| Product: |
Bush TS281 Toasted Sandwich Maker |
| Date: |
27/05/08 (205 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Hot food in minutes
Disadvantages: Plates could be bigger
***Background***
I have a confession to make - I love toasties. Whether it's a simple ham and cheese or a slightly more unusual version like banana, I'm addicted at lunchtime. I find that they are a lot more filling than just standard toast and because the filling heats up too, it tastes like you are having a proper cooked lunch.
Our last toastie machine had been around in the house for years and had been constantly used but it was looking a bit battered and with us getting lots of new items for wedding presents last year we decided to upgrade. This coincided with my daughter going off to university and she had already mentioned taking the old one with her.
There aren't really a great many options out there these days for toastie machines so choice was a little bit limited but we were looking for something that would cook two sandwiches at the same time and also something that would blend in with our black/chrome accessories.
***The Machine***
The external area of this machine is mainly black with a silver panel on top along with a red and a green light. When it is switched on at the mains the red light comes on until it is heated up, at which time it goes over to the green light.
This signals the time to put your buttered bread and fillings in before closing the lid and waiting between 5 and 10 minutes for it to cook it. The lid clips underneath to hold everything in place and there is a central section that diagonally 'cuts' your two slices of bread in half.
To check to see if it is ready, you just have to unclip the lid and lift it up. It is advisable not to lift your toastie out with a metal implement as you may scratch the non-stick plates.
***Cleaning***
The plates are removable but please remember to only do this once the machine has thoroughly cooled down, as they do get very hot. There is a switch that can be pushed across for each of the top and bottom sets of plates and this releases them from the base unit. This process is very easy to do and because of the non-stick coating they are very easily cleaned.
Sometimes if you have a soft filling or if the filling is a little bit greasy then you can have a little bit of dribbling down the sides or back, but again this is simple to wipe off and doesn't take too much trouble to do so.
***My Thoughts***
I've been using this machine for about 9 months now and I haven't had any problems with it although there are a couple of things that could have been thought out a little bit better.
The first is that there is nowhere to wrap or store excess cable. Now we are quite lucky in that where it actually sits, we need the whole length to get to the wall socket. This machine is a permanent fixture on our worktop because it gets used at least 4 or 5 times a week and it sits nicely beside the toaster and kettle, but I could see this being a problem for anyone who only uses it occasionally or doesn't have the room to have it set out all the time.
The second thing that could have been made better is that the plates are only 4 x 5 inches in size and a lot of bread slices are much bigger than that meaning you have to cut crusts off to get them to fit in properly.
Apart from those things though, the machine works well and does everything it is supposed to. Remembering to put the buttered side of the bread against the plates is something that might take a bit of getting used to and figuring out just how much filling you can put in without it all starting to drizzle out can take a bit of mastering but practise makes perfect in this case.
Obviously different types of bread will have different results. White bread does tend to go much crispier and turns a lovely golden colour, whilst wholemeal stays a bit softer and you have to be careful that you don't actually end up burning it. It's also better to put quite a bit of filling in because otherwise the top slices won't be pressed against the plate so well and you'll find that one side is more done than the other.
Another thing I will warn about is that some of the fillings can get remarkably hot, especially things like tomato, cheese and my favourite of banana. The juices can start to come out as you take a bite and I have burnt my lips and palate a few times in the past.
Whether you are a newbie or an experienced toastie maker like myself, the great thing about this is that it makes a tasty treat in under 10 minutes and the possibilities of different fillings are endless so there is no getting bored. The user's manual has some ideas in the back of it for tasty treats. Because you only need a small amount of spread on the bread, it can be a relatively healthy snack to eat too, especially with wholemeal bread.
***Price & Availability***
We got this in a shop but I can't for the life of me remember whereabouts. It cost around £15 in a sale at the time but it is available from Amazon for £16.58 and this comes with their free delivery offer.
Summary: Great little machine that cooks toasties well.
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