Hamilton Beach 25450 Gourmet Panini Press
|
List Price: Our Price: $35.79 You Save: $14.20 (28%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $27.45 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Hamilton Beach 25450 Gourmet Panini Press
Customer Review: I like the grill marks, dude.
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this about a month, and I really like it. Really, really like it.
I got it b/c I love to make grilled cheese sandwiches, and I'd been adding ham, tomatoes, and capers lately and the whole thing was difficult to flip around in a frying pan.
This was the perfect answer, and has taken me into a new level of awesome sandwich making, and it's super easy!! I live in a small aparttment in a big city, and this is the perfect size for my kitchen. I moved the blender to a different spot and this press fits right where the blender used to be (when you stand it on its side, which is easy to do). This is a MAJOR plus. I use it every day. And now my husband I can eat together, b/c I can make two sandwiches at once no problem (don't worry - he cooks for me too! he's a modern guy!).
It *does* burn if you leave the sandwich in too long. Not sure why another reviewer said it never happened to them. So if you like sandwiches with a ton of stuff inside of them, this may not be right for you... though I'm not sure what press would be. Since all panini presses have open air around the sandwich, pretty much all are limited, though temperature control could help. I kind of wish I could control the temperature on this model... but I don't really miss it. The press just gets super hot and then I put my sandwich in and it's done in a couple of minutes. I like the simplicity. And I can pull out the plug with the sandwich still in there, so it starts to cool down the grill - though I haven't felt the need to do this often. Kind of ghetto but it works fine. And to the "Dagwood" sandwich lovers - hey, I'm with ya, I love a big ol' hot sub myself, but I'd get a good toaster oven instead of a panini maker.
Also, a word about the grill marks - I saw a review of a pro chef who was dissing them and advocating the flat presses. OK. He was using a sandwich with dressing - maybe he added too much? My sandwiches are not soggy. And I like the grill marks. They *do* affect the texture - they are not marks, they are ridges, which adds surface area, and gives you two levels of toasting on the same sandwich - one level that hits the grill (more toasted), and the other that didn't as heavily (less toasted). They are really quite nice actually. So if you are not dumping a ton of dressing on your sandwich - you will be fine with the ridged grill presses. Don't deny yourself.
All in all, a great little product.
Customer Review: Fabulous, but no frills
Summary: 4 Stars
You can't give this machine a bad rating. This Hamilton Beach Panini Press does one thing and one thing only, but it does it very well. If you enjoy pressed/grilled sandwhiches you will love this machine. As I write this I'm eating a feta/olive/artichoke/roasted peppers on pita sandwhich hot off the panini press, and it's scrumptious. I actually bought this as a christmas gift for my mother, but I probably use it more than she does.
The machine looks good on the counter, and has a large, non stick service. It's not on a hinge so it's designed to accept even the thickest sandwhiches without squeezing all the filling out. You can even "lock" the lid down to apply constant pressure, or lock it up to maintain minimal pressure or to not make contact with the top at all. It's great for quesidillas as well. Ignore the user that says it takes too long to heat up, it takes only a couple of minutes, about the time a waffle maker would take to heat. Even cooking on the stove you need to take a few mins to heat the pan! Also ignore the comment that this machine burns the bread before heating the filling, I've never had such problems, although I do wish there was a temperature control for further versatillity. But my bread never burns... I find 2-6 min will brown the bread perfectly, from lightly browned to nice and crispy (depending on how you like it) without burning it at all. I've never burned anything on this machine. I even once used it to grill some chicken, and it did the job nicely, though it's not really designed for that.
The only down sides are that there are no frills. I've seen other models that come with nice recipe books, this one has just a few hastily thrown together recipe ideas in the instruction booklet. There's no temp control either, which is fine, but it would be nice to have some kind of control (it would be more convenient if you wanted to use it for alternative purposes. The machine gets very hot, but that's to be expected. There's no alternate "plates" or cooking surfaces for say a flat "griddle" style surface, so you'll have to settle for the striated grate style surface, which in all honestly is not a big deal at all.
This is a great machine, at a decent price. It could be better with a temp control, some extra features, and a better recipe book, but all-in-all, you can't complain. It does its job, and does it very well.
