Back to Basics TEM500 Egg-and-Muffin 2-Slice Toaster and Egg Poacher Reviews
Ten reviews of the Back to Basics TEM500 Egg-and-Muffin 2-Slice Toaster and Egg Poacher
1、This toaster/egg cooker is excellent! The toast comes out perfectly, and the egg cooker is very intuitively designed and cooks the egg PERFECTLY. I love that it’s possible for me to have a soft or medium yolk in the poached position, and that it’s designed specifically to make toast and eggs at the same time OR separately.
The toaster side is wide–I can’t imagine that being an issue with anything, even thick cut bagels. It’s not too deep, but deep enough for my bread, so I’m happy.
I love that the egg tray makes eggs the exact size of an egg muffin.
Two points to keep in mind:
-Use a non-metal spatula to get the egg out of the egg tray–running one around the edges and under the egg made the whole thing pop right out easily. Even when I used non-stick spray, I found that the egg removed easier with a rubber spatula
-Definitely follow the directions & do a cycle of toast without toast before you make toast the first time
Overall, this product is perfect for my needs, and I honestly couldn’t be happier.
2、I am not a gourmet or a breakfast food addict and I never feel comfortable around toasters or toaster ovens but I missed this little implement, after it died on us a couple of months ago. We had one for a few years and, somehow, it turned me into a toast consumer (12-grain whole grain is my favorite). My wife used the egg thing from time to time too so, when it stopped toasting, I felt that I needed a replacement.
On features:
- Egg poaching is moderately okay. I can’t say much about it because I don’t eat real eggs any longer – cholesterol… you know? But it’s good to know it’s there and it doesn’t bother anyone. The kids do make them in the morning for breakfast and they find it convenient. It comes with a little booklet that has easy to follow instructions and the kids became experts the first time they tried it.
- Same as above for boiling eggs. It comes with a 3-egg tray holder and the eggs get steam-boiled rather than water-boiled.
- Toast-making is easy and there is a nice knob that you can move from light to dark. I always select the darkest but my wife sets it somewhere in the middle. After a while, your toast pops up and you can eat it but if the slices are too small, it’s sometimes hard to take them out and you better wait for a minute or you could burn your fingers.
- It’s quite robust. Our first unit did not show any signs of wear and tear until the day it stopped making toast.
- Not having much to do with functionality or ergonomics, I like the shape, color, texture: no sharp angles, dark grey, no chrome.
Did I mention that the one we bought a couple of years ago died on us? It did but it gave us close to 3 years of good service so ordering a replacement was an easy decision to make.
P.S. – I noticed that prices on this item which is available from more than one vendor tend to fluctuate a lot. I suggest that you search Amazon.com for TEM500 and pick the best offer.
3、My family and I LOVE this toaster/poacher combination! It makes mornings so much easier now that I can throw an egg and toast in at once, walk away for a minute and then come back and breakfast is done! The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 is that it is a little slow on cooking time. We must have raved it about it quite a bit, though, because my sister’s family bought one soon after we first began using ours! I would definitely buy again!
4、I bought this item a few months ago after much searching and reading reviews. This one had received lots of good reviews and the price is fair. Having an egg poacher in one with a toaster is a great idea and a neat gagdet, but it does not work for me and my family. The first time I used the poacher, it took several reheatings to get it to cook to the way I like my egg. Then the egg was sticking to the little pan, now I go back to the old fashion way, just cook or fry it. The egg poacher portion to me is a waste of money, a regular toaster would of been a better choice. However, the toaster itself is great, the settings vary for muffins and toast, and are evenly toasted, so no complaints there. But after all now we just use it as a regular toaster and so it is not so special. Would prefer a regular toaster, even from the same brand, if I had to purchase a new one.
5、With any food making product, you have to try it a few times to get your settings the way you want it. I was able to make the fluffiest egg mcmuffin ever. The toaster works perfect. For the egg, I used both a scrambled jumbo egg and egg beaters. Both come out perfect. The egg can be a tad wet because of the steam but I just place it on a paper towel to take that away. I took away a star for the hard boiled egg function. While it worked, it just wasn’t comparable to boiling an egg on the stove. Maybe I’ll try a few more times.
