tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24170237.post9065862288108392778..comments2024-03-06T09:43:09.476+10:00Comments on The Old Foodie: Cooking by Electricity in 1911.The Old Foodiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00766403052971301718noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24170237.post-56025323269771781552015-01-27T05:45:05.559+10:002015-01-27T05:45:05.559+10:00No, "rarebit" is correct.No, "rarebit" is correct.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24170237.post-27330030279325975322015-01-13T18:08:45.100+10:002015-01-13T18:08:45.100+10:00Amazing, Peter! Thankyou so much for this fantasti...Amazing, Peter! Thankyou so much for this fantastic summary - and for the link to your file. I am constantly I awe of the willingness of experts to share their hard work so freely. And I love the Internet for making it so easy to share.<br />The Old Foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00766403052971301718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24170237.post-4473046513717244812015-01-13T06:21:32.950+10:002015-01-13T06:21:32.950+10:00The answer to your introduction question: "Wh...The answer to your introduction question: "When did electrical cooking really become the standard in home kitchens?" is after the Second World War. The 1859 invention that you mention is for a basic electrical heating element by Geo. B. Simpson, U.S. Patent 25,532 "Improved Electrical heating Apparatus". The Ahearn invention, Canadian Patent 39,916, is for an electric oven, not a range. I have not found any evidence of this device ever being installed and used in any place other than the Ottawa Windsor Hotel, held a demonstration dinner on August 29, 1892. Ahearn held the monopoly on electrical power generation in the Ottawa region.<br /><br />As Carl Piper states in the Purdue University Bulletin <i>Electric Ranges</i> in 1919: "The year 1890 or 1891 may be taken as the date which marks the first practical attempt to make electrically heated cooking apparatus."<br /><br />All early electrical devices suffered from a lack of reliable resistance wire. The solution came in 1906 when Albert Marsh invented nichrome wire (U.S. Patent 811,859). The following year, Marsh patented an "Electric Stove" (U.S. Patent 852,338), in reality a hotplate, using his patented resistance wire.<br /><br />Early adoption of electric appliances was hindered both by lack of electrical distribution and sufficient amperage. Light sockets were invented long before wall outlets, and many early electrical appliances were designed to plug into the light socket.<br /><br />Electric appliance were also more expensive to purchase and operate. In 1927, the General Electric "Monitor Top" refrigerator sold for about the same price as a Ford Model-T automobile. A non-electric refrigerator sold for less than a tenth the price.<br /><br />I've given a number of talks about the history of stoves and refrigerators and have gathered a fare amount of information on the subject, which is all available for download at http://dl.hertzmann.com/moah.zip. (It's a large file [843MB] so it takes a fair amount of time to download.) It contains<br /><br />1744 > Franklin: An Account of the New-invented Pennsylvanian Fire-places<br />1802 > Rumford: On the Construction of Kitchen Fire-places and Kitchen Utensils<br />1833 > Mechanics Magazine: Modern stewing hearth and roasting oven<br />1892 > McClary Mfg. Co: Stove Catalogue<br />1893 > Popular Science: Electricity at the World’s Fair<br />1914 > Mercer: The Bible in Iron<br />1917 > Electrical Review and Western Electrician [excerpts]<br />1919 > Piper: Electric Ranges<br />1919 > The Electric Range Handbook<br />1928 > The Calrod Story [movie]<br />2004 > Nagengast: Electric Refrigerators Vital Contribution to Households<br /><br />plus 1,417 patents, advertisements, and service manualsPeter Hertzmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14816850042270467983noreply@blogger.com