The Krups FDE3 Panini Maker is a stylish, efficient unit with ample capacity for making Panini sandwiches and other grilled foods.

This unit has a gleaming stainless-steel housing with a large cool-touch handle and twin nonstick grill plates with grooves that produce perfectly seared sandwiches, meats, vegetables and more.

The Krups Panini Maker heated quickly. There is no power button per se. Simply plugging the unit in activates the heating mechanism. Two indicator lights (red and green) glow to let you know the unit is heating. After 5 minutes the green light goes out to signal that the grill is preheated.

There's an oversized handle affixed to the rear of the unit for stability, and the unit has two floating hinges that allow the top plate to adjust to the different thicknesses of foods. We loved this feature since it basically let us make overstuffed Panini sandwiches and thin grilled cheese with equal ease.

The Krups FDE3 Panini Maker also can be used to cook hamburgers, boneless chicken breasts, grilled vegetables and other foods. The trick is to be sure all foods are of the same thickness so they cook at an even rate. Because heat is applied from the top and bottom (contact grilling) at the same time, foods typically cook quicker and more evenly, with no need to turn the food over.

The grilling surface is 9.5x11.5 inches -- large enough to accommodate four medium Panini sandwiches or two oversize sandwiches. Paninis are ready in minutes so you can make several batches to serve a crowd.

When it's time for cleanup, you simply let the grill cool, and then wipe the surfaces with a damp cloth. We noticed that a few food particles did find their way into the grooves of the grill plate but were easy to coax out using a moistened towel. There is also a locking latch that keeps the plates closed so you can stand it upright for storage.

All in all, we were very impressed with the Krups FDE3 Panini Maker. This unit also comes with a full-color recipe booklet with mouthwatering Panini recipes.


Pros: Large 9.5x11.5-inch grilling surface, nonstick grill plates
Cons: No "on" button, plates do not remove for cleaning

Warranty
1 year