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Electric toasters have come a long way since the 1920s. Today, you can even choose the color of your toast. Modern toasters even shut off by themselves. Some models can also warm and bake. Toasters come in tow styles. They are either upright or horizontal types. The upright toasters hold the bread in an up-and-down position. In the horizontal type, the slices lie flat.
There are two kinds of upright toasters. The first type holds two or four slices of bread. Other upright models have ovens. These ovens can toast, warm or bake.
The first kind of upright toaster has often been called an automatic pop-up toaster. Some people even call them wall toasters. They toast bread, frozen waffles, and thin pastries without toppings or fillings. They are simple machines and are easy to work. The bread carriage has an outside control knob. When the knob is worked, the carriage moves up and down inside the toast wells. The carriage works an on-off switch. The heating elements in an upright toaster are made of fine wires. These are placed on both sides of each toast well. When electricity flows through the wires, they give off heat for toasting. A thermostat inside the toaster is hooked up to an outside toast-color control. The control lets you choose the toasting time.
The second upright model is both a toaster and a small oven. These models have toast wells, bread carriages, and toast-color controls. Plus, they have special doors and controls for baking and warming.
Horizontal toasters are either reflector models or toaster ovens. Reflector models toast and warm. Toaster ovens toast, warm and bake. Both have built-in two and four slice sizes and have a front door or opening. Both can handle most bread sizes.
Choose your toaster carefully. Look for a seal of approval from an independent testing laboratory. This seal is important. It lets you know that this toaster is as safe as possible. The seal might be on the toaster. It may also be on the packing carton. Such a seal shows, among other things, that the toaster has a two-pole switch. This switch is a safety point. It stops a child from getting a shock. Even if a child puts his hand inside the toasting chamber while the toaster is plugged in, he should not get a shock.
The next time you’re in the market for a toaster, look for the seal of safety.
