Poll

Which is more Mustachian:  Toaster or Toaster Oven?

Toaster
Toaster Oven

Author Topic: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?  (Read 10718 times)

fallstoclimb

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Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« on: June 13, 2014, 12:06:25 PM »
Our toaster oven is toast (ha.), so we are trying to decide to replace it with another toaster oven or just a toaster. 

Toaster pros:  Better at toasting bread/frozen waffles, cheaper, smaller
Toaster cons:  Unidevice

Toaster oven pros:  Sometimes prevents us from turning on the big oven (but honestly, not often), best way to heat up leftover pizza
Toaster oven cons: Bigger, more expensive, maybe more dangerous (?), not really the best at toasting

arebelspy

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2014, 12:07:45 PM »
It depends on your use scenario.
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fallstoclimb

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2014, 12:09:49 PM »
Yeah, we don't seem to use the toaster oven too much for anything that can't just go in the toaster.   Mostly just leftover pizza every couple of weeks.  I toast nuts in there but I could probably do that on the stovetop. 

James

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2014, 12:12:31 PM »
I miss our old toaster oven, but probably not enough to get a new one...

Certainly I used it a lot for leftovers and other little things that were nice, but it does take up more space, and the kids do better using the toaster for actual toast. Not sure it's something others can offer much advice on, but if you don't use your toaster oven for much other than toast and pizza, then you probably won't miss it too much.

Just pick up a used toaster on craigslist and see how it goes for a while.

Jane

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2014, 12:19:30 PM »
Whichever you will use more.

I agree with the previous poster that it is the best way to heat up pizza. It is also good for re-heating fries and other foods that get mushy in the fridge.

Ours toasts bread about as well as a regular toaster. I think it's better than a regular toaster for toasting thicker breads like bagels and sub rolls, and about the same for thinner breads. It's also good for heating up whole dinner rolls.

Glenstache

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2014, 12:28:18 PM »
Can you fix the toaster?

milesdividendmd

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2014, 12:31:22 PM »
Chopsticks and a bic lighter.



Zikoris

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2014, 12:34:09 PM »
For us, toaster oven. We think it makes better toast overall, and it's easier to toast different types of bread (pita, bagels, foccacia) without setting anything on fire. It also lets us use our "real" oven way less as well for small things like reheating leftover pizza or pot pie, or baking a small batch of cookies.

dragoncar

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2014, 12:37:09 PM »
Oven

Seriously though, I love toast but have never considered buying a toaster.  A toaster probably uses the least power... get one for a buck at a garage sale perhaps (or free outside the dorms in may)

OSUBearCub

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2014, 12:52:01 PM »
I pick toaster:

1. Simpler electronics = less things to break, longer life span, easier to fix yourself (honestly, toasters are mad simple to fix)
2. Though it is a monodevice, the duality of the toaster oven is redundant in most modern kitchens - almost everyone has a real oven and/or a microwave for reheating
3. Though it sucks a lot more energy, the infrequency and short-duration usage of a larger appliance (oven) has negligible impact on energy bill
4. Wasted space has an opportunity cost - you could fill that same two-three cubic feet of counter or cupboard space with a year's supply of self-preserved salsas or jams, saving you $2-3 per jar per year. A plain old toaster takes up less space.

ToughMother

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2014, 01:34:26 PM »
I <3 my toaster oven.  Use it daily for toasting, roasting, baking, etc.  Uses WAY less electricity than the oven (we save that for big baking: cookies, bread, roasting a tray of veggies).  We just got a new one -- had it on my Amazon wish list for a while (limping along with the semi-broken non-reparable toaster oven) and sprung when the price dropped to $19.99 randomly.  Score.

geekette

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2014, 01:41:52 PM »
Our toaster oven gets used just about every day (bake small items, reheat).  Neither of us is fond of toast, though, so there's that.

Since it's 8 years old, though, I'm keeping an eye out for a replacement.  What one did you get, ToughMother?

ToughMother

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2014, 01:45:51 PM »
What one did you get, ToughMother?

Back up to $29.99, but evidently a little patience can pay...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZSZYTO

Scandium

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2014, 02:33:01 PM »
Multi-use

galliver

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #14 on: June 13, 2014, 02:44:55 PM »
My toaster oven was $45 (or about two decent toasters) makes/toasts/warms: pizza, grilled cheese, fish, potatoes, pita...actually for me that might be it. Except of course toast/bagels/etc that can be done in a regular toaster. I wouldn't get one of the 100-200 convection ones that can roast a chicken or bake a cake; that's what real ovens are for. But when I'm just making a meal for me (and maybe one other) it's awesome.

If all you need it for is bread items that can be done in a toaster, maybe it's not worth it.

Also I disagree with
1. Simpler electronics = less things to break, longer life span, easier to fix yourself (honestly, toasters are mad simple to fix)
The one part of toasters I have always seen break is the spring/timer mechanism. Not an issue or necessity in a toaster oven, just pop your food out yourself. Maybe the electronics are simpler but the mechanics are more complicated.

darkadams00

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #15 on: June 13, 2014, 03:33:59 PM »
We've had the same toaster for years and were given a toaster oven by my parents a couple years ago, so I have redundant appliances--but not at my cost. Also, we don't have a microwave, so that's probably outside the norm for most American kitchens today. The toaster oven sits where the microwave would probably sit. We use the toaster weekly and the toaster oven daily. Cooking for two when my son's not at home falls to the toaster oven rather than the big oven most of the time. Minimizing use of the big oven and the dishwasher and changing light bulbs have greatly reduced my energy bill in the kitchen according to my meter.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #16 on: June 13, 2014, 05:55:02 PM »
Cast iron griddle.

lazysundays

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #17 on: June 13, 2014, 06:18:24 PM »
I like toaster oven much better. We use it instead of microwave. Toaster only for toast or non Mustachian frozen food like eggos or toaster streudels. Oven is good for ham and cheese melts, crispy chicken nuggets for the kids, etc etc

arebelspy

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #18 on: June 13, 2014, 06:40:04 PM »
Multi-use


Hmm, can't figure out the other use besides cooking...