Customer Review: Excellent product at a great price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Hamilton Beach panini maker after my friend prepared a sandwich for me on her's. She's had her HB panini maker since Christmas and her family has thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, they have a once-a-week panini night, where everyone makes his own sandwich and they take turns using the grill. I have had mine for about a month. It is only designed for sandwiches, so it's not a multi-purpose grill. The grids do not remove, but are easy to wipe down with a soapy sponge. Nothing sticks, including cheese. My neighbor prepared me for the fact that some meats, veggies, etc. (not cheese) are best pre-warmed in the microwave for a minute or less prior to being placed between the bread, as thick sandwiches may not get hot in the center, even though the bread is grilled to perfection. I find that a very, very thin coating of butter on the outside of the bread makes for the best grilled sandwich. We have used our panini grill a couple times a week since acquisition, with great results. I will caution folks to only use a tiny amount of soap on your sponge when you wipe down the grill, as it can be difficult to remove the soap from the grid valleys. My friend says she just removes the food particles and lets the grill's heat do the sterilization the next time she uses it.... The HB panini grill folds compactly and clamps closed so it can be stored vertically. It can hold two sandwiches at once, and I let it recover its heat for about a minute in between batches. It's attractive, simple, and very inexpensive. I have tried making paninis on my multi-purpose (George Foreman) grill, but they just don't come out right; plus the grids aren't close enough together to get that nice crunchy bread that you get from a dedicated panini grill. I highly recommend this grill, without reservation.Customer Review: Problems Galore
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this Pannini Press less than 2 months ago. At first it was great. The pannini had crispy grill marks on the outsides and the interiors were warm and moist with the cheese perfectly melted. Yum.
The non-stick surface cleaned up easily and I like the little tool that was included with the press that helped clean out the groves. The side clamp was a nice feature because I could store the press vertically.
I did not like how the outside of the unit would get very hot. I burnt myself a couple of times before learning to always have a hot pad handy to handle the hinged lid.
Then after only a week since I purchased it, I noticed that the indicator lights no longer worked. Not a big deal but still it shouldn't have happened. Then a couple weeks later I noticed that the non-stick surface had areas that were scraped. This was odd because I was very careful with the surface and never used metal utensils. At around the same time the surface became more difficult to clean.
Lately I've noticed that the pannini are starting to crisp up a little too quickly and I have to be careful not to burn them. I make a lot of pannini for the family and I'm afraid that pretty soon this press is going to be unusable. I'm already starting to look at other models to replace it with.
My daughter wanted a pannini press just like mine for her birthday, but with all the problems I encountered with this one, I decided to buy her a Cuisinart Jr Griddler instead. It has good reviews and also has removeable griddles - a nice feature. I hope she won't encounter the same problems with the Cuisinart as I did with this Hamilton Beach model.
Customer Review: Great panini press...with a few minor issues
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using this press every day since it arrived at my doorstep. I love it! It does have a few issues:
1) The lever that secures the height of the press broke after 1 day of light use. Also, the black paint started to peel off in its first use. I just took the entire thing off and it still works just fine.
2) The surface of the press is not insulated. I have to keep my young children away from it.
3) It does not have an on/off feature. Just plug it in to turn it on.
4) The grill plates are not removable for easy cleaning. I would have given it 5 stars if it had this feature.
I still gave it 4 stars because I consider these issues to be minor compared to the great food this thing makes. Makes a killer grilled cheese sandwich. I have also made quesadillas with it. Yummy!
To address some of the other reviewer's comments:
1) Do not overstuff your sandwiches. There is a very popular, expensive deli in our area that makes terrific paninis. They dont put much in the middle but the fixings become hot, yummy goodness. I have gone to other deli that try to give you a big bang for your buck and put in tons of fixings. The fixings came out cold and the cheese not melted. If that happens with their commerical panini maker, you bet it would happen with this one.
2) I like the fact that the surface is NOT flat. It leaves wonderful grill marks. I think the food should look as good as it tastes.
Overall, a great panini maker especially for the price I bought it for ($39.54, not including the $25 off $125 promo discount). Target sells this thing for $49.99.