Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by consumers.
Skip to Main ContentThe payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us.
Re-activate
Why is my toaster so bad? That's one of the questions posed in this weekend's special Food and Drink issue of the New York Times Magazine. "In terms of aesthetics and performance, the toaster has been devolving for a generation," the answer begins. The bit about performance is true, based on decades of toaster testing at Consumer Reports. But the problems actually go back more than just a generation.
"There were electric toasters on the market a half century ago," our editors wrote—in the May 1956 issue of Consumer Reports. "In view of the long years of experience in manufacture, there seems little excuse for toasters that are badly designed or poorly constructed, and no excuse at all for toasters which are hazardous to use." Tests from that year turned up each of those problems. We did recommend some models, including the Toastmaster 1B14, which an expert quoted in the Times article calls "absolutely the end-all-and-be-all toaster there ever was." In fact, while we liked the Toastmaster's overall performance, its narrow slots were unsuitable for thick slices of bread and muffins, so better reviews went to models by Montgomery Ward, Sunbeam, and Knapp-Monarch.
But no toaster was perfect in 1956, and that's still the case. "You'd think that after more than 80 years on the market, toasters would finally serve up perfect toast," our latest report began. However, our current Ratings include a few models that brown evenly from light to dark with almost every batch. That includes a $70 Cuisinart (pictured) which, while not the "handsome hunk of chrome and steel" that the Times called the Toastmaster 1B14, is still pretty fetching in its compact housing and brushed stainless steel finish.
—Daniel DiClerico
Build & Buy Car Buying Service
Save thousands off MSRP with upfront dealer pricing information and a transparent car buying experience.
Get Ratings on the go and compare
while you shop
