last week i was approached by debt free direct to participate in a supermarket challenge they were running; they want to work out if buying supermarket branded electrical goods is a good way to save money, and whether or not they stack up against their big-name counterparts. with the challenge set, the first item i was asked to try out as alternative to a brand-name product was a toasted sandwich machine* from sainsbury's...
negatives: so, for a start, it's a little small for regular-sized bread. i suppose that small slices of bread would be better, but we generally don't buy small loaves of bread. we buy adult sized bread, so there was constant overhang/bread that remained un-toasted around the edges. and secondly, although it has a temperature light to indicate when it's ready to use/eat, it... never came on; we just guessed that it would be ok to use. at least we get guessed right (we think).
positives:
it works. i mean, it toasted the bread perfectly (the amount that was inside the toasting area at least), and it totally made a toasted sandwich. boyfriend indulged in a beans and cheese while i stuffed the life out of it with ham, cheese, tomato and avocado. even with all those fillings, it shut easily, didn't take too long to cook, and cleaned off easily afterwards. we used a low cal spray, and i would suggest using something similar to grease it up before cooking just in case, but it appears to have a stick-free coating inside which has made the cleaning a breeze.
having not had a big brand toastie machine for years, i really can't see a difference in performance from that of my memory. i'm chuffed when things work, and this certainly did. so in this case, i would declare without a shadow of a doubt that if you're shopping around for a toasted sandwich machine, definitely consider your supermarket brands as contenders; at a fraction of the cost and the same efficiency as the big brands, why not save yourself some pennies on electronics, and spend them on delicious fillings instead!
*item sent for review - for more money saving advice, check out debt free direct's blog for updates*
