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Hamilton Beach 31401 Countertop vs Black+Decker CTO6335S Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)5.1/10
- Design (25%)3.6/10
- Usability (25%)4.6/10
- Performance (50%)7.0/10
- Design (25%)6.6/10
- Usability (25%)6.1/10
In our performance tests, the Hamilton Beach 31401 would have been a total debacle compared to the Black+Decker CTO6335S if not for the slight edge it gained when toasting bread. We suspect that the Hamilton’s performance could be improved by cooking less food compared to our test amounts at a time.
The Black+Decker has a higher power output of 1500 W and four quartz heating elements as opposed to the Hamilton with 1200 W of power and two similar heating elements. To top it off, unlike the Black+Decker, the Hamilton doesn’t have a convection system to help distribute heat evenly.
Besides the size difference—the Hamilton is small and the Black+Decker is large—the Black+Decker scored higher in the design and usability departments. It has a tamper-resistant casing with a slide-out crumb tray.
The Black+Decker’s various cooking functions are all the more useful for beginners in the kitchen. The Hamilton does have a stay-on feature, though, which is helpful considering its short timer.
Unless you specifically want a lightweight, energy-saving, and small-sized toaster oven, there’s no reason to choose the Hamilton Beach 31401 over the Black+Decker CTO6335S. The latter is priced better and received better overall ratings.
Hamilton Beach 4-Slice Toaster Oven Performance
- Toast (40%)7.7/10
- Pizza (25%)5.5/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)1.0/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)4.0/10
- Toast (40%)7.0/10
- Pizza (25%)6.8/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)7.7/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)5.6/10
Toast
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: Medium
- Cooking Time: 4m 15s
- Second Batch: 4m 15s
- Convection: No
With our Toast test, we determined the best option was right at the position of the Toast icon—around 4 minutes 15 seconds on the timer, scoring a 7.7/10. Turning the knob halfway down would result in no color and turning it halfway up nearly burnt the toast.
With 4m 15s, the Hamilton Beach produced 4 pieces with a light golden brown color on the top and golden on the bottom. Although that was great, the top and the bottom were quite different and they were both only about 80% even throughout. Thus, we gave it a 7.5/10.
The first batch of toast had a nice balance of crispiness on the outside and softness on the inside, deserving an 8/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined it would go well with pretty much everything including eggs benedict, omelet, and especially sandwiches. It wasn’t as suitable for soup but the second batch was.
The second batch got crispier and more even in color. However, it also became browner so we gave it a 7.3/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to only turn the knob to ¾ to Medium—around 3 minutes 40 seconds.
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 4/7
- Cooking Time: 5m 10s
- Second Batch: 3m
- Convection: No
With our Toast test, we were able to determine that level 4—5 minutes 10 seconds on the timer—was the best option scoring a 7/10. Levels 3 and 5 respectively had a lighter and darker than ideal, although even, surface color.
The toast level 4 of the Black+Decker scored a 7/10 for color. The four pieces had areas of different colors ranging from golden brown to just slightly golden. This was probably due to uneven heating of the elements and the convection fan not running.
Despite the color, the first batch was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside so we gave it a 7.5/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined that it would go great with eggs benedict and omelet.
Even with the automatic toast time adjustment feature, the quality of the second batch was reduced in every aspect. The color was lighter and the texture was less crispy so we had to give it a 6/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, lower the toast level by one.
Pizza
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 10m 30s
- Convection: No
The Hamilton didn’t perform well in baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza scoring a 5.6/10.
Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, the oven took only a tad bit longer at 10m 30s. However, this meant that it failed the cooking time criterion with 10 minutes being the time limit for our Pizza test.
For the most part, the crust didn’t have a good toasted coloring and was soft so it got a 6/10. The toppings had pretty good caramelization but some darkened areas of the cheese lowered the score to 7.5/10. After tasting the pizza, our chef gave it a 7/10.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 7m 30s
- Convection: Yes
The Black+Decker did an ok job of baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza earning it a 6.8/10.
Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, it took 7m 30s to bake the pizza, which was fairly solid. However, after comparing it to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, we could only give it a 7.5/10.
The crust had a good golden brown color but was soft and a little dry — possibly due to the longer cooking time. Thus, it could only get a 7/10.
The toppings were mostly dry with an uneven coloring, plus the cheese wasn’t melty so it got a 6.5/10.
In the end, our chef gave the pizza a 6.5/10 for taste.
