Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought the Kalorik 31513 to get some counter top broiling/toasting and baking capabilites without taking up a lot of counter space. I have a perfectly good dual oven range with a gas broiler for doing large items, but I wanted this for toasting the occasional sandwich or making myself a hot lunch. It performs those functions just fine and is big enough inside without being huge outside.
It does not have the "pizza bump" in the back. Something I was looking to avoid.
The controls are straight forward and are easy to understand and use. It is not highly automated, which is fine because it doesn't get in the way of you setting it to do exactly what you want it to do. The bottom knob is for "stay on" or timer mode. The middle knob selects top elements only; bottom elements only; or both. The third knob controls the temperature setting. All E-Z and straighforward.
Now the not-so-impressive parts:
The temp in the oven is not very accurate to the temperature setting. But with a little practice and you should be able to get fine results.
The timer isn't particularly accurate either. Close, but hardly exact.
The crumb tray is very shallow and though it is front accessable, the slot which it pulls out through is narrow. If you had any large crumbs on the tray and tried to pull it out to clean it they would be swept off into the bottom of the oven.... unable to fit through the narrow slot. Also the crumb tray itself is essentially flat. Any liquid spills of more than a drop or two will run off the edges. In summary the crumb tray is so useless that it might as well not be there. However, with the rack pulled out access to the bottom of the oven is very easy. I'll line mine with a home-made foil tray before I spill anything nasty.
The top, the door, the back, and the sides all get VERY, VERY hot. This is a common complaint with most toaster ovens. This particular one is no exception. Beware that you can't place it next to anything that might melt or burn. And you can't put anything on top of it either. It needs decent clearence all around. The back has little stand-offs to keep you from pushing it hard up against a wall for this same reason. Mine is kept farther from the wall than even their stand offs would place it.
My last comment is that the build of the Kalorik 31513 is very light and seems almost flimsy. So far it hasn't effected performance, but at this price point frankly I had hoped for more.A helpful hint to all toaster oven users:
In any small toaster oven the proximity of the lower element to the underside of the baking dish causes a lot of radiant heat to build up on the bottom of the baking dish even when the rack is in any of the middle height positions. This causes burning on the bottom of your baked goods.... but if you take the broiling insert that comes with the oven and place it on the rack under the baking dish so that it has its cooking surface downward and it supports the baking dish above itself, it then becomes a radiant heat shield. In that configuration most of the heat transfer for baking will be by air convection (no fan here... this isn't a convection oven....) the way baking is supposed to be. Using this simple trick has given me very good results similar to what you would expect in a full sized oven.In conclusion I like this oven. It does do what I wanted it to do and it does it without a lot of fuss or taking up a bunch of counter space. However I feel it should be better in a number of small regards for the price they are asking. That is why I rated it four stars instead of five. Fortunately many sellers are already offering it at steep discounts.
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Kalorik OV-31513 15-Liter 4-Slice Toaster OvenWith its spacious 15-liter capacity, this convenient toaster oven makes it easy to keep up with the demands of any busy household. Its user-friendly control panel offers three dials for setting the heat, time, and function. The oven's temperature can be adjusted up to 450 degrees F, and its 30-minute timer shuts the unit off automatically after the elapsed time or can be set to the "stay-on" position. Use the toaster oven for anything from toasting up to four slices of bread at time for breakfast to broiling a chicken or baking a casserole or a 9-inch pizza for dinner. Other highlights include toast-shade control from light to dark, a stainless-steel control panel and heating elements, black painted housing, a nonstick interior, an "on" indicator light, and a heat-resistant glass door for viewing the cooking process at a glance. Accessories include a broiling pan, broiling rack, a wire rack, and a slide-out crumb tray. The 1500-watt toaster oven measures 15-3/4 by 12 by 9-1/4 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.
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