'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
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What better way is there to start the day than with a nice slice of fresh toast and jam? During the Summer, I've been more inclined to go for juice or fruit but as the Winter draw in (sigh) and we all have to get used to getting up in the dark, we'll be turning to the "comfort" things again. Well, I certainly will anyway.
You can get toasters for £7. They toast the bread. They work. 'Nuff said. But they look crap, last about a week and end up with a toasting technique that more closely resembles patchy sunburn. You get what you pay for - and I got a top of the range, stylish kitchen toy that is the envy of anyone who shares breakfast with me.
Style Icon
The Dualit toaster has become a 20th / 21st century style icon. In all those "so cool" American sit-coms, the flat sharers have Dualit toasters. In murder mysteries where cool young professionals are stabbed to death in the kitchen, their blood spatters onto a highly polished Dualittoaster. I think they're absolutely beautiful and the only real surprise was that I didn't buy one sooner than I did. The design is timeless, kind of like 60s retro - they
look like they've been stolen from an American diner. There are no harsh edges. Everything is smooth, curved and shiny, like a jukebox that serves toasted bread. The design revolves around simplicity and durability and the appeal goes across every age group. My gran loves them - she's had one for about fifteen hundred years - and everyone I know thinks they're cool.
Overview of Features
This Dualit (it's one of a considerable range) has four toasting slots. Each slot is extra wide, which means that you can toast thinly sliced bread or enormous wedges of crusty bread. It also means that you can toast crumpets, tea cakes or crumpets. A dial on the right-hand side enables you to change the heating setting so that you can toast one, two, three or four slices and the elements adapt themselves accordingly. I've never seen another toaster that could do that. A second dial enables you to set the timer for the amount of time you require your bread to toasted for. The dial has three main settings but can simply be set to start toasting anywhere between the scale of 0 and maximum. This is because the dial is like a wind-up toy - turn the dial clockwise to the correct setting and then it turns itself anti-clockwise to count through the time. It's hugely versatile. You can experiment and find a setting that suits you perfectly. You aren't bound by fixed intervals and of course, at a glance, you can see how long is left. In fact, you don't even need a glance, because as the dial rotates the noise gradually changes pitch such that you know when it's about to stop. Perfect.
The slots are operated using a lever at the front of the toaster. With it's fairly clunky knob, it's dead easy to use. Push it down and the slots tip up so that you can pick up your toast. Pull it up and the slots tip down again. The element will not become operational until you set the timer, so if you put the bread in and pull the lever up, the toasting won't start until you're ready. When it's finished I'm afraid there are no comedy moments as the toast pops out either. The dial simply clicks back to the start position and the element turns off - your bread remains snugly in the slots until you push down the lever. This, of course, means that you can keep your toast warm for a few seconds whilst you get the butter out of the fridge.
I've yet to find a toaster that is actually difficult to use, but this one really is simplicity itself, without compromising on your ability to have the toast "just how you like it". Have you ever tried using one of the "defrost" or "toast from frozen" settings on cheaper toasters? They're a bit hit and miss, largely due to whether the toaster is warmed up or not, how thick the bread is and what day of the week it is. The Dualit keeps things simple - you tell the toaster how toasted you want the bread to be. Keep raising the bread out and checking if you're not sure - that's another bonus of the Dualit, because it doesn't work on set programmes. You can use the lever to lift the bread in and out as many times as you like without halting a set programme.
It's simply the best way to toast bread!
Keeping Clean and Safe
All that stainless steal is a nightmare, if you want your Dualit to stay in tip top condition. The fact of the matter is that you have to treat it like the crown jewels! Keep sharp objects away that could dent or scratch it. Keep sticky fingers away that could mark it. You could argue that the Dualit isn't really suitable for a family with children because it would probably get battered and scratched in no time at all. Indeed, after a while, you find yourself becoming obsessive about keeping crumbs off it and polishing it every time you use it. I don't care! If you've got nice things, why not keep them that way?
The crumb tray is, quite feasibly, the best crumb tray that you will ever find. For a start, it actually captures all the crumbs. Use the Dualit, then slide it forwards if you want the evidence - you simply won't find any crumbs. One of the reasons for this is that the tray is the same size as the base of the toaster. That means that it is pretty likely to capture any little bits of bread that fall in its direction. It's also designed so that you don't scatter the bits everywhere when you take it out to empty it. Two small, black grips on either side mean that it can be carefully and easily slid out from the toaster and then competently carried to the sink or the bin to empty it out. It's dead easy. I once had a toaster, for which the crumb tray was like a thin metal strip that could only ever hope to capture about 25% of the crumbs.
The toaster comes with special elements that need to be conditioned when you first buy the item. This simply means you turn it on with nothing in it for three minutes. It's a bit like charging a phone for the first time - make sure you do it if you want the toaster to last! It's also important to supervise little people. The top can get quite hot - although the main exterior doesn't as, obviously, it is insulated from the interior. Any toaster is a hazard for people poking things in - the size of the slot on this one increases the risk of things FALLING in too - so be careful!
Other Stuff
You can use it to toast sandwiches too - you get these little cages that are basically little baskets that suspend in one of the slots and then toast the contents. I must admit, this is not something that I've tried I would only really do something like cheese on toast and would want this under the grill. I'm assured, however, that they work quite well.
The toaster comes with a one-year guarantee as standard - I was surprised it wasn't longer because Dualit is renowned for its reliability. Most cafes or canteens swear by them because they last for years and years. As you would probably expect, I've had no problems with mine - and don't expect to - but a longer road test might be required as I'm only just coming up to one year.
Price and Availability
Could you justify £170 for a toaster? I did and I don't regret a penny of it. The Duality looks fantastic and performs so well, that I'm pretty sure that I certainly won't be needing to replace it for many years. Clearly, it's far higher than anything else on the market but you do get what you pay for. Look around online for some slightly cheaper prices - but not much - and look in John Lewis or Selfridges on the high street if you want one now.
Verdict
Fantastic - I love it! This is a perfect combination of style and common sense. The price is high but so are the standards. Get one - you won't regret it!
Highly recommended
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Oct 2nd, 2005
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