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Black & Decker G48TD Grill and Waffle Baker Review

November 9th, 2010 by

The Black & Decker G48TD is a cool kitchen appliance. What I like about this machine is that it has a few different cooking functions. The highest profile function that it has is to make waffles. There are not too many waffle makers to choose from if you want to make your own home made waffles. This one comes at a very reasonable price especially when you consider that it can do other things as well.

The reason that it has more than just the waffle making function is that the inner hot plates can be taken out and reversed. So on one side the have the waffle making pattern and on the other they are completely flat. The waffle making side obviously can only be used for one thing only, making waffles. But the other side of the machine actually has two separate cooking functions.

One of these is to make pressed sandwich. Since the hot plates do not have ribs, the sandwiches that come of out of this machine can be very hot. In addition, they do not have the grill line marks that some other sandwich makers produce. For example if you choose a unit like the Cuisinart GR-1 you get ribbed upper and lower hot plates. This really depends upon what style of hot sandwiches you want to make. But the fact remains, that with the Black & Decker G48TD you have the option of making both toasted sandwiches as well as waffles.

There is a third function as well. The way this one works is that by opening up the machine until both hot plates are facing upwards, it can act as a griddle and cook bacon, eggs, hash browns and so on.

This device also comes with a variable heat control. There are three different settings for you to choose from. Care must be taken if young kids are about. This unit can get extremely hot.

Cuisinart GR-1 Griddler

November 1st, 2010 by

The Cuisinart GR-1 Griddler is a best seller on Amazon. It is in fact the top selling sandwich press. The reasons for this are that it is a high quality device that is also very reasonably priced. Indeed, you can actually get this unit for under $50. When we consider that a panini from a cafe can easily cost over $10, it starts to look like great value indeed.

Cuisinart’s GR-1 Griddler Panini and Sandwich Press is basically a professional style sandwich press that is designed for the home market. Just like more expensive commercial models, the top plate is connected via a floating hinge. This is much better than the fixed hinge models because it ensures that the top plate always presses down on the toasted sandwich rather than pushing on it from one side. This helps to keep the filling inside your sandwich rather than on the grill plates.

Both of the hot plates of the Griddler GR-1 are ridged. This means that on the top and bottom of your sandwich you will get the cafe style burn marks. The weight of the top plate pushes down on the sandwich to compress it and turn it into a concentrated taste experience. This is a great way to liven up plain sandwiches. There are so many different panini that are worth trying, you are really only limited by the combinations that you can come up with in your head. The booklet that comes with the Cuisinart GR-1 contains lots of different savory and sweet recipes for you to try too.

Using this machine is a great way to reduce your food costs while at the same time increasing the quality of the taste of the things that you eat. A toasted sandwich makes a great light meal but if you add a salad or a bowl of soup, you can turn it into an excellent meal.