Review methodology

The honest starting point

We are building our own testing program, and until a product has been through it we will not pretend otherwise. Every comparison on this site carries a methodology box stating whether it is a specification comparison(built from manufacturer documentation and expert sources) or abench-tested review (built from our own measurements). Today, all comparisons are specification comparisons.

How specification comparisons work

Criteria are declared before products are compared — typically price, batch capacity, tray area, power requirements, pump type, warranty, and service considerations. Figures come from manufacturer pages and documentation, cited with access dates. Where manufacturers disagree with third-party listings, we use the manufacturer's own figure and note the discrepancy. Prices are listed with the date checked, because they change.

What a future bench test will include

When our testing program launches, each machine test will publish its protocol: identical loads by weight and food type, logged cycle times, energy metering, finished-product water-activity readings, and noise measurements — along with sample size and limitations. Tests will be reproducible by any reader with the same equipment.

Conflicts

We hold no affiliate relationships today. If we add them, or ever sell our own product in a category we compare, that relationship will be disclosed inside the comparison itself — see our affiliate disclosure.