GE - Quartz 6-Slice Toaster Oven with Convection Bake - Stainless Steel

Upon discovering that there was a GE Toaster Oven available at Best Buy, it required a double take. After all, it has been many years since the once ubiquitous GE Toaster Oven has been available. Although there were numerous brands of toaster ovens sold through the years, for many years, and for many kitchens, the GE Toaster Oven was commonplace. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the GE Toaster Oven was likely the dominant toaster oven appliance. The GE website informs that in 1984 GE sold its housewares division to Black & Decker. Hence many of us have owned Black & Decker Toaster Ovens during the GE hiatus. Black & Decker provides a Two-Year Warranty for their toaster ovens. Their warranty process is simple and consumer friendly. The new GE Toaster Oven is provided with only a One-Year Warranty. I did not want to speculate regarding how GE handles Warranty claims on this new small appliance line, therefore I attempted to contact GE Customer Support at 1-800-GECARES to inquire. Three phone calls over two days resulted in waiting in the phone queue for hours, without ever reaching an agent. During the first day of call attempts, I selected the option which promised a “return phone call which holds your place in line”. A day later, I received a return call from a GE Customer Support agent who immediately informed me that GE Customer Support does not handle warranty for toaster ovens, and I was provided with another telephone number for the “correct”, “Small Appliance Department”. That second number was Jasco Corp. Technical Support, which does not handle GE toaster ovens; only GE surge protectors. I called 800-GECARES again, and surprisingly reached an agent after a relatively short wait. This very pleasant agent informed me that GE has not yet formalized or documented how warranty claims will be handled for this new product line. She could only speculate on how warranty might be handled. Overall, this was quite a surprising experience with GE Customer Support. The new GE Quartz 6 Slice Convection Toaster Oven has a sleek stainless steel exterior, a compact profile, and a modern, attractive control unit. The exterior dimensions are 18” wide x 14.75” deep (including the handle) x 11” high. The interior dimensions are 13” wide x 11” deep (on the rack) and 12” deep (to the door) x 7” high. The controls are simple and straightforward. They include a digital display, three push-buttons (Start – Cancel – Convection), a rotary selection knob for cooking “Mode” (Toast – Bagel – Pizza – Roast – Bake – Broil – Keep Warm), a rotary selection knob / push-button for “Shade” (light to dark toast) / “Slices” (1 – 6) and “Time / Temp” settings. This appliance includes several pre-set “Automatic Cooking Modes”, for Toast – Bagel – Pizza, where the time and temperature are pre-established. All other cooking modes are “Manual Cooking Modes”, where the user selects the type of cooking (e.g., Roast, Bake, Broil, Keep Warm) as well as the cooking temperature and time. The use of the Convection feature, wherein a fan circulates the hot air continuously within the oven cavity, is always controlled manually by use of the dedicated “Conv.” push-button (on/off). Settings may be modified by the user during the cooking cycle to adjust the Time and/or Temperature. The digital display is bright, clear and easy to read and use. It depicts user selections and settings, as well as preheating status and cooking progress. The appliance also includes an audible “end of cycle” beeping signal, which may be deactivated or toggled by depressing and holding the “Conv.” button for three seconds, whereupon the unit’s “Silent Mode” is enabled. The only loose accessories included with the GE Toaster Oven are an 11.75” x 9.5” metal pan, which does not include a broiling/roasting rack which would permit cooking juices and fat to drip to the bottom of the pan. Broiling or roasting meat in this type of pan results in broiling the top surface of the food, while the bottom of the food is essentially frying in the melted fat. The solution, of course, is to use your own broiling or wire cooling rack over the provided pan, however it would have been a nice item for GE to include with the toaster oven. The toaster oven of course includes a wire rack for the bread products, and for supporting the supplied metal roasting pan or other small baking pan (e.g. pizza pan up to a maximum 12” diameter – which, due to the compact interior dimensions, will be in physical contact with the back of the oven and the glass insert of the door). There are three