COST: £3.94 each (@ 26.9.08)

DESCRIPTION: Sainsbury's 2 slice cool touch white toaster

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I managed to survive the whole of my life without a toaster, until I moved where I now live. On the odd and rare occasion when I've had to use them (like when I spent a holiday with 2 family members in a remote Scottish cottage, and it was my turn to cook breakfast), I've found toasters in general to be very confusing and largely inefficient appliances.

Two years ago I moved to where I'm now living, and whereas I've always previously had a gas cooker, I am now all electric. I recently got very fed up with the grill on my electric cooker being so very slow at making toast, so I decided to at long last, join the ranks of the vaguely technically aware, and purchase a toaster.

Not being the wealthiest person on the planet, I decided to explore the electrical goods section of Sainsbury's "Basics" items. My eyes were drawn to a rather neat looking little 2-slice toaster, and I couldn't believe the price tag - it was only £3.94!

I placed the item into my trolley, happily paid the price, and have been using it for around 4 months.

Sainsbury's Basics St915 2-Slice Toaster is sparsely packed (in a wrapping that is little more than a paper bag), which I wasn't unhappy about as it's better for the environment, plus is less irritating to unpack than something which goes crazy with masses of unnecessary cardboard, plastic bags, polystyrene etc. Inside of this little more than a paper bag (which bears the orange and white colouring and logo of the Sainsbury's "Basics" range), is the toaster itself, together with detailed instructions on use, cleaning and safety.

The electrical lead is about 2ft long, which snugly reaches from a certain point on my kitchen working surface to the nearest wall socket.

I read the instructions carefully, and made myself a couple of slices of toast, which were truly delicious.

The design of the toaster is that sort of modernist "dumpy" look, and is very attractive. The only problem with white kitchen equipment, is that it does require greater effort to keep it looking pristene, and that isn't good for me because I'm a domestic slut, but the surface really only needs a quick wipe down once every other day with a damp cloth. To clean the inside, I merely tip the toaster upside down to dislodge and remove any stray crumbs lurking around inside (as advised in the accompanying instruction leaflet).

I have heard stories of many people having problems getting to grips with toasters, particularly when the bread won't pop up once cooked, so naturally I was nervous of that happening to me. So far though, that hasn't occurred with this particular brand of toaster.

Sainsbury's "Basics" Toaster is used pretty much the same as any other, in that you just insert 2 slices of bread into the slots, and press down gently. There is a slidng-style setting on the toaster where you twist a little button to determine the level of toasting required....light, medium or well done. Simultaneously to pressing the bread into the slots, you have to press a white button situated on the side of the toaster, and that begins the cooking process.

Within less than 3 minutes (and this is on the "medium" setting), your two slices of toast will pop up, lovely and golden brown. The browning on the toast is very even, and goes right up to the edges, so there's no need to turn the bread over and give them another go, just to get the whole of each slice toasted properly.

The only thing I am so far unhappy about is that when the toast is done and it pops up, sometimes the ejection is forceful enough to shoot the toast across the room - also, it's a rather noisy process, and I'm one of these people who is easily startled, even if I am expecting the noise to happen. I expect those two niggles are common to most, if not all brands of toaster though, so I doubt if I can point my finger in accusation at Sainsbury's "Basics" Toaster in particular.

So far, this has proved to me to be a highly efficient and extremely useful piece of machinery....good to look at, compact, and easy to keep clean, plus even at it's hottest, the outer casing remains cool to the touch. The toast browns evenly, and the popup function has not yet failed, at least for me. There is nothing wrong at all, and I would highly recommend anybody wanting to buy a new toaster, to toddle off to Sainsbury's, save yourself a considerable amount of cash, and buy one of their "Basics" range toasters.

There honestly, as far as I can at this point in time tell, is absolutely no difference between this bottom-of-the-range toaster and a far more expensive, top-of-the-range one. It doesn't compromise on appearance either. Really, the only difference is the packaging, and that can only be a good thing for the environment.

As far as I'm concerned, the only area where I can see that Sainsbury's "Basics" St915 Toaster would not be a good buy, is if it were a present for somebody - not that it isn't as efficient as any other toaster - but it's obvious by the advertising on the bag it comes in that it is a low-budget product.

Ten out of ten to Sainsbury's for this item, and I would very very strongly recommend it. Even if the toaster were to explode on me tomorrow (and I hope it doesn't, as that would scare me), it has been very well worth the £3.94 I paid for it back in the early summer of this year.....I calculate that in this last 4 or so months, I have saved the £3.94 cost of the toaster on electricity alone, multiplied several times over, since I abandoned using the grill on my cooker to make toast.

Thanks for reading.....wow I've just read that back and am amazed at how I managed to say so much about a toaster!