The toaster oven is an electrical appliance that works as both an oven and a toaster. It is a small appliance that can easily fit on a kitchen counter or table. The toaster oven has become an integral part of every home in modern times and has really evolved from simply being a bread toaster to a multi-purpose unit. Toaster ovens come in different types and sizes with many brands on the market that produce them.
Body: Toaster ovens can be defined as “an electrical appliance that functions as an oven and toaster and that is small enough to fit on a kitchen table or countertop.” Toasted bread is called tostadas and other toasted products can be described as toasted cakes.
The main function of the toaster is to toast the bread by heating it. Heat is generally produced by passing electricity through nichrome wires. The main objective of the toasting process is to reduce the water content in bread, raising its temperature and slightly charring its surface.
But it wasn’t always electric toaster ovens that were used. Before the development of these electrical appliances, sliced bread was toasted by placing it in a metal frame and holding it over the fire or near the fire with a long-handled fork. The history of toasting bread over open fire dates back at least 200 years and then people simply poked the bread with a stick or knife and put it on the fire.
History of toaster ovens:
The concept of toaster ovens evolved from electric toasters that were developed in the mid-19th century. The first electric bread toaster was created by Maddy Kennedy in 1872. Crompton, Stephen J. Cook & Company of the United Kingdom marketed an electric toaster with iron cables in 1893, but it did not get the expected response and therefore did not there is significant information. with the Toaster Museum as well.
In 1905, an Irishman Connor Neeson (1877-1944) from Detroit and his employer William Hoskins (1862-1934) invented chromel, an alloy from which the first high-strength cables were made. These cables were used in almost all early electric heating appliances. This alloy was patented in 1906 sometime before the filing of the electric toaster patent application.
George Schneider of the American Electrical Heater Company, Detroit, was the first person to file a patent application for an electric toaster.
General Electricals launched an electric toaster in 1909 that was patented under the name D-12, but had to face some opposition from Pacific Electric Heating Company’s Hotpoint product, which was also targeting the same market segment.
The first toaster oven was invented in 1910 by a person named William Hadaway, who built it for the Westinghouse Corporation, which continues to be a leading producer of toaster ovens in the country. This was developed as a by-product of the electric stove.
Until then, the bread had to be turned over and baked manually. But in 1919, Charles Strite patented the pop-up toaster. This type of electric toaster ejects the toast after toasting it.
In 1925, The Toastmaster Company began marketing a redesigned version of the Charles Strite toaster. It was the first home toaster that could brown both sides of bread simultaneously. It had a time fixer and could push out the bread once it was done. By 1926, this new version was a huge hit with the masses and had become a household name.
Until a few decades ago, only bread could be toasted, but with changes in technology, frozen bread can be toasted and also multi-layer operated in the oven to toast two or four slices as per requirement.
Today, toaster ovens have horizontal electrical filaments instead of vertical ones like a pop-up toaster. It also has a reheat feature that allows toast to be reheated without burning it. The toaster oven now has a glass door that must be opened to remove the removable tray. Given its design, a toaster oven can also perform some of the functions that a normal oven provides, only on a smaller scale.
Therefore, toaster ovens have come a long way from being simple toasters. They have become multipurpose utilities.