sets of detents within the oven cavity for mounting the wire rack at varying heights. For most cooking tasks, the middle rack position is recommended, and of course, the top position is recommended for broiling. Due to the interior dimensions, a 13”x9” baking dish with a lip or handles will not fit within the oven cavity. Also included is a wire handle which is used for both the wire rack and the metal baking pan. The GE Toaster Oven has five heating elements. There are three quartz heating elements on top. The rearmost top element has a transparent glass tube and is the element which cycles on immediately for rapid heat, while the other two tubes are yellow glass quartz tubes (translucent) which are cycled on at a different rate. The two bottom elements are conventional Calrod heating elements, similar to standard oven heating elements. The various elements are cycled on and off according to the cooking mode and temperature settings (whether using an “Automatic” or “Manual” mode). However, the bottom Calrod elements do not heat as rapidly as the top quartz elements (which produce extremely high temperatures extremely rapidly). The clear glass quartz element appears to be the dominant heating element, being energized immediately for all cooking modes. Using the GE Toaster Oven is easy and straightforward, and its performance appears to be very good overall. The GE Toaster Oven heats rapidly, thanks to the quartz heating elements. It appears to maintain cooking temperatures reliably and accurately through modulation of the multiple heating elements. It toasts fairly evenly, however, the top surface of the bread is toasted darker than the bottom of the bread. Due to the different types of heating elements, the quartz elements on top produce more heat, and develop high temperature faster than the bottom elements, resulting in the disparity between the top and bottom of toast. The Toast settings have dual parameters; the number of slices, and the doneness range from light to dark shade. The toasting cycle time increases as the setting for the number of slices is increased. In order to toast an English Muffin to a dark shade, we found that it was necessary to configure the settings at six slices and the darkest shade setting, which produced the desired doneness. It was easy to achieve the desired doneness for whole wheat toast using the available settings. The bagel mode only uses the top heating elements; we have not tried that yet. The Roasting and Baking Modes have worked well. The thermostatic controls and program settings achieve the desired cooking temperature quickly, maintain the proper temperature relatively accurately, and overall cook food evenly. Baked potatoes were accomplished in good time and with perfect results. I expect that other baking and roasting tasks will also yield excellent results. The electronic, digital controls provide a significant benefit over older, analog controls. Settings for Time and Temperature are precise, rather than approximations. Among the greatest advantages is the ability to replicate desired results each time, rather than encountering inconsistent results due to time or temperature variations inherent with analog dial settings. Once you determine a preferred setting for cooking a particular food, that setting will produce the same results every time, with no guesswork and no variability. The printed Owner’s Manual, which is also downloadable as a PDF file from the GE website) is clear, concise and comprehensive. It includes clear tables which explain the various features, settings and available permutations for all of the cooking modes. This is an excellent, informative Owner’s Manual. Thus far, we are really enjoying the GE Quartz 6 Slice Convection Toaster Oven. It is user friendly. It cooks well and cooks as rapidly as it should, rather than limping along and taking an inordinate length of time, as some other toaster ovens do. This level of efficient performance results in a very satisfactory user experience. This is a new model which is undoubtedly produced in different factories than the GE Toaster Ovens of several decades ago. It appears to be nicely engineered (based on the exterior features, and the operating performance), but its reliability, durability and longevity remain unknown. Being a new product, it would be nice if the warranty period was longer, and the claims process was defined. We are hoping for the best, because this is a really nice toaster oven that functions well and we would like to continue enjoying it for the long term. Based on our experience thus far, I recommend the GE Quartz 6 Slice Convection Toaster Oven.

