Toasters buying guide

Essential for kitchens, the breakfast table wouldn't quite be the same without toast. With a whole host of features on offer, there's more to a toaster than just simply toasting bread.

Features:

• Variable browning

  Whether you like your bread toasted lightly, or prefer a deeper, crunchy brown, the variable browning function allows you to make the perfect toast every time.

• High lift facility

  This raises the toasting carriage up a little higher, making it ideal for smaller toasted items, when the initial lift might not be enough for easy removal.

• Mid-cycle cancel

  When your toast is perfectly cooked a little earlier than expected, the mid-cycle cancel function allows you to pop it up immediately.

• Defrost

  Toasting bread directly from the freezer is made easy with the defrost function. The toaster initially cooks the bread on a lower setting, but once the bread has defrosted, the toaster automatically moves up to the main heat setting.

• Variable width

  It doesn't matter whether you choose thin-sliced bread or you prefer to cut larger slices from a freshly baked loaf, these toasters can handle slices of many different widths. They also suit crumpets and bagels.

• Crumb tray

  Instead of letting the crumbs fall through onto the kitchen top, the crumb tray sits at the bottom of the toaster and collects them. All you need to do is slide the tray out and tip the crumbs away.

• Cool wall

  The cool wall feature of toasters means the heat outside the toaster doesn't get as hot as the inside, safeguarding against accidental burns.

• Sandwich toasters

  Producing great tasting hot sandwiches that not only break in two, but have the filling sealed inside for no drips and spills. Great for a snack any time of day.

Beyond toast

Many toasters are now available that do more than simply toast. Depending on the model, they can cook bacon, pizzas, chips and even poach eggs.