With a toaster, bread becomes much tastier, whether it is white, black or gray. Hot, as if just out of the oven, with a pleasantly crispy crust and without unnecessary fuss and oil – not in a frying pan, tea, fry. The Kitfort KT-2037 toaster is cute, can toast bread of almost any thickness, and has seven toasting levels. Let’s see how he behaves in the test kitchen and whether he will provide a delicious slice of bread for breakfast, lunch or five o’clock tea.
Characteristics
| Manufacturer | kitfort |
|---|---|
| Model | KT-2037 |
| Type | toaster |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Service life * | 2 years |
| Power | 800-950W |
| Capacity | 2 slots at the same time or in turn |
| Protection class against electric shock | I |
| The weight | 1.2 kg |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 299×166×190 mm |
| Network cable length | 0.7 m |
| Retail offers |
* If it’s quite simple: this is the period during which parts for repairing the device are delivered to official service centers. After this period, any repair in the official SC (both warranty and paid) is unlikely to be possible.
Equipment
The black box with purple inserts and white inscriptions is typical for Kitfort equipment and is recognizable at first sight. On its wide sides we see a schematic representation of the KT-2037 toaster, the slogan “Feed me with bread”, the name and model of the appliance.
On one of the narrow sides, the advantages of the toaster are listed:
- 7 degrees of roasting;
- auto-centering of toasts;
- defrosting and heating;
- extra-rise toast;
- wide slots;
- retractable crumb tray.
On the opposite side are technical specifications: power, voltage, capacity (in relation to a toaster, this means that two slots can work simultaneously), cord length and dimensions and weight of the device in its pure form and packaging.
Information about the manufacturer and the importing company, as well as data on the hotline and warranty periods are located at the bottom of the box.
After unpacking the box, we found in it a complete toaster, an instruction manual, a warranty card and a number of promotional materials.
At first sight
Judging by its appearance, the toaster combines the incongruous: it took chrome surfaces and buttons with blue LEDs from a futuristic design, and matte black plastic and copper edging of buttons, a rotary handle, a bread lowering lever – from a retro style. It turned out, despite the mixture of styles, quite nice.
The toaster resembles a loaf in shape: a parallelepiped at the base, a rounded top and a slight expansion downwards. The wide sides and top are covered with a shiny metal that shows any fingerprint. True, it is not necessary to grab the toaster by these surfaces, so it will not be necessary to wipe it very often. On the sides there are several rows of ventilation slots, on the top, decorated with the sign “Hot surface”, there are wide slots for bread.
Inside the slots, the long walls are covered with heating elements. There are also steel bars to hold the bread, which move in a horizontal direction, compressing and expanding, along the grooves in the sides of the slots. The grids are compressed when the lever is lowered, and are unclenched automatically at the end of the program or when the Stop button is pressed. They are designed to keep a slice of bread at the same distance from the heating elements.
From below, slices of bread are supported by steel spokes with petals, also connected to a lever and moving along narrow slots in the side walls. These spokes are not fixed rigidly and when moving the device they strum quite noticeably.
The end walls of the toaster are covered with black matte plastic. One of them is deaf, only at the bottom there is a small tongue made of the same plastic: you can pull the pallet out of it by picking up the tongue from below and pulling it towards you. You don’t need to lift or press anything, just overcome a slight resistance.
The pallet is a metal rectangular tray with rounded corners, small sides and a length that is much greater than the width. The tray tongue is equipped with two latches. To insert it into the case, you need to place the pallet on the guides along the bottom and push it into the case until it clicks.
The toaster control center is located on the second end wall. These are wide and low buttons with LED backlight and a round regulator of the degree of roasting. There is also a lever for lowering slices of bread. All elements are made of black plastic and trimmed with copper piping: it looks beautiful, but, in the opinion of the reviewer, it somehow does not blend in well with the mirror metal of the wide sides.
The degree of roasting rotates with a soft crackle and can show intermediate positions between integer scale values marked on the body around it. Its handle has rather deep notches that do not allow even a wet hand to slip off.
The vertical buttons are pressed with a distinct click, and their meanings are also marked on the case. The lever is located under the right hand and moves in a copper-lined guide channel. It has a flat handle, easy to press from above, decorated with a copper strip from the end. The lever is slightly spring-loaded and, if the appliance is plugged in, locks in the down position, shifting the grids in the bread slots, lifting the slice-holding pin, and turning on the toaster, all at the same time. In the off state, it is not fixed.
The bottom of the toaster is made of black plastic and consists almost entirely of ventilation holes. On the sides of the bottom there are legs with anti-slip pads, and in the center there is a nameplate with information about the technical characteristics and the manufacturer of the device. A short power cord comes out from under one of the legs, which can be further shortened by attaching it to the guides at the bottom.
Instruction
The instruction manual is very short, as the device is not complex. This is a brochure in the usual lilac cover for Kitfort, also compiled in the traditional way: first a story about why you need a toaster, then its diagram with signed parts, how to use it, how to clean it and how to fix some problems. And finally, technical specifications and precautions.
