Panasonic FlashXpress vs Hamilton Beach Easy Reach 4 Slices 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.

To start off our Toast test, we placed four pieces of bread on the lower tray level and turned the time knob to the point just before the toast icon, which was around 4 minutes 5 seconds on the timer. The bread came out only lightly toasted on top.

Thus, we tried increasing the timer to 5 minutes and had a pretty good result. We then tried increasing the timer again to 7 minutes and 20 seconds just for good measure, but that almost burnt the toast.

With everything in mind, we decided 5 minutes of toasting would yield the best possible result and the final score was 6.7/10. It was quite tricky to get the exact toasting time due to the analog control knob so we used an external timer.

The top of the four pieces of toast had good golden-brown color in areas that were closest to the center of the oven, but was only lightly toasted in areas furthest away from the center of the oven. On the bottom, the lightly toasted areas were even larger, so we gave the toast a 7/10 for even surface color.

The toast was a bit too crispy in the golden-brown areas and a little dry in the lighter areas, so we could only give it a 6.8/10 for taste. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, determined it would go well with omelets and eggs benedict, but not sandwiches and soups.

The second batch came out brown on both the top and the bottom and crispy throughout, which could be more suitable for soup than the first batch. However, there were still lighter areas on both sides and the bottom even had some burnt ends.

Thus, we could only give the oven a 6.3/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, around four minutes on the timer should be enough.

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.

We used the Hamilton to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza at 450°F for our Pizza test and the final score was 6.6/10. To our surprise, the oven took 6 minutes to bake the pizza, which was very fast and worthy of a 9/10 for cooking time.

Unfortunately, the crust showed the oven’s uneven heat distribution. The bottom right quarter of the crust almost became brown before the rest could turn an ideal golden-brown color. The crust was also mostly soft, so we could only give it a 6/10.

The same problem also showed in the toppings, giving the oven another 6/10. While the cheese was only slightly melty and most of the meat was not caramelized, some pieces of meat had some burnt ends.

With that said, our chef gave the pizza a final 6/10 after tasting it.

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.

The cooking chamber of the Hamilton technically didn’t have enough space for a 3 lb whole chicken as required in our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Thus, we had to place the chicken directly in front of the upper heating element, which led to a number of problems.

On the bright side, the result wasn’t too bad at 6.6/10 for a total score. If you choose to roast a whole chicken in this oven, we recommend flattening the chicken out, cutting it open, or cutting it into pieces.

The oven took 1 hour 20 minutes to roast the chicken, which was 20 minutes longer than the standard cooking time, so we gave it a 6/10.

Looking at the skin, the side that faced the door lacked color due to the lower temperature. In addition, the chicken grazed the upper heating element’s guard a number of times, which caused parts of the chicken to burn and led to the oven smoking during roasting as well as burnt bits on the guards afterward.

The silver lining in this was that the burnt areas actually had a nice golden-brown color. However, due to a lower power draw, the skin on the sides basically had no color. With everything in mind, we could only give the skin a 5/10.

Interestingly, the chicken had near-perfect doneness at 9.8/10. The meat had no pink spots and an internal temperature of 174°F-183°F, which was really close to the USDA recommendation.

The ideal doneness helped maintain the tenderness and juiciness of the meat. However, the skin was really unappetizing, so our chef could only give the chicken a 6/10 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.

The Hamilton was at its weakest baking 12 oz of frozen fries for our Baked French Fries test, scoring a 3.6/10.

At 26 minutes, which was over our time limit, the fries still had no significant change in color. Thus, we stopped the baking process and gave the oven a 0/10 for cooking time.

Color-wise, the fries didn’t look much different before and after baking. The only saving grace was that the fries were actually cooked, so we could still give it a 4.5/10 for color.

Similarly, the fries had a texture like they were air-dried, which was still better than boiled french fries that are simply soft and soggy. Thus, it got another 4.5/10.

After tasting this batch of french fries that lacked both color and texture, our chef couldn’t give a higher score than 4.5/10.