Whole Roasted Chicken
- Function: Rotisserie
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h 30m
- Convection: No
This was one of the rare occasions where an oven failed the entirety of our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Our speculations concerned the instability of the heating elements and the fact that the chicken grazed the upper safeguard during cooking.
After 1h 30m—our time limit, the oven wasn’t able to roast the chicken to a desirable outcome and failed the first criterion. After roasting, the skin had no noticeable caramelization and barely enough for a 5/10.
The chicken reached an internal temperature of 176°F which was quite good. However, the meat itself was undercooked and still pink in a lot of areas. Thus, it was another failure. Due to the meat being undercooked, our chef couldn’t taste it to give a score.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h
- Convection: Yes
Following our Whole Roasted Chicken test guidelines, we placed a 3 lb chicken on a broiling rack on a baking pan of the Black+Decker with plenty of space to spare. The abundance of space gave it some advantages over smaller units like the Breville BOV450XL despite a lower power output. Overall, the Black+Decker received a 7.7/10 for this test.
It took the oven 1 hour, the standard amount of time, to roast the chicken to a desirable color so we gave it an 8/10. The skin came out a light golden color but it was uneven despite being flipped after the first 40 minutes. In addition, it was soft, so it got a 6.5/10.
The chicken was thoroughly cooked but the internal temperature was a tad bit high at 189°F-192°F compared to the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F so we gave it an 8.8/10. The meat was very juicy but the lack of roasted aroma and crispy skin resulted in a 7.5/10 for taste from our chef.
Baked French Fries
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 30 m
- Convection: No
The Hamilton Beach wasn’t suitable for baking 12 oz of french fries scoring only a 4/10.
There were no noticeable changes to the fries after 30 minutes of baking in this oven. Due to our time limit of 25 minutes, this constituted a failure in the cooking time section of our Baked French Fries test.
There was no change in the fries’ color so they received a 5/10. The oven basically thawed and heated the fries so they were very soggy scoring another 5/10. Our chef could only give the fries a minimal score of 5/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F.
- Cooking Time: 25m 50s
- Convection: Yes
With a score of 5.6/10, the Black+Decker left a lot to be desired in the Baked French Fries test. In comparison, the same-sized Cosori CO130-AO did a much better job with its higher power output and air fry basket.
This oven took 25m 50s to bake 12 oz of fries which was just a bit too long over the limit of our Baked French Fries test. Thus, it failed our cooking time section. Coloring was uneven among the fries ranging from nicely golden to almost none so they could only get a 7/10.
The textures were also uneven and, worse, none was particularly good. The golden fries were only a little crispy and the ones that lacked color were soft. Overall, it was a 6.8/10 for this test.
Our chef gave the resulting fries a 7/10 for taste.
Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Toaster Oven Design
- Exterior (20%)4.0/10
- Interior (30%)1.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)5.0/10
- Exterior (20%)5.0/10
- Interior (30%)7.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)7.0/10
In the Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven Box
- Model: 31401
- Warranty: 1-year limited in the US and 5-year limited in Canada
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Removable Crumb Tray
Inside the packaging are the Hamilton Beach oven, a baking rack, a baking pan, a removable crumb tray, and a simple user manual.
- Model: CTO6335S
- Warranty: 2-year limited (not applicable in Latin America)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Broiling Rack
The packaging has some eye-catching illustrations and information as well as was able to keep the oven and its three accessories in place. However, there are only two foam pads on the sides to cushion the oven while the accessories are positioned with duct tape.
Exterior
- Weight:5.4 lbs (2.4 kg)
- Length:15.0" (38.0 cm)
- Width:12.2" (31.0 cm)
- Height:8.5" (21.6 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Removable
The Hamilton Beach has a stainless steel exterior, a back buffer to prevent the oven from being too close to the wall, and a cool-touch door handle. However, the back buffer isn’t designed to wrap the power cord around, unlike many other toaster ovens.
- Weight:12.9 lbs (5.8 kg)
- Length:19.3" (49.0 cm)
- Width:13.4" (34.0 cm)
- Height:10.6" (27.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Slide-out
Despite its large size, the Black+Decker only has air ventilation holes around the side where the convection fan is. The two buffers on the back to keep the oven from being too close to the walls are quite sturdy. Also, a slide-out crumb tray is always a nice touch.
Our measurements of the oven’s footprint were 19.29" x 13.38" x 10.62" which were a lot different in terms of length and height compared to the manufacturer’s 22.8" x 13.4" x 15.5".