Everything, as always with the company, is written clearly, consistently and logically.
The kit also includes a warranty card.
Control
The entire control panel of the toaster is concentrated on its side, you need to refer to it all the time, since you cannot set the settings again by touch. Therefore, it is better to place the toaster with this side towards the user. So it takes up less useful space on the table.
The panel consists of a toast loading lever equipped with electromagnetic protection (does not work if the appliance is unplugged, but works without loading), a rotary knob that adjusts the degree of roasting (from 1 to 7) and buttons with blue LED backlight, which lights up after how the button is pressed. The exception is the “Stop” button, on which the LED is on during operation of the device.
The rotary knob of the regulator is not rigidly tied to integer scale values and allows you to set fine gradations that cannot be more precisely determined: there are no divisions between numbers. The instruction recommends setting the degree of roasting after lowering the lever, but we tried to set it to – no difference.
Lowering the lever turns on the toaster. The device turns off automatically after the time set by the program or after pressing the “Stop” button – if it suddenly seems that the toasts are fried more than you expected. Ready, but cooled toasts can be reheated using the “Reheat” button, which will turn on the appliance for 30 seconds. The button must be pressed after the lever is lowered.
Frozen bread can be prepared by defrosting it automatically. Before lowering the lever, you must set the desired degree of roasting, and then press the “Defrost” button.
This toaster has a handy feature: toasting on one side only. It’s good for reheating halved bagels, hamburger buns, or hamburger buns: anything baked that has a crust on one side. To enable this mode, there is also a special button “1 side”, which must also be pressed after lowering the lever.
Exploitation
Before the first use, the manufacturer advises to run the toaster empty three times at the maximum heating mode. But before that, choose a place where the heating device will not damage the surface and will not cause a fire. Given the very short toaster cord, choosing such a location can be difficult.
However, during the first tests, we found out that even a wooden surface does not suffer in any way from the fact that the toaster is standing and working on it, so there will be no problems. But the side and especially the upper parts of the device should be removed from the surfaces (side by 10 cm, and the top by all 50). There should be no paper napkins, curtains, or anything flammable when heated. The kitchen table in this respect is quite convenient.
When we first turned it on at full power without bread, we felt a faint smell of burning protective grease on the heating elements. The second and third inclusions were completely odorless. The device is ready for operation.
In fact, the instructions didn’t say anything about which bread can and cannot be used, but we decided to use common sense and not put bread with fruit or too thin slices in a high roast in the toaster.
We put a slice of loaf into the toaster and fried it on the third degree of roasting, along the way, noting the peculiarities of the operation of the device. During operation, it emits a light, barely audible buzz when heated, which does not interfere with talking even in a whisper. The end of the toaster operation is marked by a fairly loud click. Some chunks even fly out of the slots – with such force, the lever returns to the off position.
The toaster heats up very quickly and the bread making cycle does not take long. The slices came out lightly browned and quite hot: despite being raised considerably from the hot top plate, they are best handled with tongs or a fork.
The size of the slot is clearly designed for toast bread, but no one will interfere with using a toaster for making slices of a loaf, slices of black bread or even small buns – since the width of the slot allows it.
The photo shows how the color of the crust of toast bread changes depending on the degree of roasting.
And these are the degrees of roasting of gray table bread, the significant changes of which begin from about the fourth degree. Therefore, we didn’t even take pictures of the first one: it turned out just hot bread without visual changes.
You can put one slice of bread into the toaster, but it is worth remembering that the degree of roasting then turns out to be higher. In our case, a thin slice of bread at the fourth degree of roasting almost burned out. Therefore, we advise in this case to choose a degree of 1-2, no more.
Another feature of the sample we got for testing: in the right slot, roasting is uneven – stronger in the center and less at the edges. Whether this is a design feature or a property of a particular device, we cannot say.
The “Reheat” button is designed to reheat already cooled toasts. If you are distracted from breakfast, but you still want hot bread, then it is not necessary to throw out the old piece and fry a new one. When warmed up, the toast really only reaches the desired temperature, and their roastiness remains unchanged.
If you use the “Defrost” button, then frozen bread can be cooked smoothly: first warm it up so that it thaws, and then fry. It is very useful for those who do not eat a lot of bread: a loaf or toast bread, which quickly becomes moldy at room temperature and even in the refrigerator, can be put in the freezer and taken out as needed.
Having tested the function of warming up the toaster on one side, we were surprised: during the cooking process, both sides of the slot worked in our device, and it cannot be said that the outer one was colder than the inner one. And the crust on the crust darkened noticeably – just as if we were frying in the usual way.
Working with a toaster is simple and clear, even children will master it. However, you should not leave the device plugged into the outlet unattended: both for safety reasons and because it can be turned on at idle, since the lever is not fixed only in the off state.
There are no additional attachments for the toaster.