;)
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Jack

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #19 on: June 13, 2014, 06:45:30 PM »
I voted "toaster oven", but the best answer probably really is cast iron griddle (or maybe iron!).  My toaster oven is really cheap and entirely electromechanical (like a toaster) and works just fine.

MrsPete

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #20 on: June 13, 2014, 06:45:48 PM »
I vote toaster oven because it's more versatile.  A toaster can only do one thing, but a toaster oven is a multi-tasker.

horsepoor

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #21 on: June 13, 2014, 06:50:33 PM »
I really like our toaster oven.  Aside from the actual oven power draw, it heats the house up much less than the full-size oven if I want to just bake a couple servings of salmon or something.  DH uses it a couple times per week to make quesadillas.

fallstoclimb

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #22 on: June 16, 2014, 07:01:51 AM »
Cast iron griddle.

Oh, this may have just decided this for me.  We probably can reheat pizza pretty well on our cast iron skillet.  Given that our toaster oven only lasted 4 years (although I may have been the one who shorted it via cleaning), I'm hoping I can get a longer lifespan out of a toaster....starting the craigslist search now. 

MayDay

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #23 on: June 16, 2014, 10:43:50 AM »
I got our toaster for 5$ on Black Friday, and it is going strong for ten years. 

I am anti-toaster oven because I tnk it duplicates the oven.  I can see wanting one if you don't have a microwave, for re-heating.  But for normal cooking, it's not worth having another "thing" sitting around my kitchen.  The toaster is small and lightweight, and gets stored in a cabinet. 

I have never given thought to how well either toasts.  I apparently have a low to non-existent toast quality threshold. 

ketchup

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #24 on: June 16, 2014, 11:14:13 AM »
We have neither in our kitchen, but of the two I'd probably find a toaster oven to be more useful due to its utility as a leftovers reheating device, but I don't really ever find a problem with using the microwave.

GuitarStv

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #25 on: June 16, 2014, 11:18:52 AM »
Toaster oven . . . because you can reflow solder with them when working on electronics with SMDs.  AND make toast.

ketchup

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #26 on: June 16, 2014, 11:21:58 AM »
Toaster oven . . . because you can reflow solder with them when working on electronics with SMDs.  AND make toast.
Oh man, I forgot about transforming one into a solder-reflow oven.  Definitely a toaster oven then.

OSUBearCub

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #27 on: June 16, 2014, 02:32:26 PM »
Full disclosure, I use a $5 toaster I bought at Christmas 6 years ago.  Still going strong.  My assertion that toasters are easy to repair has not been tested since I was a kid watching my dad fix our toaster.  This happened about twice a year and he invested about 10 minutes per repair.  Should you like to tinker, the most common toaster repairs can be found here:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-repair-small-appliances1.htm

Not many respondents seem to mind the redundancy issue with oven/toaster-oven/microwave in a typical kitchen.  Is redundancy Mustachian or Anti-Mustachian?  (I know there was a whole thread on minimalism in relation to frugality but I'm curious how it specifically applies here.)

Hope everyone is having a great day!

geekette

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #28 on: June 16, 2014, 02:59:15 PM »
Most days I'd consider the oven redundant, but removing it would leave a big hole in the cabinets... 

galliver

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #29 on: June 16, 2014, 03:36:36 PM »
^haha. I think I'd agree that the oven is least useful of those (for an individual or couple).

I think these all have different purposes. Oven is for batches of cookies, whole casseroles, 3 or more pieces of meat. Toaster oven is for small things that need to be toasted or baked, so you don't have to wait 10-20 mins and waste all the energy it takes to heat up an oven. (Who wants to wait a half hour for toast?) And finally microwave is a *totally* different animal due to the radiation it uses. It's for heating up wet things, for steaming, for reheating because using an oven/stove/toaster to reheat uses infrared radiation, which heats from the surface in, so by the time you've reheated your thing you have overcooked it (for many foods).  I have lived without a microwave before, but I consider it a very useful gadget; for cooking as well as reheating.

Do you need them to survive? Of course not. But they are multi-use devices (unlike, IMO, a toaster) and don't replicate each other's functionality.

Rural

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #30 on: June 16, 2014, 03:38:49 PM »
I have both, though the toaster oven is a jazzed up fancy convection job. The toaster gets used every. single. day. and the oven 4-5 times a week because short of a whole turkey, there's not much I can do in the big oven I can't do there, and it uses less power, is faster, and heats up the house less than the oven, and can be moved outdoors in summer.


I will keep the big oven, though, because I do cook whole turkeys, bake in big batches, make multiple pizzas when we have guests, etc. (Plus it's attached to my stovetop.)

OSUBearCub

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Re: Which is more Mustachian: Toaster or Toaster Oven?
« Reply #31 on: June 17, 2014, 10:26:19 AM »
Can I just switch my vote to Crock Pot?  :-)