Morphy Richards Toaster

 When we moved house, almost eight years ago, we treated ourselves to a new toaster. It was the cheapest one we could find that would take four slices of bread, and for some years it served its purpose adequately. 

However, it started emitting burning smells recently, and we decided that, rather than hanging on until it became dangerous, we would splash out on a new toaster. So we checked the available options at our local white goods shop. 

TOASTER CRITERIA

We knew that we still wanted the ability to take four slices, preferably in two long slots rather than four short ones, because we sometimes like to toast pittas or naan, which are bigger than ordinary bread. We considered a couple of basic white toasters, but kept coming back to the Morphy Richards 77447 model. It was black and metallic, something that would match far better with our other kitchen appliances. This wasn’t a huge consideration but still a plus point.  The disadvantage was that it was priced at €65 (just over £50) whereas the cheaper ones were just under €50. 

We asked the shop owner what he would recommend. He said that toasters all work if you just want to toast bread, but paying a little extra will lead to a more even toasting, and more consistent results. He pulled the Morphy Richards toaster out and showed us a button at the side for frozen bread, something which we thought would be useful, although with our old toaster we simply put the bread down for a second time if frozen bread wasn’t done. 

We were then told that they were having a sale, and that everything was 20% off the marked price. Since that made the Morphy Richards toaster almost the same price as the cheaper one we had considered, it convinced us to go with a name we trust, and a toaster which we knew would look good in our kitchen. 

TOASTER INSTRUCTIONS

There was an instruction guide with the usual safety warnings: don’t allow children to play with it, don’t immerse in water, and so on. It also told us to wipe the outside with a damp cloth, and not to use metal polish or anything abrasive.

We didn’t really need instructions to tell us how to toast bread, but were pleased to learn that in addition to the frozen bread button, there is a re-heat button, for times when toast has been left until it gets cold; this makes it warm again without over-cooking. 

As with most toasters, there’s a standard crumb tray at the bottom which needs to be emptied every so often; I try to do it about once a week, but people who eat a lot of toast would need to do it more often. It’s the work of a moment as it just slides in and out. 

USING THE TOASTER

There was a slightly plastic smell the first couple of times we used the toaster, but it wasn’t too awful, and the toast came out perfectly. Thankfully the smell didn’t last long and had gone entirely within a few days. We were slightly surprised that there’s a loud beep right before the toast pops up; it sounds like a microwave finishing beep, and was a little annoying at first, but we’ve got used to it. It’s quite useful if we put something in the toaster and forget about it. 

We experimented a couple of times to determine the setting we liked best, as far as browning goes. We like the fact that we can leave this set, and simply press the ‘frozen bread’ button if necessary to include the extra necessary cooking time. 

A further bonus is that the slots are somewhat wider than those in our previous toaster, meaning that we could easily toast halved hot cross buns in April. This was a lot simpler than doing so under the grill, and the result was much more even. 

All in all, we are extremely pleased with this toaster, and feel it was well worth paying a little more for good quality. 

2022 UPDATE

Eight years after writing this, I'm pleased to report that our toaster is still working well. My aim of cleaning out the crumb tray weekly has fallen by the wayside; I remember perhaps once every three months. It doesn't matter. The toaster sits on the kitchen work surface, toasting bread, pitta bread, or anything else we want. It's not the most glamorous appliance, nor the most essential, but it has been reliable and still looks almost as good as it did when it was new.

So, I would reiterate, it's definitely worth paying a little extra for a quality brand toaster if you can afford to do so.