Control Panel
- Type:3 control knobs
- Temperature:100°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 30 minutes + stay-on
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:No
- Audio Cues:No
The Hamilton Beach has three simple control knobs for Temperature, Function, and Timer. Even though the timer is only from 1 minute to 30 minutes, it has a stay-on position. 1 minute to 30 minutes, it has a stay-on position.
- Type:LCD display + 13 buttons
- Temperature:200°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 2 hours
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:Yes
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:Yes
- Audio Cues:No
The control panel consists of an LCD digital display, two buttons to adjust time and temperature, a timer toggle, a convection toggle, eight buttons for functions, and a start/stop button.
Cooking Functions of the Hamilton Beach 31401 Toaster Oven
- Toast
- Bake
- Broil
If you know your way around the kitchen, the bake and broil functions will be all you need. The temperature knob has a Min setting which can act as Keep Warm and maintain the oven at around 100°F.
- Cookies
- Pizza
- Frozen snacks
- Potato
- Bake
- Broil
- Toast
- Bagel
The eight cooking functions are useful for beginners and experienced cooks can freely adjust the time and temperature of each to their liking.
Interior
- Heating Elements:2 quartz
- Convection Fan:No
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The 31401 has 2 quartz heating elements that cook food using infrared light. To avoid direct contact with baking pans and trays, each one has its own safety guard.
Compared to the more common nichrome heating elements, they produce more heat and cool down faster. In addition, they’re easier to clean and more energy-efficient but not as durable. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
Nonetheless, the oven suffers from a lack of internal lighting and a convection system, similar to most small units like the Mueller MT-175. Moreover, having only two heating elements may not distribute heat evenly as having four.
- Heating Elements:4 quartz
- Convection Fan:Yes
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The Black+Decker only has two tray levels but you can make use of the flippable rack to effectively create two more levels. The oven has a convection system but no internal lighting—unlike the Ninja DT201—which can be an inconvenience considering the interior is black.
The oven has quartz heating elements that use infrared light to cook. They have their own safety guards to prevent direct contact with baking pans and trays.
Compared to the more common nichrome heating elements, they produce more heat and cool down faster. They are also more energy-efficient and easier to clean but don’t last as long in terms of durability. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
Capacity
- Length:10.9" (27.8 cm)
- Width:9.4" (24.0 cm)
- Height:7.1" (18.0 cm)
The Hamilton Beach, with only two tray levels, can accommodate 4 slices of toast, a 9-inch pizza, or barely a 3 lb chicken. We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be roughly 12 liters which coincided with the manufacturer’s stated capacity.
- Length:14.2" (36.0 cm)
- Width:12.6" (32.0 cm)
- Height:7.9" (20.0 cm)
The CTO6335S can comfortably fit 6 slices of toast, a 12-inch pizza, and a 3 lb whole chicken. While the manufacturer didn’t state the oven’s capacity, we measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be around 23 liters.
Power Cord of the Hamilton Beach 31401 Countertop Toaster Oven
- Length:29.9" (76.0 cm)
- Type:2-prong plug
- Power:1200 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
The power cord is long enough for household use.
- Length:24.8" (63.0 cm)
- Type:3-prong plug
- Power:1500 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
Even though the length of 24.8" is enough for household use, the power cord protrudes from the bottom of the oven reducing the usable length. In addition, it’s not long enough to wrap around the two back buffers.
Accessories
- Length:10.9" (27.8 cm)
- Width:8.8" (22.3 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.3 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The rack fits perfectly with the guide, which helps prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven. Unfortunately, by burning a batch of toast, we left some extremely stubborn burnt bits on some rods.
- Length:14.2" (36.0 cm)
- Width:10.0" (25.4 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.2 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking rack can be placed in the oven either way up, effectively adding two more tray levels for the oven.
Accessories
- Length:9.3" (23.5 cm)
- Width:8.1" (20.5 cm)
- Height:0.7" (1.8 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan rests on the supports of the baking rack to catch any drippings and meat juice, preventing any mess and the risk of fire from dirty heating elements. However, it doesn’t have a good coating and sustained permanent stains after our Baked French Fries and Whole Roasted Chicken test.
- Length:13.3" (33.8 cm)
- Width:10.2" (25.8 cm)
- Height:1.2" (3.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan is large and, being 100% compatible with the broiling rack, it catches all the drippings. This prevents any hot mess from dirtying the heating elements thus mitigating that potential fire hazard. However, it’s not 100% non-stick so you may have some stubborn stains to deal with after a heavy roasting session.
