Most helpful client reviews
179 of 188 persons found the following review helpful.
Wonderful solidly designed and built press that actually would have been better with removable plates.
By W. C. Bryant
The prompt comparison I made when I received this Panini press was to the Cuisinart GR-3 Griddler Jr, Brushed Stainless Steel, and the key divergence amongst the two productions (and the reason I’m giving the better constructed, perchance even better performing press three stars rather than five) is you may remove the plates in the Cuisinart, and you cannot in the Breville. Convenience and ease of use are central considerations when it comes to just how much you’re going to want to use these ‘extra’ kitchen devices, and if it’s a headache to clean something like burnt/stuck preserves, then you’re going to be less likely to want to pull it out and use it again.
I want to back up a little bit, because I think Breville in general designs and manufactures outstanding high-quality but still lowpriced products. This press is no exception. Having applied both this Breville and the aforementioned Cuisinart, I would give the Breville the edge on almost each single front. It feels more solidly constructed of higher quality materials, it seems to heat more evenly, even though the Cuisinart does concede a range of temperature settings as opposed to Breville’s one-temp-fits-all approach. I in truth like having one flat and one grilled plate in the Breville, equated to the two grilled plates in the Cuisinart — the flat surface supplying a much more even and consistent heat that in truth radiates into the middle of the sandwich better than the more fixed surface contact provided by just grill plates (but you still have the all-important texture and grill marks from the top plate). Both adjust to more spectacular sandwiches. Both sport non-stick surfaces (although the Breville’s is much smoother as the Cuisinart employs a grittier non-stick treatment). Both are utterly sized for a couple good-sized sandwiches, without all the wasted space that comes with and from the larger models in each line.
I like this press sufficient that even as I wrap this review up I wonder if I must be giving it 4 stars rather than 3. Standing on it is own, it deserves each bit of 4 stars. It’s when it’s held in contrast to a like-priced substitute like the Cuisinart that the Breville loses galore of it is luster, and then actually only due to a question of pure comfortableness (in the form of removable plates).
If those removable plates aren’t of peculiar importance to you, I genuinely commend this press over the Cuisinart. For me, the comfortableness of cleaning the removable plates provide is what makes it an easy decision amidst the two when I want to grill a sandwich.
93 of 97 people found the following review helpful.
I’m im-Pressed: A Breville BSG520XL Panini Duo Nonstick Panini Press Review
By L. T. Beasimer
Since 2006 I have owned and steadily use a Breville 800GRXL Die-Cast Indoor Barbeque and Grill for making panini, grilling, and more. Previously I owned and was primarily disappointed by the Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler with removable plates. The removable plates are a nice concept, but not an essential feature for me. Knowing the quality of the Breville 800GRXL, I eagerly wanted to undertake the Breville BSG520XL Panini Duo. Even so, I didn’t think I would want to use both over time.
The Panini Duo is a no fuss non-stick panini press. The top drifting hinged ribbed plate and flat bottom plate are coated with non-stick Quantanium(tm) permitting for oil free cooking while immune to scratching even when using metal utensils. The top plate features adaptable height settings for making open faced sandwiches or desserts.
At basi I equated the Panini Duo to my 800GRXL and thought I would miss features such as the drip tray, plate tilt feature, or the capacity to lay out flat. However the lack of features and skillfulness of the Panini Duo, by comparison, are by design. The intents of these two widgets are not the same.
The simplicity of the Panini Duo is this gimmicks firmest feature. I may quickly make two paninis by plugging in the outlet, assemble the sandwiches while waiting for the green light, and placing the paninis into the press. Since oil is not required, I made panini without buttering the bread. I prefer the butter flavor; nevertheless the bread still came out a toasty brown and crisp. I have toasted buns for burgers by leaving the top open. Additionally I reheated pizza by using the adaptable height feature to heat from above and below. These are all tasks I could accomplish with the more spectacular feature rich Breville 800GRXL, but not with the same ease and efficiency.
While I will use the larger more versatile Breville 800GRXL for cooking breakfast, grilling, and preparing larger meals, the Panini Duo has become my favored appliance to prepare a quick hot sandwich. The compact size is perfective for making lunch for me and my other half while taking little counter or storage space. If you are looking for a simple panini press for two, the Breville Panini Duo is the perfective choice.
