbs stuck inside the toaster, and our instincts immediately guide us to dig it out using a fork or a knife. But in the process, we are putting ourselves in danger. Firstly when we put silverware inside the toaster, electricity can flow through the piece into our body, thereby leading to fatal electric shock injuries. The better alternative is to wait for the toaster to cool down and then use a brush or any non-conducting item to dig the crumb out.
8. Making Grilled Cheese
We all love our slices of grilled cheese, but we must also make sure that we are not using the wrong appliances for making it. For instance, the toaster isn’t the right tool for making the best grilled cheese sandwich. We are not saying that it isn’t possible to make the best-grilled cheese or similar gooey dishes on a toaster, but it just isn’t advisable. It can result in sticky messes when done incorrectly, which in turn can lead to fire hazards if the food drips onto the toaster’s wires and meshes. Hence, it is better to avoid making such gooey items on the toaster altogether.
9. Shoving In Too Much
Now, this is just us humans getting all too greedy and lazy and making our toasters suffer for it. Toasters also have a packing limit and hence shoving in more pieces of bread to get your breakfast ready quicker isn’t such a great ply. It only leads to extra crumbs inside the toaster but also poor heating quality and extra wear and tear. The wires become totally eclipsed when we shove in more food than it can take.
| Mistakes | Effect On Toaster |
| Not cleaning the interior and exterior. | Poor hygiene and dirty appearance |
| Putting in silverware | Chances of electric shock injuries |
| Using the same setting every day | Varying qualities of toasts |
| Ignoring warm-up round | Toasts getting undercooked at first and overcooked the next time. |
Conclusion
The toaster is one of the favorite inhabitants of our kitchen and our dependable ally when it comes to making the perfect breakfast. Hence we must also learn to treat it properly and not mishandle it during our daily usage. Not only would it serve us for a longer period but also maintain its quality of operation, meaning you’ll keep getting crunchier toasts.