Who knew I needed a toaster oven? I didn't until now. So much faster than preheating my full size convection oven for small items like mini-pizzas or baking frozen mahi-mahi and salmon patties. Great for toasting large bread slices that don't fit in my toaster unless I turn them on end and toast each half. Box states that it can hold up to a 12 inch pizza! Nice looking stainless steel exterior and fits on my counter with plenty of room to vent on all sides (minimum 4 inches required). This model (G9OCABSSPSS) has a removable drip and crumb tray that pulls out with a handle on the front below the door for easy emptying and washing. This model is not yet found on GEAppliances.com and the enclosed manual is very brief. No instructions about placement of the rack or baking tray inside oven but picture on box shows the rack in the legs down position in the middle slot. As you can see in various other reviews (and my photos) the natural placement is in the legs up position to create a nesting/holding place for the tray. I don't recommend this for the bottom slot since the rack and tray almost touch the heater tubes. I would flip it and use legs down in the lowest rack slot. Holding Rack Tool included to remove the hot tray/rack after cooking is a bit awkward but works with an oven mitt to help with balance. The tray is not non-stick so mine is already showing some wear after just a few uses since you can't scour it clean. Inside of the cool oven wipes clean with a damp cloth. Oven and tray/rack cool down quickly after use. The best part is the 7 multi-function presets: Toast, Convection Bake, Broil, Bagel, Pizza, Roast & Keep Warm. Toast, Bagel and Pizza are automatic cooking modes with default settings. You can make adjustments using the knob below Mode. All suggest middle position (there are 3 slots) for the rack. Timer counts down and beeps when finished or you can change to "Silent Mode". Roast, Bake , Broil and Keep Warm are manual modes with more options for time and temperature and preheating. Simple choices with only 5 buttons on the front. Start, Cancel, Convection, Mode and Cooking Settings Knob. Hitting Cancel twice makes the oven screen go to sleep but instructions recommend unplugging when not in use. Since there is no clock and only pre-set functions this seems to work okay. Very nice return to the Toaster Oven market by GE.

I like multi-function devices, so I always buy a toaster oven, so I can have toast/bagels, but also heat/cook things quickly instead of using a regular oven. I always went cheap on toaster ovens, and you usually get what you pay for. My last oven just had a temperature dial and a timer dial. This toaster oven is a vast improvement to what I’m used to. My favorite feature is the removable crumb/drip trail. I’m used to having to unplug the oven and open the bottom flap to clean out the crumbs. Since it’s such a pain to do, I would rarely do it, so it was always hard to clean because everything was baked on. Now I can just take the tray out after each use and wipe it off. Simple! Having the different automatic and manual modes is nice to have to fine tune the temperature and time: Bagel, Bake, Broil, Keep Warm, Pizza, Roast, Toast. I like how when the timer is done, the oven turns off. When using roast and bake, it’s good to know that when you start it, it doesn’t start the timer. It waits for the oven to come to temperature, at which point you are supposed to put your food in, then hit Start to start the timer. I usually just put the food in when I start the oven and hit Start again to start the timer, I just add a few extra minutes to account for the time it takes to warm up the oven. This oven comes with a baking tray and a rack/tray removal tool. The removal tool a nice addition I wasn’t expecting, so you can remove the tray or rack while it’s hot without needing an oven mitt. I was a little disappointed the pan it came with is not dishwasher safe, but I’ll likely put it in the dishwasher and if it gets ruined, that’s okay. I have tried most of the modes and found each one works very well. Toasting is pretty even, though a little darker on the top. I found that Pizza mode works better than my regular oven, the frozen pizza puffed up more. Bake works great and the convection works nicely. The controls on this toaster are more than I’m used to, but they are pretty intuitive. The top knob is for the mode, Bagel, Bake, Broil, Keep Warm, Pizza, Roast, Toast. The bottom knob controls the time and temperature. By default, the bottom knob controls the temp, but just push the knob in like a button and then you control the timer. My family uses are toaster oven often to quickly heat up or bake items rather than using the standard oven. Having a high quality toaster oven that is easy to use, and easy to maintain is essential for us. This toaster oven achieves both and we love it. I would highly recommend this toaster oven.

