Panasonic FlashXpress vs Black and Decker 4 Slice Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison

There were a few interesting things, though not necessarily good, about our Toast test for the NB-G110P. We first tried the middle toasting level—level 3—and the results were all burnt. Then, we decreased the setting to level 2 and the toast was no longer burnt. However, it was still dark for our standard.

Finally, we cranked it down all the way to level 1—around 2 minutes 20 seconds on the timer. This setting allowed us to achieve an acceptable outcome scoring a 6.1/10 in total. Of course, this meant that we only had a reference for the darker setting and not the lighter one.

On the toasting level 1, the four pieces of toast had a nice golden brown color around the center of the oven. However, the color got significantly lighter as it got to the edges. This unevenness was all the more apparent on the bottom side of the toast, so we gave it a 7/10 for even surface color.

Unfortunately, such a short cooking time wasn’t able to crisp up the toast, even the golden brown areas. Our head chef Tuyet Pham deemed the toast, at best, passable to go with sandwiches, omelets, and eggs benedict and awarded it a 6/10 for taste.

All the existing problems of the first batch became slightly worse in the second batch. The cooking time for the second batch at toasting level 1 was automatically adjusted to be slightly shorter—2 minutes 11 seconds.

For some reason, the color was less even on top—one piece of toast was only lightly toasted, one was golden, one was golden brown, and one was brown. Nonetheless, the bottom of the second batch was similar to the first.

While the golden brown and brown pieces were a bit crispier than the first four, they weren’t enough to get the consecutive usability score to higher than 5.5/10.

At the beginning of our Toast test, we turned the toast knob to the Medium Toast icon/setting—around 4 minutes 10 seconds on the timer—which resulted in four slightly burnt pieces of bread. We then chose the setting between Medium and Light, which was around 3 minutes 25 seconds on the timer, but that wasn’t enough time to get an even surface color.

Finally, we figured that around 4 minutes on the timer would yield the best possible result, with a total score of 7.1/10. Since it used an analog control knob, it was quite tricky to precisely choose 4 minutes, and we had to use an external timer.

On this setting, the Black+Decker produced four pieces of toast with a brown-colored top. However, the bottom was slightly charred in some areas and lacked color in others, so we gave the toast a 6.5/10 for even surface color.

Fortunately, the toast was crispy on the outside while still soft and moist on the inside, deserving a 7.5/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham concluded that it would go great with omelets and eggs benedict, but not so much with soups or sandwiches.

For some reason, despite the identical toasting time, the second batch had a more uneven surface color than the first. The toast had a slightly darker color and crispier texture, which is more suitable for soups, and scored a 6.8/10 for consecutive usability.

Through our Pizza test, we noticed that the heating elements of the Panasonic NB-G110P seem to be very powerful. However, it wasn’t coupled with even heat distribution, which resulted in a 7.4/10 pizza score.

The toaster oven was able to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza in only 3 minutes. This was one of our fastest recorded cooking times, even faster than the powerful medium-sized Cuisinart TOA-60, and deserving a whopping 10/10.

However, such a short cooking time was only enough to cook the crust while not giving it any color at all. The silver lining in this was that the crust wasn’t dry, enough for a 6.5/10.

The toppings would have been quite appetizing if not for the burnt onions, bell peppers, and meat tips. Luckily, the high heat meant that the cheese was melty which garnered the toppings a 7.5/10.

Unfortunately, the burnt parts affected the taste quite badly with their bitterness. Thus, our chef could only give the pizza a 6/10 after tasting it.

The low power output of the Black+Decker held it back in our Pizza test, where a high temperature of 450 °F was required; it scored a 5.6/10. The oven took 13 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza, which was longer than our time limit of 10 minutes, resulting in a 0/10.

Fortunately, the other aspects were quite solid, even though the oven’s internal temperature couldn’t be maintained at 450 °F. The crust had a nice golden color but it was a bit soft, so it got a 7/10.

The toppings had reasonably even caramelization throughout and the cheese was slightly melted—enough to score another 7/10. Taking the crust and toppings into account, our chef gave the pizza one last 7/10 for taste.

As we tried to fit a 3-pound whole chicken inside the Panasonic for our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the chicken grazed the hot upper heating element. This resulted in quite an impressive caramelization on the skin but also permanent stains on the heating element.

The lack of space for heat circulation was one of the main reasons behind the subpar score of 7.1/10. If you were to roast a chicken in this oven, we recommend cutting open the chicken or chopping it into pieces beforehand.

The Panasonic took 1 hour 10 minutes to roast the chicken, compared to the standard one hour, so it got a 7/10. We decided to stop the cooking at this point because our chef suggested that the skin wasn’t getting any more color and we didn’t want to overcook the chicken.

While the skin close to the upper heating element was nicely caramelized, the rest of it lacked color. It was also really soft, similar to being steamed, so we gave it a 6/10.

Checking with a meat thermometer, we found the chicken’s internal temperature to be 196°F-198°F which was quite high compared to the USDA’s recommended 165°F-180°F. Of course, the meat had no pink spots, so we gave it an 8.3/10.

As a result of the long cooking time, the meat was a bit dry. Interestingly, the soft skin was able to make up for the dry meat, enough for a 7/10 for taste from our chef.

During our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the 3 lb chicken touched the upper heating element’s guard. This heavily seared the middle part of the chicken and made a mess inside the cooking chamber. If you were to roast a chicken in this oven, we recommend cutting open the chicken or chopping it into pieces beforehand.

The final test score of 6/10 made us speculate that the oven’s lower output also hindered its performance, even though the required temperature was only 350°F. The Black+Decker took 1 hour 20 minutes to roast the chicken, compared to the standard one hour, so it got a 6/10.

The skin had almost no color, except for the areas near the upper heating element, and was still very soft; we could give it just a 5/10. That being said, increasing the cooking time further would reduce the score for the skin and risk overcooking the chicken.

The only upside to the long cooking time and low oven temperature was the doneness of the chicken. The meat had no pink areas and the chicken’s internal temperature was 185°F–187°F, which was very close to the USDA recommended 165°F–180°F.

This partially helped maintain the juiciness of the meat, but the unappetizing skin gave our chef no choice but to give the chicken a 5/10 for taste.

The problem of powerful heating elements and uneven heat distribution in baking pizza repeated here in our Baked French Fries test. However, the score for the Panasonic’s baked french fries was lower, at 6.1/10.

We tried to give the oven the benefit of the doubt and stop the cooking at 25 minutes. This was the time limit of our test and equaled a 5/10. We decided to stop the cooking so as to not decrease the cooking time score any further despite the fries’ lack of color.

Even after baking for 25 minutes, only the smaller fries had a light golden color. The bigger and longer ones were only golden at the tips while the rest of them was basically white. Thus, we gave the fries a 6/10 for color.

The smaller fries had a bit of crispiness to them while the bigger and longer ones were just plain soft. Nonetheless, they weren’t dry, so we could still give them a 6.5/10 for texture.

With such subpar colors and textures, our chef could only give the fries a 6.5/10 for taste.

While conducting our Baked French Fries test, the Black+Decker’s weakness in maintaining a high temperature became more apparent, and it scored a 3.2/10.

To start with, it took 30 minutes to bake 12 oz of frozen fries; this was way longer than our limit of 25 minutes and resulted in a score of 0/10. Despite the long time duration, the fries had almost no color, so we could only give it a 4/10.

The same can be said for the texture of the fries which was not crispy, earning it another 4/10. Overall, the fries appeared more boiled than oven-baked, so our chef had to give it one last 4/10 for taste.