PanasonicFlashXpress Toaster Oven Countertop, 4-Slice Compact Size with Double Infrared Heating, 6 Auto Cook Options and Precise Temperature Control, 1300W - NB-G110P (Silver)

I have an Elite long slot pop-up toaster and a Gourmia 8 qt basket style air fryer. Those two have worked well and I've been happy with this setup. Still, I've always intrigued by the idea of a small super fast toaster oven.Counter space being limited I put the Elite pop-up toaster (crazy toaster, bread flies out of it) on the kitchen counter and my Gourmia air fryer in a back room. Both are always at the ready. Then I saw this deal and everyone raved so much I figured why not join the cult? I could get rid of the pop-up toaster and possibly the air fryer. Not so fast!Toasting: First impressions of the Panasonic, not overly impressed. The controls are a little wonky, but everyone knows this. It toasts more evenly than my pop-up toaster, but not incredibly so. Interestingly, my popup toaster is just as fast as the FlashExpress and easier to operate. There's no real toasting speed advantage (both take about 2 1/2 minutes) with the Panasonic over a regular pop-up toaster, it just makes better toast.Space: I thought the FlashExpress would fit on my counter, but you need 4 inches clearance at the back, whereas the pop-up toaster is a cool touch and sits neatly up against the wall. Sure the FlashExpress is small for a toaster oven, but the pop-up toaster takes up much less space. I ended up putting the Flash in the back room next to my air fryer and countertop pizza oven.Reheating: The Gourmia 8 qt air fryer is a better toaster oven for reheating certain items. It's just as fast if not faster and cooks more evenly and thoroughly. It's also more flexible as you can put just about anything in it and cleanup is a breeze. For anything saucy/messy I use foil pans/sheets. (Pro tip: Buy some of those grill mats and cut them to the size you need, instant durable non-stick mat for your toaster oven or air fryer). 9 inch foil pans and foil sheets fit in both. Cleaning the Panasonic could be difficult and you have to watch those infrared rods (cheese or other dripping items).For leftover pizza, cold or frozen, I use the air fryer. I put the slice on a foil sheet and hit start. It goes into pre-heat, but that's my cooking/re-heat cycle. When the sound goes off to add food the pizza is done and frequently over-done. I did the same with the Panasonic and selected 5 minutes. It was done in about 4 1/2 minutes. The air fryer was done in about the same, but I preferred the flavor and taste of the air fryer reheated slice. That said re-heating food is very good and easy in the Flash/Express.Cooking Time: It's fast for toast, but what about frozen items? You can do a small 9 inch frozen pizza in the Panasonic in 12 - 14 minutes. I have a Wisco pizza oven that cooks up to a 14 inch pizza in 14 minutes. Again, Panasonic's speed claims are based on comparisons to "toaster ovens". In my early tests the FlashExpress is not much faster than a pop-up toaster or an air fryer, but I still like it.Warnings: There are many standard typical warnings, but here's two that caught my eyeThe FlashExpress Owners Manual instructs not to "bake bread with butter or jam. There is a chance the bread will catch fire". It's an odd warning that your bread might catch on fire.How about this? "After use: Turn off the unit by pressing the power button, The lamp goes out. Remove the power plug." Are you kidding? Every time you use it??? That's just not happening. I'm not going to do that and I imagine most people don't either. It's probably a liability issue or maybe somebody's oven caught fire just plugged in EEK!What I like:I do like that the toasting rack comes out when you open the door. It operates slickly and your food is easy to grab. Also, it does a really nice job toasting Mestemacher Vollkornbrot too. It's that weird, flat, dense, super healthy German bread that is IMO only good toasted. Pop-up toasters are not very good for this type of bread because it can fall apart or get stuck in the toaster. With the FlashExpress you can carefully top your flat bread with whatever you like and toast for about 4 - 5 minutes. It's outstanding for that. Also, the bright lights allow you to see your food so well it's the perfect "melt" machine, you can get that tuna melt just right. Add cheese a half minute before being done toasting and it will melt to perfection. Reheating items is excellent too because this toaster oven gives you such a good view of what you're cooking that you can stop it before overcooking.What I don't like: It's missing one feature. This toaster would be perfect if it had a broil or "bagel" function. Sometimes you want to toast only one side of bread or just melt with the top element. Sadly, you can't do it as there's no ability to cook with only the top element. You could use the pan to block the lower elements but it would be better if it had the controls to just shut it off.The lights are super bright and it is odd when they cycle and turn on and off over and over. When using the presets for toasting they stay on, but if you to a timed "bake" selecting temperature and time they cycle on and off. It's like there's a scientific experiment being performed. The manufacturer warns not to stare at the light rods, they say it's bad for the eyes. I'll defer to them on this one.In summary, it generally does what they say it does, and it has a very good track record. If you're in the market for a small speedy toaster oven this is it (or the Breville Mini). I caught this deal and paid $84. I wouldn't pay the $119 price. The FlashExpress is not replacement for an air fryer but some people don't need an air fryer. I've been testing all kinds of food in it and I'm definitely keeping it. It's interesting and a lot different than any other toaster oven I've used. It's actually fun to use, something I would have never thought I'd say about a small appliance.