The price point for this GE Quartz Toaster oven is a bit high but I must say that I am very impressed with the quality of this oven. First off, its about normal size and will accommodate a 12 inch pizza. It comes with the wire rack that can be adjusted as well as the typical pan to cook in. It also has a easy to use crumb drawer that removes for dumping and cleaning. I also know that toaster ovens are easy to get dirty so I always cover the crumb pan with aluminum foil and the I always use a small piece of parchment paper in the pan. This helps immensely to keep the oven clean and looking new. This oven has 7 presets: Toast, Bagel, Pizza, Roast, Bake, Broil, Keep Warm. When you choose Pizza, Convection is on by default. I learned this by testing some Bagel Bites that I did and had planned to use convection, but it did come on by default. This was actually exactly what I wanted because bagel bites are actually a good thing to test. They are very dense in their crust but the sauce and cheese heat quickly. Convection allows for a more complete cooking. I also use it if I am roasting or baking many things. I think the convection, in addition to the quartz heating really enhances the cooking experience and takes it beyond what you normally expect from a toaster oven. The other thing that really impressed me with this oven is the quartz heating. It is very fast. For example, when I use the Keep Warm option, it heated quickly to 180 degrees within a minute. One thing that is important to note. If you use bake or roast, select your temp and time, it will start to preheat. You NEED to make sure you touch the start button. This will start the timer and keep the oven running. If you don’t hit start, the oven will preheat and maintain that temp for 10 minutes, but if you haven’t hit the start button, it will turn off. My tip is, add a couple min to your cooking time and go ahead and hit start. Overall, I really like this oven. Well made, size is comparable to others in this class, features perform above average to my experience with previous toaster ovens. I would recommend this to others, especially if you have cabinet space and can quickly pull out and use and then put back up after it cools. My only reason for not giving this 5 instead of 4 stars was really the price point. I must say that initially the quality seems great. Time will tell on the longevity of how it lasts.

This toaster oven took the place of an old and much smaller oven I have. It did the job for most things, although toasting was always a challenge and was rarely even. However, I prefer using these compared to my big oven, which is overkill for the rather small dishes I cook in it. This GE model has made up for the old one's shortcomings. For starters, given that this oven is bigger than the one it replaced, it still has a relatively small footprint for its size. I have a Nespresso machine that sat next to my old oven, and there is till space for it with this new one. The entire enclosure is stainless steel. The walls do get hot, but not terribly if you were to accidentally bump your hand or arm into the side. The front door does get very hot though, and you can definitely feel the heat radiating off of it. Upon first use, following the instructions for first-time use, there was an odor, but it faded quickly and I have not smelled it again. It has a range of different cooking types, including one for toast, bagel, pizza, baking, broiling, etc. Each of these has slightly different settings that it uses. The top knob is rotated to the type of cooking that you want, and the bottom knob controls the settings for that type of cooking. One thing that was not immediately obvious to me is that in the case where there are 2 settings for one cook type, you must press the bottom knob like a button to switch between the 2 options. For example, the Pizza mode has an option for the baking temperature as well as the diameter of the pizza. You turn the knob to set the baking temperature for the pizza, and then press the knob and turn it again to indicate the size of the pizza. So far in my use, the cooking is even. The crust on one pizza was slightly darker on one corner than the rest, but barely. Toasting was surprising good and accurate. Since you tell the oven how many pieces you are making, it adjusts air flow to keep the cooking even, and does a surprisingly good job. Generally, I prefer a pop-up toaster for toast and bagels because these types of ovens rarely cook evenly when it comes to toast. The browning chart, which displays on the screen, felt a little conservative, but better undercooked and have to put it in for another minute than burning your toast and having to start over. Another feature I appreciate is the crumb tray. It is removable simply by sliding it out from the front, making it easier to remove without spilling crumbs into the floor of the oven, where it’s much harder to clean. The oven is a little noisy, both in the “dings” it makes when changing settings, and the operation of the oven, especially when convection is on (which as a plus, can be turned on and off with the push of a dedicated button). I disabled the “dings” per the instructions, and I could still tell when the oven finished and turned off because the convection fan noise. It’s not insanely loud (like a blender) but it’s noticeable. Overall, I highly recommend this toaster oven!

