Revolutionary toasties from Breville

Okay, that’s not quite what they’re offering. Breville says it is revolutionising the process of making toasted sandwiches with its new offering, “the Perfect Press” (model number BSG600BSS).

This is one of those flat-type sandwich makers, not the kind that scallops the sandwich and cuts it diagonally across the middle through sheer force. The trick with this toaster, says Breville, is that it doesn’t squash the sandwich, nor cause the filling to squeeze out the sides onto the cooking surface.

And the trick to managing that is getting rid of the heavy top plate – two kilograms, Breville says – and replacing it with a 425 gram one.

Want to apply more pressure than the lighter top plate can offer? A “crush control hinge” allows you to set how much force is applied. There’s also a four level “open melt” setting so that there’s no contact at the top at all, just heat radiated down above. The unit will accommodate two sandwiches.

The cooking plates are aluminium non-stick and apparently avoid the use of PFOA. That, Wikipedia tells me, stands for perfluorooctanoate, which is a potential carcinogen in humans, and which is used in, or in the making of, Teflon. Before you rush out and get rid of all your Teflon stuff, be aware that the problem appears to manifest in places which manufacture the stuff, not from pots and pans.

Recommended retail price: $129.