I had the "old model" of this oven for around 5-years or so. I broke one of the infrared bulbs (while cleaning it) last week. Fortunately I found out that they have started to make this oven again. They had stopped (or at least stopped importing them) when I checked a couple of years ago for a friend of mine who wanted one. But this "new model" is exactly the same as my "old" one except the name on a couple of buttons has changed, and also it's now silver instead of white.Frist, let me just say what this toaster oven is NOT. . .It is NOT a replacement for a "traditional" oven. If you're looking for something of that sort, then I highly recommend you check out one of the Breville or Black & Decker models. This Panasonic toaster oven will NOT cook a chicken. . or bake an 8" pie.. . or bake a cake. But what it does. . .it does VERY well.This oven works by infrared light. You can Google to find out exactly how this works, if you want the specifics. Because of this, there is no pre-heating required. The lights will turn on-and-off while the oven is in operation. This can be a little "confusing" when you start to use it, but you'll get used to it.This oven works WONDERFULLY for the following items:* Toast - using whatever bread you like. . . however thick you like* Toasting bagels or English muffins* Heating pastries or croissants* Baking biscuits (Pillsbury frozen buttermilk biscuits are my favorite)* Heating frozen appetizers such as breaded cheese sticks, chicken fingers, etc.* Pizza - reheating or baking. Either a small whole pizza or a slice of a large pizza* Frozen garlic bread* CookiesThough the guide says that you can bake cakes and pies in it. . . I've tried, and it didn't work for me. If you're baking small tarts which are perhaps a half-inch thick. . .or a cake where it's no more than ½ inch thick.. .then perhaps you could get it to work. . but again. . . this is not like a "traditional" oven, so I think if you're going to bake such things, then you would be much better off using a "traditional" oven.It's wonderful that there is no pre-heating. I put frozen biscuits in, and 20-minutes later they are just perfect.The oven has some preset buttons on the front where you can also choose from "light" (shorter cooking time) to "dark" (longer cooking time). . . or. . . you can choose the temperature and length of cooking you would like, up to 25-minutes.The pan that comes with the oven is 9-inches square. This is certainly the maximum size for the oven.You will learn by trial-and-error what works best with this oven. But after having one for around 5-years, I can HIGHLY recommend it. I have never seen a toaster oven which works like this. . .which has pre-set buttons. . .which doesn't require pre-heating. . . . and does such a fantastic job.It's hard to believe that I get so excited about such an item. . .but this is one of those rare occasions where something just works well. . . REALLY REALLY well.P.S. If you are not using the preset buttons, this toaster oven has a timer up to 25-minutes. If you press the "up" arrow to increase the time, it goes in 30-second intervals up to ten-minutes, and then it goes by 1-min intervals. If you want to bake something on the "higher-end" of the timer, then use the "down arrow" to start with and it will go from 25-minutes backwards.