Toaster Ovens Are Becoming Very Popular. Why?

Why are toaster ovens becoming so popular lately?
There has been a recent increasing trend amongst home cooks to favor toaster oven cookery over a regular oven or microwave oven. After microwave ovens became ubiquitous in modern kitchens, the handy toaster oven became largely forgotten for decades. Until recent years, that is. Some home cooks buy a toaster oven to replace their microwave oven, others buy a toaster oven to supplement or replace the full-sized oven in their kitchen. Here's a quick look at why this countertop oven is experiencing such a surge in popularity.
Energy Efficiency
Those home cooks that use a toaster oven to replace or supplement a full-sized oven often do this for the energy efficiency associated with a toaster oven. On average, a toaster oven uses 50% less energy than a standard full-sized oven does. Some home cooks have come to realize that the bulk of their cooking could be done in a smaller oven without wasting so much energy. In trying economic times, such issues tend to get well-deserved attention. Not sure if the energy savings associated with a toaster oven would add up for you? Keep a food log for two weeks of everything you cook in your regular oven. Measure each item and see how often you could have used a toaster oven instead. This will give you a good idea of whether or not a smaller oven, such as a toaster oven, is right for you.
Heating the Kitchen
A toaster oven doesn't have to heat as large of an area; therefore the toaster oven creates much less heat. This is good news home cooks trying to cook in the middle of summer. Less heat produced by the toaster oven means it will keep your kitchen cooler. This can also contribute to more energy savings, as you will not need to counteract excessive oven heat with expensive air conditioning. I'm sure most have us have turned to fast food or restaurants in the middle of the hot season simply because we didn't want to heat our house by cooking. The toaster oven provides an "in-between" option.
Brown Food Tastes Good
Many people are passing on microwaved food and opting instead for food prepared in the toaster oven purely for the love of great tasting food. One thing is certain: brown food tastes good. A microwave oven superheats the water present in food, thereby essentially steaming all food. It has no ability to produce food which is golden brown and delicious. While this method of cooking is ideal for things like steamed snap peas or king crab legs, it is certainly not the way to go for ribeye steaks or roasted cauliflower. That's where the toaster oven excels. The toaster oven is a small version of your large oven and comes equipped with the same browning capabilities possessed by your regular oven.
Modern Advancements
Some modern toaster ovens offer lots of special features that your full-sized oven might be lacking. Pre-set buttons on some modern toaster ovens can be quite helpful when trying to quickly get dinner together. Many modern toaster ovens have convection baking, which cooks food more evenly and more quickly. There are toaster ovens which have a rotisserie spit for roasting items such as whole chickens. Often times, especially if you have older appliances, these countertop toaster ovens can surpass the full-sized oven in every area of performance.