Toaster

kitchen · heat · electricity · breakfast

Hot wire magic. Toasters use super thin wires made of nichrome that glow red hot and cook your bread. These wires can get so hot they turn bread brown in just a few minutes.

The browning reaction. When bread gets toasted, something called the Maillard reaction happens, where heat makes the bread turn golden brown and taste extra yummy. This same chemical reaction happens when you cook lots of other foods too.

Slots and springs. You drop a slice of bread into a slot, push down the lever, and the bread lowers toward the heating wires. A spring automatically pops your toast back up when it is done cooking.

Control the darkness. Most toasters have a dial you can turn to pick how dark or light you want your toast. The dial controls how long the heating wires stay on before the toast pops up.