Gizmo

By Andy Walker, Cyberwalker Media Syndicate

It seems bronzing bread is where all the innovation is happening in small appliances these days. The latest entrant into the kitchen toaster wars is the Oster Perfectionist Toaster.

This sleek white and silver gadget has two wide slots that accommodates your run of the mill white sliced loaves as well as fatter bread products such as Texas toast and bagels.

The LCD control panel on the device's side has a pie chart type graphic that fills up as the toast approaches pop-up.

It also has fill-in-the-dots graphic that shows the level of toasting you've set.

There's also a button to tell the toaster what kind of bread is in it. The bagel setting is especially handy as this switches off one set of elements so that only the cut side of the bagel gets cooked. This somewhat a of a marvel: Soft on one side, crunchy on the other.

Other features include a pleasant beep that sounds when the toast is done. There's also a handy zip-out crumb tray. A lift mode in the device's spring-loaded plunger allows the toast to be hyper-lifted so that it's easily removed.

Unlike competing models there's no countdown timer to toast completion. You have to rely on the LCD pie chart for that information. This leaves a little guesswork, which toast control freaks will find annoying. Nonetheless, the world of toast is a better place thanks to this gadget and its competitors.

Price: $90 Canadian / $60 US
More info: Call 1-800-334-0759 or see www.oster.com (An Oster rep promised information will be posted soon).
Buy it: In Canada, from Eatons and The Bay. In the U.S., at most department and small appliance specialty stores.