Bird-safe appliances (toaster ovens)?

[Kiwibird]

Hey everyone! So here's my situation- we've been leasing a downstairs "apartment" in a big house that doesn't have an actual kitchen (and we can't use the landlords kitchen). It really hasn't been an issue, as I only cook for 2 people (and a piggy parrot ) and don't NEED a full size oven. However, our old toaster oven is crapping out and my hubby can't fix it. I am having a extremely difficult time finding a new "large capacity" toaster oven that doesn't have a "non-stick lining" (or isn't an $800+ commercial-type convection oven). I can deal with what we have now, which has 2 racks (that I have 2 tiny baking sheets for) and can fit an 8x8 dish, but anything smaller just won't function as my only oven to cook in. There are millions out there that would be fine EXCEPT for the non-stick lining. There are also a few that are all stainless, but only have one rack and that will make cooking even more difficult (but I may have to go with one of those). Can anyone recommend a site that has links or whatever to appliances that don't have the non-stick interior or a bird-safe non-stick interior? Or suggest a toaster oven? I can spend up to $300. I'm really hoping some bird-people can help. Thanks!

 

[strudel]

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find much, if anything. What do you need to use it for? Maybe get something else, like an electric frypan (if you can still find one with stainless steel, everything seems to be smeared in non-stick more and more). You can bake stuff in those as well as fry. Or one of those glass convection ovens with the fan in the lid?

Oh, and where do you live? Not much point recommending something that isn't available where you are.

 

[Kiwibird]

Well we need it for the same sorts of functions you use a regular oven for- baking, reheating, broiling ext... We have a couple portable induction burners that work great for stovetop cooking, but it's the actual "oven" that's dead. I was looking at some of the convection ovens, but they are either WAY to big for the space I have, too expensive or have the darn non-stick stuff. This is really frustrating! We've been using the old toaster oven on a daily basis for the last 6/7 years (cheaper than heating a full size oven, even when we had one), and I've never had anything get "stuck" on the stainless lining that needs greater cleaning than wiping it off with a damp rag. What I REALLY want to know is what kind of stuff do people do in the kitchen that warrants 99% of products these days to NEED to be non-stick?

 

[jenphilly]

Here is the one we have... does not have nonstick, trust me, it cannot be cleaned back to like new condition

It has a rotisserie also, which works really really well, was surprised how good a roast turns out! It shows sold out on Walmart's site, but least you have a model to look for. And its not expensive. You can fit a small rectangle casserole dish in it, but not the larger ones. Fits most regular size forzen pizzas if that helps for size! Does well for cooking meats and such, but so so for baking, have made birdie bread and muffins in it tho when I did not want to start up the big oven

Good luck!!

 

[jenphilly]

duh, the link...

GE Convection Toaster Oven - Walmart.com

 

[Kiwibird]

This is my fabulous "makeshift" kitchen area I get to contend with for breakfast and dinner everyday (actually, I'm pretty happy with myself to get this kind of functionality out of an old laundry room :09. As you can see, there's no room for a real oven, or even one of those larger convection ovens. What I have now is about as big as I can go, and I certainly don't want smaller, but I'm really struggling to find a "large capacity" 6 slice toaster oven that isn't non-stick like my old one. As of right now, I can only cook what can be done on the burners.

@Jenphilly- Thanks for the link! We're vegetarians, so don't really need a rotisserie, but that looks to be right about what we need size-wise and all. Will definitely read reviews on this

 

[jenphilly]

I think you've set up an awesome little galley there!! Talk about making the most of what you have, its a cute very bright little made over laundry room!!

Well the rotisserie would make an awesome roasted butter squash too

This unit is fairly small, we have a smaller kitchen too and wanted something that was pretty functional without taking up a ton of counter space. I would guess from photos its about the same size as the one you have, but has two racks.

 

[strudel]

What I REALLY want to know is what kind of stuff do people do in the kitchen that warrants 99% of products these days to NEED to be non-stick?

Nothing, but once an idea is accepted that something has something "extra" people will chose it over the one "without". It might not even be driven by the market, but by the suppliers. The non-stick coatings WILL fail and will require replacement so you'll have to buy another sooner than something that you can shine up for the next 30 years.

(If you roast meat in the small ovens, the walls do get a lot of splatter, so for small ovens, people probably do prefer it)

 

[cnyguy]

I have a Waring convection toaster oven without a non-stick interior, like this one:

Digital Convection Oven | Waring Pro®

It works very well, and Ralph loves the beep sounds it makes when it heats to the right temperature and shuts off, and has learned to imitate them.

 

[Kiwibird]

@Cnyguy- Thanks for the link. I had seen these Waring ones one ebay actually, but just kept looking because the listing I clicked on said "easy-clean interior", so I assumed that meant non-stick. Now that I look a little closer, I can see it's just stainless inside. They have the same model on their website with the knobs instead of the digital panel I think I'm going to get (just a personal preference). Thanks for the help everyone, I was getting a bit discouraged that I wasn't going to find one!