Calphalon Performance Cool Touch Countertop Toaster Oven Review

Calphalon Performance TSCLTVCT2 Cool Touch (also known as Calphalon 2106488) is a mid-range countertop toaster oven with 1400 watt power supply and temperature range of 150°F to 450°F. With so many competitors how does Calphalon Performance Cool Touch toaster oven compare to them?

Cooking with Calphalon Performance Cool Touch Toaster Oven

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch heats up and cooks fast but what’s even more important is that it cooks well. Temperature control is quite accurate too.

Most of the food you cook comes out near perfect and delicious. It crisps well too. French fries are crispy on outside and soft on inside while some of the other toaster ovens make them soggy, just make sure you don’t forget to press press the “Turbo Convect” button. Other foods come out great too including steaks, chicken, shrimp, pizza, cookies and many more as this toaster oven is very versatile.

Reheat feature works well – reheated leftovers taste better than when reheated in microwave. There are two things you might dislike though. First, toasting bread does take a while and is not as fast as with regular toaster. Second, there’s no rotisserie feature than some of the other models have. Those are not significant drawbacks but for few consumers they might be a dealbreaker.

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch toaster oven has adjustable rack with two positions and removable crumb tray that makes clean up simpler. The interior is wife enough to accommodate 12-inch baking pans.

Cooking functions

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch has 12 cooking functions: Toast, Bagel, Bake, Roast, Broil, Pizza, Cookies, Reheat, Dehydrate, Keep Warm, Defrost and Bread Proof.

Heat, Fan & Noise

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch toaster oven doesn’t heat up yout whole kitchen. It’s well insulated so the housing doesn’t get as hot as it does on other toaster ovens. Front and sides stay safe to touch, top can get a bit warm but it doesn’t get hot, back side can and will get hot so don’t place it too close to the wall. Esentially whole unit stays safe to touch at all times except the back side.

There’s exhaust fan on the right side that expels the warm air to keep the housing cool so leave some space there for air circulation. Fan is very quiet and will run for a bit after you finish cooking until the toaster oven is fully cooled down.

Accessories

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch toaster oven comes with baking pan, 12″ pizza pan, dehydrate basket, wire rack and crumb tray.

Control panel

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch is equipped with LCD display, 6 touch sensitive buttons (“Step cook”, “Keep Warm”, “Defrost”, “Light”, “Start” and “Cancel/Off”) and two dials with buttons.

The upper dial is used for selecting cooking function and the button inside it turns Turbo Convection feature on or off.

The lower dial is for adjusting temperature or time and pressing the button switches between the two.

Quality

Quality is another aspect that makes Calphalon Performance Cool Touch better than cheaper models. Materials and parts feel high quality and well made. Everything is solidly made, you can feel they didn’t cheap out on using thin metal panels to reduce manufacturing costs.

Verdict

Calphalon Performance Cool Touch is a fantastic toaster oven for the money. It cooks well, is quiet, doesn’t get as hot as some of the other models and is very well made. Are there better toaster ovens? Yes, there are, but they are also more expensive (i.e. June Smart Oven). If you don’t want to spend outrageous money then Calphalon Performance Cool Touch is one of the top choices.

Calphalon Performance 2106488 TSCLTVCT2 Cool Touch Toaster Oven Specifications:

• Power supply: 1400W
• Temperature range: 150°F to 450°F
• Toaster oven exterior dimensions (approximate): 19.5’’ x 16.8’’ x 12.75’’ inches (W x D x H)
• Toaster oven interior dimensions (approximate): 13.5’’ x 12’’ x 8.5’’ inches (W x D x H)
• Interior Light: G9 bulb 25w 120v
• Included accessories:
  • Baking pan
  • 12″ Pizza pan
  • Dehydrate basket
  • Wire rack
  • Crumb tray
• Error code troubleshooting:
  • E01:
    • Cause: Heater malfunction
    • Solution: Turn toaster oven off then unplug it and wait for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds have passed you can plug it back in and turn it back on.
  • E02
    • Cause: Thermal controller malfunction
    • Solution: Turn toaster oven off then unplug it and wait for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds have passed you can plug it back in and turn it back on.
  • E03
    • Cause: Oven temperature overheat
    • Solution: Unplug Calphalon Performance 2106488 TSCLTVCT2 toaster oven and give it some time to cool down before plugging it back in.
  • E05
    • Cause: Cooling fan malfunction
    • Solution: Unplug Calphalon Performance 2106488 TSCLTVCT2 toaster oven and give it some time to cool down before plugging it back in.