Accessories
- Length:10.9" (27.8 cm)
- Width:8.1" (20.5 cm)
- Height:0.8" (2.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
Without a tray, falling crumbs are quite a hassle to clean up. However, some can still fall to the bottom of the oven as you remove the tray.
- Length:11.7" (29.7 cm)
- Width:8.7" (22.0 cm)
- Height:0.7" (1.9 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
The broiling rack is designed to fit the baking pan perfectly while the holes are there to help with air circulation around the food. It doesn’t have a coating though so it may be prone to stains, caramelized bits of food, and discoloration.
Build Quality
The Hamilton uses durable material but its construction isn’t very sturdy. Even though the control knobs turned smoothly, they felt a bit loose.
The Black+Decker CTO6335S is equipped with a tamper-resistant screw to prevent removal of the outer cover. However, the bottom tray can easily slide out and the door can also open if you tilt the oven.
Throughout our tests, we noticed that the oven’s large capacity is somewhat counteracted by its power output of 1500 W. We speculated on its ability to perform more efficiently if it were 1800 W.
Hamilton Beach 31401 4-Slice Toaster Oven Usability Review
- User Control (30%)7.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)3.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)5.0/10
- User Control (30%)8.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)5.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)6.0/10
User Control
Even though the Hamilton Beach only has three simple control knobs, there are a few things to keep in mind. For the timer knob, when setting it to less than 10 minutes, always rotate past 10 minutes and then rotate back to the desired time.
It’s also tricky to precisely adjust time and temperature but we didn’t find this to be an issue. You can use an oven thermometer and an external timer to get familiar before eye-balling it.
The Black+Decker has 8 functions but the convection toggle is only applicable to Bake. There’s an indicator light for when a function starts and stops — which are two separate buttons on the control panel.
For all functions except Toast and Bagel, you can push the increment and decrement buttons once to change the temperature in increments of 5°F and hold to change in increments of 25°F. After pressing the Timer button, the same goes for cooking time but in increments of 1 minute and 10 minutes. For Toast and Bagel, simply choose a level from 1 to 7.
Unfortunately, even though the label shows a stay-on function, we couldn’t find it in the control panel or the user manual. A small thing we didn’t like about the buttons was that they sometimes didn’t respond well.
Ease of Use
With three control knobs, it’s very simple to readjust cooking settings. The cooking cycle finishes when the timer reaches Off. When this happens, the oven will ding once and shut off. As it has no digital display, you can freely leave this oven plugged in without worrying about power consumption.
It’s easy to keep the door partially open to let food cool down but be careful as the oven’s exterior gets hot to the touch quite quickly. However, opening the door doesn’t stop the oven, unlike some others.
For all functions except for Toast and Bagel, the Black+Decker has an automatic preheat feature. This will always heat the heating elements to 350°F, which takes around 4m 20s, before starting the actual timer. Then, the internal temperature will gradually stabilize around your input temperature.
One thing to note is that you cannot change the temperature or time during the automatic preheat cycle. You can only do so once the oven reaches the selected temperature.
Keep in mind that the oven’s exterior gets hot to the touch quite quickly. In addition, it doesn’t turn off upon opening the door, unlike some others. The door also can’t be opened partially.
This oven beeps with each push of a button and does so three times when it finishes cooking. The oven always remembers the last selected setting until it’s unplugged. It’s advised to unplug the oven after you finish using it as the digital display doesn’t turn off after a period of no interaction.
Cleanability
The Hamilton Beach oven’s exterior and interior were easy to clean following the steps of our toaster oven cleaning guide. Due to the chicken touching the upper safeguard during cooking, there were some caramelized bits stuck to it. Nonetheless, they were easy to remove with just dish soap and a sponge.
We accidentally burnt a batch of toast during our test and it caught fire which led to some discoloration on the oven’s exterior. Luckily, we were able to remove most of it with an all-purpose cleaner.
What surprised us the most, however, were the permanent stains left on the baking pan. Even after we applied a paste of baking soda and water and then scrubbed it with diluted vinegar, the stains didn’t budge at all.
We cleaned the Black+Decker following our toaster oven cleaning guide. With the oven having an internal and external coating, cleaning was quite straightforward.
However, even with the slide-out crumb tray, we still had to tilt the oven to get all of the crumbs out. In addition, some of them got stuck inside the heating element safeguards and we had no way of getting them out.