lynus's Full Review: Black & Decker CTO4400B Toaster Oven with Convecti...
I really should begin my six part serial reviews with something more exciting like our new Samsung Blu-ray DVD player or our General Electric refrigerator that oddly has a theater light water/ice dispenser, or at the very least our new microwave that came with included metal shelving (metal, no way! Must be fo-metal! Like our blinds.) No, dear readers, I’m starting this series with nothing more than a toaster. A toaster oven. Well, okay, not to be modest it’s a Convection Toaster Oven. Aren’t you excited?
How could one become excited over a toaster? Even if it is convection, right? And what does “convection” even mean? Is it another fancy way of saying I need to upgrade something as basic as a toaster..err..toaster oven?
CHAPTER ONE: AN OVEN MAY NOT BE WHAT IT SEEMS:
When my wife and I got married, gloriously almost seven years ago we were given a DeLonghi XR640 Retro 1500 Watts Toaster Oven as a wedding present. It was, a huge step up from my Hamilton Beach Two Slice Toaster that could probably be found at this point resting gently on either a thrift store shelf or more quite possibly buried in a grave at some undisclosed landfill. Sadly, the DeLonghi XR640 Retro…blah…met the same fate.
With a new beginning means a new toaster oven, and so it is now the time for the Black & Decker CT04400B Toaster Oven with Convection Cooking to shine.
After moving into our new house, our first, I wanted a new toaster oven if not because it could “toast” toast which I normally do not eat and not simply just to fill up counter space but I always believed that a toaster oven could save power to cook the “little” items without the need to heat up the main oven or the living space as ovens normally do. When I began my search my sole focus was on a “convection oven” as according to Wikipedia included a fan that helped distribute the heat to cook food more evenly and quicker. I hadn’t settled on the BD (short for, well, look to the bold typing above) until I found myself checking out various ovens at Target. I didn’t want a small oven nor did I want a huge one either. I wanted one right in the middle and for a good price, and the BD model I bought had both. “Will cook a 12 inch sized pizza and it was on sale for $49”. I read.
CHAPTER TWO: WHAT SHALL I CALL THIS BEAST?
I unpacked it being careful to remove all padding, tape, and accessories including the included grill pan. As normal I threw the operating manual into a drawer to collect dust with all the other manuals and decided on its first night it would cook chicken legs.
I stared at the three controls, the top most controlled the temperature which could reach 450 degrees at its highest, the middle child controlled the function be it, keep warm, bake, broil, or toast (odd it is the last selection as it is a toaster oven!). The last knob set the time from staying on or anywhere between 10 to 50 minutes.
I placed my purchased yet recently defrosted chicken legs on to the grill pan and set the controls for 325 for 45 minutes. A blue light shined letting me know I had turned on the unit and without hesitation I soon heard the fan speed up. I expected the dried rosemary I had put as seasoning to burn after about 10 minutes but as I sat watching something unimportant on cable TV I heard nothing nor more importantly smelled nothing. My curiosity led me to discover that not only was the chicken not cooking as it should the beast itself was not heating the way it should.
CHAPTER THREE: WHEN THERE’S A WHY YOU CAN ONLY ASK WHY?
According to my research a “convection” oven unlike a traditional oven uses a fan to warm food faster because it moves the air “to strip away a thin layer of air which surrounds food and insulates it.” Sounds like nothing more than a blu-ray player vs a dvd player yet at first thought I found myself intrigued. Could this little fan, enclosed in protective wear be able to cook food faster? Then again, why does everything I’ve read indicate that it warms food faster? Warmed isn’t cooked? As I continued to read I heard things like the convection oven could be set at a lower temperature yet cook food more quickly.
I didn’t expect (yet hoped) that the food would come out of the oven like something from Back to the Future but I did expect the food to experience something new and subsequently so should I, or should I saw we because I am married and have another one living with us. But, we didn’t. At least not to my expectations. The chicken came out in due time, alas lots of time, tasted good, and was put down yet again to rest in our refrigerator. But it didn’t cook any faster than I expected it to. Fluke? Or a false pretence?
CHAPTER FOUR: HOT IS NOT THAT HOT
I’ve found, after using the Black & Decker CT04400B Toaster Oven with Convection Cooking, again BD if you have forgotten by now as I did, is that it doesn’t create a proper seal to heat food at the point it best touts. When I first put the racks into its body cavity I had to struggle to get it lined up best with the slots and with these little, the best I can say is “C” claws that grip the rack. Even after figuring that out, the rack gave up a struggle to be pushed back leaving the oven door a sly bit ajar. You cannot cook anything without the rack being in there unless you want a fire on your hands. And so, I cooked, and the door stayed a wee bit open – and I think it got hot enough for over time the chicken got goosed but I think the silver of a space in the door allowed much needed heat to escape. I think this is what keeps the BD from getting as hot and with the “amazing, all inspiring, death defying feat” of convection from being the star.
CHAPTER FIVE: THE SMALLEST ACTION IS OFTEN THE BIGGEST
I wanted to return it at this point. I do not lie. But I was faced with going down the convection road yet again and this time most likely spending a lot more green. I gave it a second chance just yesterday cooking a roast I had bought at Walmart. After 30 minutes of cooking I removed it likely due to dinner time constraints. In the end, I think the BD is only good for cooking the small things like potatoes, little frozen appetizers, maybe a chicken leg or small steak to feed not the masses but just one or two at the most. In the end, I won’t return the BD but at the same time I won’t rely on it as much as I thought I could.
CHAPTER ONE: MY FAVORITE COLOR IS ORANGE NOT BLUE
Could I really be this dumb? When I didn’t have money I spent over a $1,000 on one and now with an established job I burned through even more yet half for the mere price of $540. I said to myself, “well things have come down in prices and you are buying something not as top of the line.” But in actuality I thought to myself – did you just make a very big mistake…..
1500-watt countertop oven for convection baking, broiling, toasting, and keeping foods warm Large capacity--can fit a 12-inch pizza; chrome-plated bro...More at Amazon
This oven is a must-have on your countertop. Use it as a conventional toaster oven or just flip the convection switch for the ultimate in convection c...More at Buy.com
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