Cuisinart TOB-195 Exact Heat Toaster Oven Broiler, Stainless

Comment: I ordered this toaster/convection/broiler oven about a month ago and have used all of the features with success. Today I used the convection feature to cook a partially thawed chicken breast. I did have to guess at the time and also use an instant-read thermometer. The end result was a delicious moist breast. i use the toast feature most every morning with various types of bread. I have not yet perfected the timing for these breads but feel that it will come with practice. So far, I have been very happy with this oven and since I mostly cook for only one, it is very useful indeed. It would be very helpful if the manual had more of a variety of recipes or if Cuisinart would provide a separate cookbook for this oven.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who routinely cooks for only one or two persons.

Comment: I have always used a toaster oven but largely for the toaster/browning properties.....no more. This baby is also a great convection oven. It toasts wonderfully, perfectly evenly and the bottom of the piece of toast which in a regular toaster oven can be almost half untoasted comes out more than satisfactorily toasted. I have not tried the broiler with the exception of making garlic bread. I wasn't entirely happy with the end result as the bread ended up striped like the elements. I think it's because you just can't get it far enough away. It functioned correctly just not what I wanted. The oven has been wonderful. My full size electric oven has a hidden element and takes roughtly 15 minutes to heat up. This oven heats up to 450 in 3 minutes. Yes, I timed it. I have had no issues using the convection feature, they suggest you use cookware with the lowest sides you can to assist the airflow. You have to adjust the cooking time and that's a bit hit or miss until you get the hang of using a quicker cooking convection oven. A 12 inch pizza whose directions say cook for 14 - 16 minutes is done in 9. A fruit cobbler that was supposed to take 45-50 minutes took 30. The convection fan obviously makes some noise but is in no way obtrusive.

The size of the oven is very nice, I do not have a lot of counter space and it fits well, the crumb tray is removed from the back but that is necessary to keep the size of the machine down as the controls are in the front where the crumb tray generally is. It's not a hassle and worth turning the machine around to remove it to keep the profile of the oven smaller. A light inside would be nice as we are all used to lights in regular ovens but I do not know of a toaster oven with a light in it. Once again a light would probably change the size of the machine.

The sides and top of the machine do get hot, it's an oven afterall but I have had no issues with it. The handle does not get hot and once again have had no instances of my hand even getting warm let alone burned as some have commented.

The oven beeps several times when it reaches temperature and if you set the cooking timer it will go off and continue to beep until you turn it off. Very nice should you walk away from the kitchen for a time. No chance of loosing track and over cooking.

The rack, bake pans and crumb tray all clean up perfectly, even baked on food comes off easily. I do not plan to use the broiler for any foods that might spit so I can not comment on how easy it may or may not be to clean after that. I can not imagine that is an easy feat with any toaster/oven type machine.

This toaster oven is very good for a single person or even a couple. Obviously you can't put a 9x13 lasagna pan in but if you rework your lasagna into a 9x9 pan you're good to go.

This has become my primary oven, I only use full size oven for items that won't fit in the Cuisinart. Because of the quicker heating/cooking time etc. I actually expect to see a slightly smaller electricity bill. Well worth the investment. I love it.

Comment: In years of cooking, this is my first toaster oven. I was attracted by the prospect of quick heating. After reading reviews, I bought what I thought was the best at any price. The product is workable, but hardly an excellent tool.

First, the instruction manual is brief and terrible. There are big warnings about not using the racks appropriately -- but NOWHERE does it show ANY basic configuration for these racks. I had to guess that to make a cheese sandwich, I was supposed to use three racks. And that no, the bottom rack did not rest directly on the heating elements. Am I right? Who knows?

My first dish: toast. How hard can this be? There's a button labeled "toast". I notice the top elements are on full, and the bottom ones are part on. Wait, isn't that backward? Sure enough, the top is done, the bottom is raw. I try two pieces of toast. They are much more done toward the middle of the oven. The bottom is done, but with wide white "grill marks".

I had to buy non-stick items separately. They haven't arrived. In the meantime, eager to try my purchase, I used the supplied broiling pan. It warped in the first hour. It did go back to shape on cooling, but...I don't want some of my food 1/3rd of an inch higher than the rest while it's cooking.

Overall? Ridiculously poor user experience. Provide a CD with videos that explain how to use your quirky machine. And ... learn how to make toast.

I just came back to modify my review to the worst rating. Why? I came across the registration card. Over a dozen personal questions about my gender, income, what I'm planning to buy this year, etc. Not one, not one, ASKING IF I LIKED THE PRODUCT. And, of course, completely in line with the rest of my experience, postage isn't prepaid. (What would it cost you, Cuisinart?)

Another reviewer wrote: "Good brand, poor product". I don't think so. I'm avoiding buying any Cuisinart product, now. A thought occurs to me...now I check. Yep. User manual, printed in China. Product? Made in China.

Comment: I was in the market for a new toaster oven and did quite a bit of research to find a good one. It took me 6 months & 3 toasters. I wanted an oven that could make a pizza (my regular oven takes 20 min just to heat up) as well as toast a bagel and make 2 grill cheese sandwiches at once as I have 3 young children. I also wanted an oven that automatically pulls out the tray as you open the door. This is important to me for safety reasons. I don't wants my kids to stick their hands all the way inside the oven to get their toast out.

Toaster #1) I received a black & decker as a gift and it was awful. It didn't have the pull out tray; It didn't toast bread evenly on both sides; It wasn't large enough to bake a pizza; My bagels were burnt on the outside and cold on the inside; I threw that one away.

Toaster #2) Then I purhased the very popular Cuisineart from amazon. All three of my kids and my husband got burned while opening the door. It gets very hot! It didn't have the auto tray pull out, so I had to get a pot holder to pull the tray out; It didn't bake the pizza well because it wasn't powerful enough, even though it fit the pizza; And worst of all, every time I needed to clean the crumb tray, I had to turn the whole toaster around because the crumb tray pulls out from the back. I wrapped this up and returned it. amazon paid for all shippng charges and it was truly a no hassle return.

Toaster #3) Then I got the breville. I love it! My husband loves it! My kids love it! It does it all. The tray automatically pulls out when the door opens so my kids don't get burned when they want to get their toast out; It toasts bagels beautifully; It heats up quickly and bakes pizza nicely; The crumb tray pulls out from the front so it's very easy to clean (this is BIG!); It's a little more money that the cuisineart, but well worth it. This is the first review I've ever written. I'm hoping that my 6 months of agony will save someone else all the hassles I went through. Good luck!

Comment: This is an excellent product which does what it says it will. A bit costly but so far it delivers, and to me that makes it worth it. Standard toaster oven size so plan accordingly.