It doesn't matter whether you want a delicious hot sandwich on a winter day, or a quick lunch during the week, a hot panini is a delicious and always hits the spot. You need the right bit of kit to up your toasted sandwich game though, so we're taking a look at the best panini presses available right now. Spoiler alert: We rate the Cuisinart Griddler -- it's a lean, mean, panini makin' machine. Stock up the fridge with cookable comestibles and take a look through our selection.
This five-in-one wonder works as a panini press, contact grill, full grill, full griddle or half grill/half griddle. The floating lid cover adjusts to different food thickness, so is great for huge Scooby snack subs. You can double your cooking area by opening the press up, giving you both sides to griddle on -- a handy almost 200 square-inch cooking surface.
The 11-inch by 9-inch cooking plates are reversible -- ridged on one side and smooth on the other -- and are removable so you can either wipe them down or put them in the dishwasher. We love the adjustable controls. The selector knob lets you choose the grill or griddle function. Once you've chosen your role, it then gives you adjustable temperature control.
This panini press made the list for its all-round good specs, its stylish chrome looks and two special features that set it apart from rival models. This Hamilton Beach option can be stored upright, which is handy for people with limited cupboard or counter space.
The other functionality we love is the lid action. It can flip open, it can be used as a floating lid, perfect for cooking paninis and other toasted sandwich products, but it also can be locked open. This means you can use this to heat or re-heat pizza, and make open-faced style bread products, like bruschetta.
The king of the panini press market, this Krups version is expensive as it offers so much more functionality than your average (sloppy) Joe machine. This includes its fantastic USP -- intelligent cooking. It detects the thickness of your food and automatically adjusts cooking times accordingly.
In addition to that, there are cooking modes for different food types -- burger, chicken, panini, sausage, red meat and fish -- and the option to select doneness levels for relevant products. The control panel is perfectly angled and has a clean and easy-to-use design. The temperature is customizable, from 250 degrees to 525 degrees and there is a frozen mode for freezer produce. The drip tray is removable and dishwasher safe, as are the die-cast aluminum grill plates.
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Whether you're looking to griddle up a grilled cheese, squash a salmon bagel or melt a mozzarella muffin, the panini making machines on the market today are competent and within the budget reach of most households.
These panini presses boast some exciting innovations. You can choose between lids that can lock to increase the amount of different bread-based products you can cook, adjustable temperature for better control when cooking, removable plates for easy cleaning, and in the case of the Krups Grill, intelligent cooking and different cooking modes.
While the Krups is recommended if you can stretch to its high price, our overall recommendation goes to the Cuisinart Griddler, as a more affordable option it still boasts as many features and as much functionality as the average panini-lover could ever need.