DeLonghi and DeShorti of The Pop Up (Delonghi Argento CT02 Toaster)

Member Name: susie19

Product:	Delonghi Argento CT02 Toaster
Date:	27/09/06 (453 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Retro, stylish, easy to use and looks good in the kitchen

Disadvantages: Gets hot on the outside.

Just about everyone loves a pop-up in the kitchen. They are as conventional in our society as the electric kettle. The pop-up wins the day when in competition with a good grilling. On safety grounds alone, who wants to burn the house down? Setting off the smoke alarm is a small price to pay for burnt toast.

Pop-up toasters come in many shapes and sizes, slim ones, fat ones, long ones and even tiny ones. Choosing the right one that fits the job can be an extensive task.

One fine Christmas a couple of years ago I got the strangest present, a new toaster for my new kitchen. It took all the worry and the research of review reading out of the equation. Here it was shiny and wrapped and oh so pretty and so much nicer than the one that wouldn’t die with brown patterns on the side. Shudder at the thought but thank you anyway Aunty Maggie, it was unbreakable (sadly).

The DeLonghi Pop Up is a rather simple but classy little number. It is as shiny as a Cyberman’s helmet in its polished matt stainless steel coat which is specially designed to avoid greasy fingerprint marks after use. It has a kind of retro look with elegant curves and won’t look an eyesore on any worksurface. There are no digital settings just a simple slide down mechanism and a couple of knobs to fiddle with.

Useful features
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The absence of any complexities makes this toaster simple to use. Unsurprisingly, it toasts. You can toast one or two slices of bread at once. You can toast other things too of course, waffles, pancakes, teacakes, brown bread, white bread, grainy bread and home made bread to name but a few.

Another useful feature which is new to me is the crumb tray; shame on me for just discovering this after two years. Previously I had had a little look but could find no evidence of one and found that tipping it up dislodged all the crumbs at the bottom anyway. On closer inspection, I noted a small lip at the base of the toaster. With a little tug, a thin metal tray comes out, covered in crumbs. How novel. I don’t need to do a bi-annual tip it up and shake it all about anymore.

The control knob on the toaster determines the degree of toasting you wish to submit your food to. It is a shiny knob located at the base of the pop up. You simply turn it clockwise and set it anywhere between 0 and 6. The higher the setting, the more likely you are to charcoal your breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner.

By the way, did you know that if you are toasting brown bread it will toast faster than white bread so you should adjust your knob accordingly? (Thank you Hammy Hammond for this useful piece of knowledge transmitted via your Brainiac programme).

In addition to the main control knob, there are three teeny weeny shiny knobs. The middle one is the cancel button. I’m going to have to go and check the other two knobs now…excuse me a moment whilst I give them an inspection….

Ah yes, the left hand teeny know is a defrost button. I suppose that could come in handy, I’ve always turned the knob a bit higher when inserting frozen bread. The right hand teeny knob is a reheat button. I didn’t know about that one either. I suppose that could be handy too if the phone rings mid toasting and you prefer yours hot.

Drawbacks
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This toaster has two slots. If you need a four slice toaster, this probably won’t be the one for you. The slots are multi width enabling you to toast thin or thick bread. However, they do not seem to be wide enough to take anything domed, a teacake split in two for example. You have to slice it into three to get a big one to fit.

Another slight drawback is that the toaster is not suitable for toasting mini pancakes. You will burn your fingers trying to remove them. Believe me, I have had several burnt digits. Oh and talking of hot things, being stainless steel, this toaster gets really hot on the outside when in use and immediately afterwards. It is not recommended that it be used anywhere in reach of small children as just touching the outside of the toaster can give you a burn.

If you are wishing to toast huge slices of bread, as with most toasters, you will find the sticky-out bit remains untoasted.

What do I think?
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This is a handsome pop up and I am fond of it. It retails for around £35 so it is not the cheapest on the market. It is very reliable and gives a good degree of control over the level of toastiness you require. To date, I have yet to set the smoke alarm off with it; that has to be a plus point. The matt finish also looks good without highlighting greasy fingerprints. The shortcomings of the toaster are outweighed by the style and performance. I would recommend but not with a full 5 stars because it gets hot on the outside and if you are unaware that someone has just used the toaster you can get a nasty surprise. Tzzzzz.

Summary: Rather a nice little pop up.

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