While toasters are a household appliance which can be found in most homes, people always try to innovate and take them up a notch. Most major manufacturers try to pack as much technology as possible into each gadget they make, especially for their higher end lines. At the same time, they also produce budget products which are suitable for everyone’s pockets.
The Balmuda toaster does not fall in any of the above mentioned categories. It is quite frankly in a league of its own when it comes to design and functionality, and all this does come with a pretty high price tag. The retail price for this design heavy piece of kitchen equipment falls just under the $300 mark, so we can’t really say it’s for everyone just yet.
Balmuda is a Tokyo-based company which approaches manufacturing kitchen appliances from a very new and fresh angle, and their goal is to perfect and adapt each product their make and to get the most out of the materials used. The products they make are not necessarily design centric, but functionality is the main driver behind the design.
This toaster uses steam as its way of heating bread to a perfect crisp. It is not exclusively meant for bread, you can heat just about anything that fits in it. This is practically a miniature steam over which turns very little water into steam and circulates it over the bread in very precisely controlled temperature phases. The manufacturer has described the process as follows: the first phase is low temperature in order to fluff up the bread from the inside, the second phase is meant to turn the bread golden, and the final high temperature phase is intended to give the bread a crisp and brown finish. Indeed, this seems to be over the top for a piece of toast, but if you want the very best, Balmuda has got you covered.
You can find the Balmuda toaster available for online purchase, and even in some boutique kitchen appliance retail stores. This is certainly more than just a regular toaster, and because of its retro inspired design it can perfectly blend into your kitchen without sticking out in any unwanted way.
The retail price of just under $300 may be prohibitive to many, but this is a high end piece of kitchenware and should be treated as such. You can find other similar products which are at the very cutting edge of technology and design on Balmuda’s official website. If you are planning on moving into a new home and have the budget for it, we strongly recommend these products as they will make you time in the kitchen much easier and take your cooking to the next level, even if you are just starting out.
