One more Panini press that we’re capable of finding nowadays is the Sensio 13267 Bella Cucina nonstick Panini grill. Obviously, the Bella Cucina brand isn’t as big and popular as some of the other brands that manufacture Panini makers and countertop grills (for example the Cuisinart company, Hamilton Beach and etc).
The Bella Cucina Panini grill comes with a nonstick grilling surface as you would expect from a typical Panini & grilling machine.
A non-stick coating that is applied to the surface of such a kitchen appliance (not necessarily the Bella kitchen Panini grill) is supposed to prevent foods from sticking to the surface, thus allowing the user to cook the dishes more easily, and clean the cooking surface more quickly and more simply.
Other features of the Sensio 13267 Bella Cucina nonstick Panini grill are the slide-out drip tray, the green and red power indicator lights and the temperature dial controls that can be used to adjust the heat from low to high.
It’s important to mention that the Bella kitchen Panini maker comes with non-removable cooking plates, so it could be a bit harder to clean the Bella Panini grill when compared to other models that do have detachable plates.
However, the Bella Cucina Panini grill isn’t very large and bulky in its size, so it wouldn’t be a big issue to clean the unit nevertheless. Therefore, it’s not going to be difficult to maneuver the appliance and find a storing place for it as well.
Generally, countertop units that have fixed cooking plates (again, like the Sensio 13267 Bella Cucina nonstick Panini grill) are often capable of cooking the food more evenly and have a better heat distribution. So, how well does the Bella kitchen Panini grill perform?
The Performance of The Bella Cucina Panini Grill
To begin with, the “nonstick” coating of the Bella kitchen Panini maker does a nice job preventing most foods from sticking to the surface, but you’ll need to take care for it order to prolong the life of the kitchen appliance.
Additionally, the Bella Cucina Panini grill seems to heat up rather quickly (probably because of the fact that it’s not as large as other sandwich makers), and the heat is also distributed nicely across the grilling surface. Unlike some other countertop grills in the market, the Sensio 13267 Bella Cucina nonstick Panini grill remains hot once it reaches the heat setting, and thus makes it more useful and versatile at cooking a wide variety of recipes.
On the other hand, there are some problems with the plastic lock and the drip tray of the Bella kitchen Panini grill. The plastic lock is supposed to lock the bottom and the top cooking plates, but plastic lock seems to have its own will and just doesn’t want to stay locked.
Moreover, the Bella Cucina Panini grill’s drip tray really does look very flimsy and it tends to slide out occasionally for some reason (maybe a bad design). So it can be dangerous if you’re not careful and the drip tray has some hot grease in it. Also, the power indicator lights might not work properly – a common issue with the Bella Panini grill is that it stays on all the time regardless if the food is ready or not.
Furthermore, some people complain that the Sensio 13267 Bella Cucina nonstick Panini grill doesn’t last for too long, either with its non stick coating peeling off or the appliance itself stop functioning properly.
However, the Bella kitchen Panini maker is rather cheap for such a countertop unit, costing around 30 dollars – it’s definitely an affordable unit. If you want to invest in a more durable product then you could probably find other alternatives to the Bella Cucina Panini grill.