If you enjoy hot toasted crispy sandwiches filled with your favourite ingredients then you will love having a panini maker and its definitely worth investing in one. Panini makers have now been around for a while and are known by many names, which are used interchangeably to mean the same, names such as:
Panini press
Panini grill
Panini press grill
Panini sandwich grill
Contact grill & press
Sandwich maker
Panini maker & grill
Panini grill & press
The panini makers nowadays are more than mere sandwich makers. You can now grill foods on them and bring back memories of summer barbecues.
They are extremely versatile and with a little imagination you can conjure up fabulously yummy snacks and meals. A good quality panini grill can be used in so many ways. It can be your indoor grill –much easier to manage then the outdoor barbecue and much easier to clean too!
Some panini grills allow both plates to open out for grilling purposes. So for a healthy meal you can just grill your favourite meats such as chicken breasts, turkey breasts, steaks, sausages, bacon etc and let the excess fat drain away.
Even vegetables can be grilled easily e.g asparagus, eggplant slices, courgettes. Even if your panini press does not open out you can still grill stuff that doesn’t squash easily and you can get those lovely tasty grill marks on both sides without having to turn them over.
There are many different varieties of panini makers available nowadays. Think of it as an investment and search for a multifunctional type which would allow you to make those crispy paninis as well as grill your favourite foods.
You also want one that has a floating hinge so that the plates can adjust to different bread thicknesses. Non-stick plates are essential for a good panini press and removable plates would make for easy cleaning.
You can go for either a stove top panini maker or an electric one. The stove top kind usually are the skillet or the griddle or grill pan types which you place on the hot stove. Some even come with a heavy lid to help you press down your panini during the cooking process. With most of the stove top models you will need to turn over your sandwich half-way through the cooking process.
The more popular kinds of panini grills are the electric variety which often come with timers and different heat settings. The electric panini maker can have many functions and comes in a range of prices from the low priced basic one to a more highly priced multifunctional panini grill and press. There are many well known brands available such as Breville, Delonghi, Cuisinart, Krups etc. and one of the more highly marketed one is the George Foreman Grill.
One of the more popular one, the Cuisinart Griddler is well recognised for not only creating the more multifunctional panini maker but also in a variety of sizes so that you can choose the one that suits your household size.