PROS:
Quantanium non-stick surface
Simple to use and care for
Adjustable height feature for melt and open face sandwiches
Oil/butter not necessitated for more salubrious cooking
Perfect for a family of two
CONS:
Lacks features found in numerous panini presses
60 of 62 humans found the following review helpful.
Very nice sandwich press and electric griddle
By Adam Wood
1. PERFORMANCE
First, I’d like to talk about the performance of the unit. It’s brilliant! I candidly didn’t have high expected values for a hot sandwich press, but I’ve been very happy with it over the past month. Here are a great deal of of the items that I’ve made the most and my remarks:
– Sandwich Wraps: Absolutely fantastic results. I may tailor the cooking time for how firm I want the tortillas to be, and the internal ingredients are nice and hot. Having a flat bottom plate and ridged upper plate gives them a perfective combining of toasting and grill marks. The capacity to set a minimum height amidst the top and bottom plates works wonders for veggie wraps because other than as supposed or expected (at least with mine) the ingredients don’t aid the weight of the top plate and the wraps get smashed. The tortillas slide right off the non-stick coating, and any ingredients that spill out for the duration of cooking have cleaned up very easily.
– “Grilled” burritos: Again, fantastic. Just like a sandwich wrap but with other ingredients. I’ve started to grill these with the fold facing upwards to aid prevent ingredients (such as salsa or guacamole) from leaking out for the duration of cooking.
– French Toast: Works beauteous well. I have made it three times so far, each time with the lid down but locked in the second most eminent position (I haven’t tried just cooking one side of the toast by leaving the lid up, yet). If the bread isn’t too wet, then it works very well. If the bread is very moist, though, it doesn’t cook through to the center very well. With the egg, this items does make it a bit more difficult to clean the non-detachable ribbed top plate.
– Pancakes: Works finelooking well. The two drawbacks are that the top plate is still being heated even altho I’m not using it, and (more necessary for cooking performance) the temperature of the griddle share isn’t adjustable. Pancakes do come out finelooking well, but not as good as on my other griddle that I use on the stove. Also, for some reason the introductory batch of pancakes sticks to the griddle a bit. I haven’t run into that on any other feed so far.
– Ham: Cooked great, but I’ll never do it again because of the mess. Because of the splatter from the juices, I closed the top lid. The bottom flat plate was beauteous easy to clean off, but the ribbed top plate took a while because the nooks and crannies of the ribs make it more difficult.
2. WHAT I REALLY LIKE
– The drifting hinge. That is fantastic and makes cooking thick sandwiches and wraps easy.
– The locking height adjustments. This works wonders for less solid foods like toast and veggie wraps.
– The front handle. Might seem ludicrous to mention, but the handle stays cool and opens the press easily.
3. WHAT I WOULD CHANGE
– Add a power button. I would prefer to not have to unplug it to turn it off. When the unit is heating, there is a decent spark that gets generated at the outlet when I unplug it (same thing happens with my George Forman grill)
– Make the heating plates removable, at least the top ribbed plate. These clean up pretty easily, so this is minor, but it may be a bit tedious attempting to clean the top plate.
– Add a temperature adjustment. This is gorgeous minor to me because it specifically works great, but for pancakes (which are shown on the box as a breakfast item), an adjustment would be nice.
4. FIT AND FINISH
This is my third Breville appliance, and I was expecting the same level of fit, finish, and attention to detail on this press as I had with the other two (Breville BJE200XL Juice Fountain and Breville BKC700XL Coffeemaker). Upon opening the box, the packaging (at least of my unit) was a bit sloppy with the protective plastic bag around the press not to a complete degree covering it. After taking the unit out of the box, I noticed that the fit and finish aren’t as nice as my juicer and coffee maker. For example:
– Some of the bolt holes and rounded corners on the lever arms are sharp as if they weren’t in the right manner deburred.
– The bottom plate has a lot of rough patches on it
– The power cord and cord-wrap on the bottom plate aren’t very well design, IMO (but that’s just personal preference)
I mention all of that for one reason – if you are looking at this press because it is a Breville and you have a sure expectation of quality like I did, then those remarks might be essential to you. I did not remove any stars for this because the unit is nice – it’s just not as nice as I had expected from this brand (which I think genuinely speaks highly of the brand).
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