6、Of all the kitchen gadgets that I’ve bought over the years I find myself using this “mcmuffin maker” the most consistently. All the over reviews saying how easy it is to use is really the reason for this. use the measuring cup to put water into the heating dish, a quick spray of pam into the egg pan, crack an egg into the pan or as Ive recently been doing pour egg beaters into the pan, season, english muffins into the toaster, push the toast/egg button and finally push down the lever. in 5 minutes I have the perfect egg mcmuffin every time and all I have to do for cleanup is rinse the pieces. the heating element itself I clean when it looks mineralized by pouring in a solution of vinegar and water and running the egg cycle…5 minutes and a wipe later its as good as new. If you love egg mcmuffins then you cant go wrong with this gadget.
7、I have seen this toaster many times but thought it was a little corny (kind of like the toaster that does the hotdog and bun a the same time). However I decided to take the plunge based on several of the reviews I read here. My wife actually laughed at me when she learned I had ordered it. Well no one is laughing now. This thing is great. I really like some protein for breakfast sometimes and an egg is the perfect food for me. I like McDonalds but not the price or having to stop. This toaster does a nice job of cooking all three things just right (muffin, egg and meat). My kids like it as much as I do. My 11 year old daughter would make herself one every day If I let her.
Maybe a hotdog maker is not such a bad idea after all.
8、This toaster/poacher/steamer is FABULOUS! I’ve only had it a month so I don’t know about durability in the long haul, but it’s already been worth it. I knew about the “McMuffin” function from a relative and love how easy it is to create all types of poached/bread/meat sandwiches but what I didn’t expect was the egg “boiling” function (really it steams them, fast too). I’m not a morning person so I leave as little time as possible to get ready for work and being able to put in a couple (up to 4!) eggs to boil then ignore it til I’m on my way out the door and take them to work for morning snack/breakfast is amazing. Sure boiling eggs on the stove is easy but you have to pay some attention and it takes 20 minutes. This machine is total autopilot AND they come out perfect every time. They even pop out of the shell super easily. I’ve lost 10 pounds by bringing a morning protein snack to work which motivates me the rest of the day. I don’t care if it only lasts a year, I’ll keep buying new ones. And I’m told you can get replacement nonstick egg pans anyway now too. If you want fast, super-easy and delicious you just can’t go wrong with this. I generally am too lazy to write reviews but this product deserves major kudos. It seems like such a gizmo but it really does work.
9、It’s a handy appliance that can multi-task. I have to agree with those that say that it’s kind of cheaply made though. A lot of the pieces for the egg poaching/heating up pre-made food are made out of plastic. These are exposed to a lot of heat (from steam) and I don’t know how long they’ll last. So far none of it is showing signs of wear. The bottom part for the poacher where water should go is chrome plated. After one use it’s already speckled with tarnish. Maybe this is normal wear and tear, but I’m very picky with my things and would like them to stay in pristine condition. For the price, I say it’s worth it. It looks good and the toaster works great. But I really wish it would’ve been made better so it’ll last longer.
10、Make sure you HAND WASH all the trays. I was foolish and put them in the dishwasher. After a few months, the nonstick surfaces started PEELING OFF the trays and the handle on the egg tray disintegrated.
Also, don’t lose the water measurer. It gives you the correct amount of water needed to steam the eggs/meat and without that you’d have to guess at the amount and can end up over cooking or under cooking the eggs.
Only cook ONE egg in the egg tray. You can do two, but it takes more water and more time and you kinda have to guess at the measurements.
If you take care of this little machine, it makes amazing breakfast sandwiches and is a favorite and much requested item in our household. I think I will be buying the bigger version, however, because it takes about 4-5 minutes for each sandwich and when the family is hungry, they don’t like to wait. 