This is no little $20 toaster oven that fails in a couple of months. This is a serious appliance that I didn't even know they made. It is a toaster oven, an oven, broiler, etc. but not an air fryer. I'm happy about that because I have air fryers and they are good at what they do, but they aren't good at toast. I know it sounds crazy, but I have an oven/air fryer combo unit that is really an air fryer and it does not do toast the same. Toast that is basically air fried, tastes weird. I like toast in a toaster. And sometimes I like to bake in a smaller oven than my "normal" oven but not use the air fryer bake feature because that tends to overcook the food on the outside and not on the inside as completely as this does, in particular with frozen food items. Today I made toast, a bagel with cheese and bacon, heated up a larger frozen dinner, and then made a couple of small frozen pizzas in this. All were a success. This uses the quartz heater concept and I heard a little fan that I think is just to cool the unit maybe, but not to circulate the air, and that is why I like this. Be aware, this is not small. And the sides, back, top, and glass door do get very hot. But it does the job, and it does it well. No more making toast two slices at a time in morning, or waffles two at a time, you can put up to 6 slices of bread, frozen waffles, etc. in here and cook all at one time saving time and money on the electric bill. One of the best features for someone who cleans the kitchen and appliances? The pull out crumb drawer. Thank you, engineers at GE, for this most wonderful feature! No having to reach around heating elements and/or trying to hold the unit upside down to get the crumbs out! Bravo! The controls are clear and concise, the LCD display is a very nice feature, and the knobs are intuitive to selection and shade/temperature. This is an appliance, this is no throw away unit. I'm sure, based on the construction and the very nice look of the unit, that it will be around for many years to come.

This is more of a mini-oven than toaster. I don't think I have to fire up my house oven until Thanksgiving and Christmas. Right out of the box, the GE toaster oven looked sleek with the stainless steel build. The digital screen incorporated with knobs just has a modern look that is very pleasing to look at. Included with the toaster oven is a metal tray, wire rack, and metal handle. It is also a big bigger than I expected. It's footprint is pretty big so it is something to be aware of in small kitchens. I included a picture to show its size relative to a regular toaster. Using the GE toaster oven seemed intimidating at first. However, it is very intuitive. The top knob controls what mode you want. There's toast and bagel modes. These modes have preset temperatures and times. The only thing you need to do is set how many slices there are using the bottom knob and the toaster oven will do the rest. The other modes (pizza, roast, bake, broil, and keep warm) requires you to set the temperature and the time yourself. There are three levels you can set the rack at. Cleanup is also straightforward. If there are any crumbs, then you can just remove the crumb drawer at the bottom! The GE toaster oven preheats very quickly which is an advantage over traditional ovens. In addition, it uses less energy than a conventional oven. You can cook 6 pieces of toast or bagels at once. Overall, I think it is a great buy. The multi-functionality is its selling point. Pros: Good build quality Attractive design Pretty intuitive to use Multiple cooking modes Energy conservation Faster preheat than traditional ovens Easy clean with crumb drawer Cons: Big footprint Price

First and foremost I have had many different ovens over the years. From toaster ovens to large gas ovens and this one beats all of those hands down... Stainless steel look is clean and modern. Controls are easy to use and straightforward. Performance is where it hits the bullseye. Toasts is nice and brown on both sides. It fits a 10 inch pizza. And it turned out great. See photos. Heats up super fast and evenly heats. Just be careful because of this. Adjustment is easy for rack. Tool to grab rack and pan is easy to use. Love this oven. Great product. I would highly recommend this product.