Care
You don’t need to wash the toaster – what, in fact, gets dirty there? The manufacturer advises to shake out the crumbs from the tray after each use and at least once a week with constant use, turn the unplugged and cooled toaster upside down and lightly tap to remove the crumbs from the slots as well. We did just that – and found out that we had to shake and bang the toaster for a long time so that all the crumbs fell out of it. Therefore, before you put the toaster in the closet for storage, you will have to spend some time so as not to leave too much in it.
If the bread gets stuck during operation, then you need to disconnect the toaster from the mains, wait until it cools down, and turn it over. If you now move the lever up and down and gently knock on the bottom of the device, the problematic chunk will fly out by itself.
The body of the toaster should be wiped with a dry soft cloth, trying not to leave scratches on the polished metal surface.
Our measurements
We decided to find out how hot the toaster gets inside and out. At maximum roast, our thermometer read 250°C inside the slot closest to the user, with the probe positioned in the center of the slot both vertically and horizontally. So, of course, there would be more heating, but the scale of the thermometer ends at 250 ° C. The minimum degree of roasting showed us that the toaster operates with only two types of temperatures: high and ultra-high: it was not possible to measure below 180 degrees.
If it is so hot inside, then it won’t take long to get burned, we thought, and measured the temperature of the outer surfaces at maximum heating. The top chrome panel heated up to 78 degrees, the side chrome panels – up to 49 ° C. The lever connected to the grate was quite hot (51°C), the control buttons slightly protruding above the panel warmed up to 46°C, but the roast control was almost cool: 35°C.
We also measured the time of different degrees of roasting. To do this, we measured the period from switching on to automatic switching off at each of the degrees with an external stopwatch.
| Degree of doneness/mode | Time for preparing |
|---|---|
| one | 0 min. 50 sec. |
| 2 | 1 min. 09 sec. |
| 3 | 1 min. 37 sec. |
| 4 | 2 minutes. 12 sec. |
| 5 | 2 minutes. 51 sec. |
| 6 | 3 min. 23 sec. |
| 7 | 3 min. 45 sec. |
| warm up | 30 sec. |
| defrosting | +30 sec. by the time of preparation |
Yes, it didn’t seem to us that the toaster cooks really quickly and efficiently.
The maximum power achieved by the device during all tests was 905 W, and the average was in the region of 870-890 W, depending on the program. The device spent 0.053 kWh for the preparation of toasts of the maximum degree of roasting.
practice tests
Fried bread of various types can be used in sandwiches, as croutons for soup or sauce, and even as an independent dish, if there is nothing else for tea. We have prepared both the simplest sandwiches and something more complicated.
Bread with jam for tea
Ordinary slices of a long loaf will complement a cup of tea no worse than the most exquisite cakes. It is only necessary to apply the fourth degree of roasting to them. We note in passing that the third and fourth degrees turned out to be the most popular with us during testing. Fans of slightly warmed bread and dark-fried toast can choose another favorite program.
So, on hot slices, you should immediately apply jam, jam or condensed milk – it depends on what is at hand.
Result: excellent.
Turkey sandwich
We had a sesame-cooked turkey steak, and we simply sandwiched it between two slices of toast, toasted to the third degree in our appliance.
Any sauces and spices, as well as greens and vegetables available in the refrigerator, can serve as an addition to such a sandwich. We had tomato and lettuce, as well as cheese and cheese sauce.
Such sandwiches can be taken to work or for a walk: when they cool down, they do not become less tasty. If you’re working from home, then this is just the thing for a quick bite to eat in those few minutes while you’re left alone. By the way, the turkey can be cooked in advance or you can use the one left over from dinner.
With long-term (over half an hour) storage of such sandwiches, it is better to add the sauce right before eating.
Result: excellent.
Hamburgers without grill
Thick hamburger buns that need to be heated to a crust on only one side are a challenge for our toaster with its One-sided mode.
We fried the buns in a toaster and put thin chopped steaks, slices of cheese, fresh tomato, lettuce and a few onion rings in them. Everyone chose the sauce to their taste: it can be with cheese, it can be with lingonberry, or it can be with banal ketchup and mustard.
Result: excellent.
findings
The Kitfort KT-2037 toaster copes well with its main duties, that is, with a quick frying of different types of bread. It also has additional options – due to the one-way mode – and there is one more degree of roasting than in other toasters. Yes, and he looks nice.
It can be used to make a simple hot cheese sandwich, warm up a hamburger bun or a small shawarma pita. Even when cooled, fried bread is tastier than plain bread, so you can make sandwiches from it in reserve – for work or for a walk. And the only thing missing from these wide slots are grills for making multi-layered hot sandwiches.
pros
- good design
- Flexibility in choosing the degree of roasting
- Wide slots
- One way mode
Minuses
- Polished surface quickly covered with fingerprints
- It’s hard to shake out all the crumbs
- LEDs would be better to take green to be combined with a copper edging
