The toaster ovens in the Cuisinart tob-40 vs tob-60 are both great buys. With that, rest assured that whichever little oven you decide to go with that are buying a quality machine. But the real question is which oven is best for your house or office.
Toaster ovens offer you a convenience that you just cannot get from a traditional oven. They use less energy, and they get up to temperature quicker than your standard sized oven and so they won’t overheat your entire house. I for one can’t stand using the oven on very hot days when I just want to stay cool. Also, for some folks, for which whom a standard oven isn’t an option, toaster ovens offer a great alternative.
Below, you will discover everything that you need to make a good decision in this comparison.
Click here to see price for the Cuisinart tob-40
Click here to see price for the Cuisinart tob-60
Table of Contents
Appearance and Size
At a glance and facing the front, these machines are virtually the same. It’s not until you pay closer attention to the details that you can see some of the details. The tob-40 is the smaller of the two units (the larger model number usually signifies the larger machine), it is a good-looking stainless steel machine.
The face is stainless steel while the sides and feet are black. This gives it a nice two-tone look. The part of the handle that faces the oven is black as well and it looks to be constructed out of a thick durable plastic. It must be strong enough to be heat resistant. It measures 8.9H inches x 13D inches x 15.6L inches.
The tob-60 or 60n (the new version of the tob-60) is also good looking. I like that the whole unit is stainless steel. It has more of a modern look to it compare to the tob40 and it measures 9.8H inches x 19.1L inches x 15.5D inches. The thing to keep in mind here is that the sides have carrying handles that add to the length of the machine.
Both units are around 10 inches tall so that shouldn’t pose any issues for you. The biggest concern will probably be the length and depth.
You might want to measure out a space on your counter to make sure that you can locate it inside your kitchen. Sometimes eyeballing isn’t good enough.
Convection
Convection ovens have a fan which circulates the air and thus warms the oven up a lot faster. The tob-60 and tob-60n are convection ovens, the tob-40 is not. This gives the 60 a huge advantage – time savings. Convection ovens are also noted for their ability to keep the temperature pretty even.
The convection settings on the tob-60/60n are for convection bake and convection broil and the oven can be used with or without the convection option.
Get more details on the Cuisinart tob-40
Get more details on the Cuisinart tob-60
Automatic Slide-out Rack
Only the tob-40 comes with the automatic slide out rack. This is a convenient feature that allows you to check on your food without having to use an oven mitt to check on the progress of your food.
Power and Heating Elements
Neither machine is lacking in the power department. They both have 1800-watts of power that provides you with a baking temperature range from 200 to 450 degrees, and 500 degrees on broil. There are two heating elements on the top and two on the bottom. This helps to contribute to more even heating.
Toast and Bagel
Toast is a primary concern for most customers for either of these machines. The top and bottom heating elements turn on for the toast function. The toast dial – on both – gives you complete control over the shade of your toast. And just like with a regular toaster, the toasting will stop when your toast is done.
On the tob-40 only, there is a bagel setting. The bagel setting only utilizes the top heating element – which gives you a nice crispy top and a chewy bottom.
Capacity
These aren’t very large machines, but you can fit a small to medium sized pizza inside each of them. The tob-60 has .6 cubic feet of space compared to .5 for the tob-40. When you look at the difference numerically, it doesn’t seem like much. But the difference is worth considering.
As listed on the description pages, the tob-60 can fit a 12” pizza compared to 11” for the tob-40. Again, this might not sound like much, but a lot of frozen pizzas are offered in 12 inches. Both ovens have two rack positions which gives you more flexibility over what food items you prepare in the oven.
The tob60/n can also fit a 4 pound chicken compared to just 3 for the tob-40. I think that, to the right person, that could be a considerable difference.
Controls
These units share some common cooking functions i.e. toast, warm, bake and broil. The tob-60 also comes with the convection bake and convection broil option. Also the bake button displays as “Bake/Toast” but I don’t think that really makes any difference, it’s just labeled differently.
I do think that the control panel on the tob-40 is much easier to understand. For example, the “off” selection is located on the “Function” dial, whereas the on/off selection is part of the toast shade dial for the tob-60/n.
You might also notice that the selections for the dials are smaller and bunched closer together on the tob-60. This can be kind of annoying. Also, the toast shade dial starts at “off”, you must turn the dial counter clockwise, and the first shade selection is the darkest. It’s probably no biggie, but it’s just kind of an odd set up.
Accessories
Both of these machines come with the same accessories: oven rack, baking/drip pan, crumb tray, and recipe booklet.
Easy-to-Clean
These machines are both very easy to clean as they both have nonstick interiors and pull-out crumb trays.
Warranty
Both of these machines come with 2-year limited warranties.
No timer
Neither of these machines have a timer which is a very useful feature.
Summary
I like both of the machines in the Cuisinart tob-40 vs tob-60 comparison. They represent a combination quality, performance, and convenience at an affordable price. These machines are good for those with whom want alternatives to turning on the big oven. But they are even better for folks for whom a toaster oven is the only option.
Surprising, you give up some convenience going for the newer and bigger model. There is no bagel setting or auto-out oven rack on the tob-60.
Still, if I were choosing, I’d go for the Cuisinart tob-60 for the convection feature and the fact that it can fit a 12 inch pizza.
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