Electric Tortilla Maker Comparison Product Review
ELECTRIC TORTILLA MAKER COMPARISON
Salton Wrap Master SALTON WRAP MASTER:
The Salton Wrap Master gives specific warnings for heating and cooking with the lid open, as the steam may damage the machine. This results in longer cooking, and requires the chef to manually flip the tortilla to cook on both sides. I tested two Salton Wrap Masters, as the first one received overheated and melted some of the plastic parts and burnt out the heating element. The second Wrap Master was tested against the one Mica Tortilla Chef. MICA TORTILLA CHEF
The Mica Tortilla Chef has the unique feature of being able to close the upper lid while cooking the wrap to produce steam to "puff" the dough and cook more efficiently and evenly. However, if the cook desires, the Mica can be kept open and the tortilla manually flipped over to cook on both sides. The handle on the Mica appears to be sturdier in design. The power cord provided on the Mica appears to be thicker, more insulated and the plug is a 3 prong (with a ground). PERFORMANCE TESTING Both electric tortilla makers are similar in size, weight and basic outward design. However, this is where the similarity ends. In performance testing, side by side, using the same varied recipes and time guidelines, the Mica consistently outperformed the Wrap Master in all phases of testing. Using moist doughs, which are essential for pliable wraps, the Mica handled the dough and cooked the tortilla completely, while the Wrap Master struggled with dough sticking to the cooking surface and uneven cooking. In repeated side by side testing, the Mica cooked the flatbread doughs quicker, more efficiently and more evenly than the Wrap Master. In some cases, 2 tortillas were cooked completely on the Mica, while the Wrap Master was not finished cooking one completely. The Mica browned and cooked the tortillas better in testing over the Wrap Master. The Salton Wrap Master is an adequate tortilla maker, and is preferred over manual presses or hand rolling, but compared to the higher performing Mica Tortilla Chef, the Wrap Master is not the better choice, in this tester's opinion. Even considering the lower retail cost of the Wrap Master the initial savings does not justify its purchase to me. My opinion is that the Wrap Master would not stand up under use, and therefore need to be replaced, thus ending up being the higher cost machine overall compared to the Mica. Due to concerns related to the flimsiness of the Wrap Master's handle, non-stick surface and the uneven heating element my recommendation for a better investment and overall long run savings is the Mica Tortilla Chef. CONCLUSION OF COMPARISON: I recommend the Mica Tortilla Chef over the Salton Wrap Master for better investment, performance, quality and safety.
© Copyright 1995-2008 Vickilynn Haycraft No portion of this review may be copied, stored or transmitted in any medium, for any reason without prior written permission of the author.
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