Hamilton Beach 25450 Gourmet Panini Press
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Hamilton Beach 25450 Gourmet Panini Press
Customer Review: Great multipurpose
Summary: 4 Stars
This product is great for several reasonns: you can use it to make sandwiches, press toast, panini and even grilled chicken or beef. You can keep the top from touching the bread with a locking mechanism and can thus make french toast if you want as well. That's got breakfast, lunch and dinner covered! Oh, and did I mention sausages and hot dogs?
A couple of design issues that need to be addressed are: the top press can get very hot and sometimes is hotter than the lower press; there is no outlet for oil or grease on this press so if you plan on making grill on this, be prepared to get your hands dirty when cleaning; the locking mechanism (a great idea) does not always work well and the top may not stay where you lock it... this is particularly a problem when you have french toast (since the cheese then gets stuck on the top press and you have to remove it manually) and also when the top is hotter and thus cooks faster than the bottom press.
The product comes with a little tool to accomodate cleaning the press that is shaped like a fork at the end and is useful when getting the stuck stuff out, but is not useful against the grease and the like.
Customer Review: Simple but effective
Summary: 4 Stars
I've owned this appliance for about two months and am delighted with it. Operation is simplicity itself. Plug in the machine and red light comes on. When the correct cooking temperature is reached a few minutes later a the green light comes on. Assemble the sandwich, press down the grill and about five minutes later you will have a perfect pannini - toasted on the outside and hot inside.
I have not experienced any of the minor quality issues some reviewers have noted. There is no flaking of the grill or exterior surface and the lever which can be used to support the upper grill surface at a certain height, though lightly constructed, works fine.
Two minor quibbles: The glowing center of the "green" light is actually amber, which is confusing the first time you use it. Also, the grill plates are not removable. Clean up is easy, but dishwasher-safe removable plates would earn it five stars.
I paid CAN $57 (about US $50) for the machine and regard it as very good value for this price.
Customer Review: Was a great appliance for a while...
Summary: 3 Stars
I was very excited to get this press as an upgrade from another brand (with a smaller surface). I loved it for the first few months. It heated quickly (those who find it doesn't get hot/melt things must have a faulty unit), made sandwiches (and a few other things) to perfection, and aside from being slightly more difficult to clean than my previous one it was great.
Unfortunately, only a few months in the clip that holds the unit closed fell off. And the non-stick surface? Nice, but it didn't last long. It's already wearing off in the grooves and I've never used metal or any other damaging utensil on it.
I've had this unit for just over a year and am already looking at having to replace it.
I'd recommend it in some aspects (nice sized surface, heats well, cooks quickly), but not in others. If you're looking for a press/grill that will only get minor use, then this may be the unit for you. If you want a work horse, a press that you use once a week or more, you might want to check around.
Customer Review: Makes a great sandwich and more
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm an average cook who likes to think he's better than he is...
That being said, We got this for Xmas and have used it several times in the past few weeks. If your sandwiches don't come out as expected, don't blame the machine. Look more toward your ingredients. If you throw a slice of Kraft cheese between two slices of Wonder Bread (not that there's anything wrong with that) just don't expect it to taste like the deli panini down the street. Use good bread and less filling rather than more - things will come out crunchy, hot, melted and delicious. This is also a great unit to grill veggies that go ON your sandwich! Makes an outstanding tuna or patty melt.
Why four stars then?
The exterior of the machine gets VERY hot and clean up is slightly less than ideal.
To be fair, don't review the unit based on what it doesn't have as there are more expensive presses that have more features.
For $40? You won't be disappointed.
Customer Review: Bread is Done, Sandwich Fixin's Are Not
Summary: 3 Stars
Mechanically, the press has a nice design and it works OK for a $40 item. The upper lid is not hinged, so it can be raised very high to accomodate thick sandwiches. Bread comes out nicely ridged and crunchy. It does take a while for the unit to heat to cooking temperature, however. The main problem seems to be how to cook the inside of the sandwich without burning the bread; for an average sandwich (3 oz. ham and 2 oz. cheese) after 1.75 minutes the bread is done, but the ham is not sufficiently warm nor the cheese melted. This may be an issue with all lower-end panini presses, I suppose; perhaps some experimentation with different bread types and cooking times will solve my little dilemma. In any case, so far the resulting sandwiches are better than if served at room temperature, but not as good as those heated in my toaster oven and then slapped together.