Toaster



A toaster is a machine for toasting food such as sliced bread and bagels. Toasted bread is called toast. Other toastable products may be described as toaster pastry.

A typical toaster works by heating the bread. The heat is usually produced by conducting electricity through nichrome wires (Joule-effect). The toasting process consists of reducing the bread's water content (originally ~35% of total weight), raising its temperature, and slightly charring its surface.

The pop-up toaster, which ejects the toast after toasting it, was patented by Charles Strite in 1919.

In 1925, using a redesigned version of Strite's toaster, the Toastmaster Company began to market the first household toaster that could brown bread on both sides simultaneously, set the heating element on a timer, and eject the toast when finished. By 1926, Charles Strite's Toastmaster was available to the public and was a huge success.

More recent additions to toaster technology include the ability to toast frozen bread, separate operation levers to allow users to toast either two or four slices, and reheating functions which allow toast to be warmed without being burned.

"Toaster Ovens" perform toasting functions of a pop-up toaster, however, the electric filaments are positioned horizontally. A toaster oven usually has a glass door and a pull out tray upon which the object to be toasted is placed. Because of its design, a toaster oven can also perform some of the functions provided by a regular oven, but on a somewhat smaller scale.