Television schedules are populated by shows that both
reflect and determine trends in homes and how we use them. How often do we hear
that the kitchen is 'the heart of the home?' Cliched or otherwise, this line of
thought has its origins in truth. The adjustment of the kitchen from the dull
domain of the servants to a place of buzz and social activity has meant that
appliances have adapted too. In addition to the social changes that have taken
place, technology has also left a lasting and significant impression.
Amongst the must have gadgets - hand blenders, coffee
machines, ice cream makers - there are the mainstays of all kitchens. They are
the seemingly everyday items that we take for granted. The items that we
couldn't possibly do without, yet they were once the electric can openers of
their day.
When in Rome
Many people will recall houses with larders, or perhaps
even live in a property with one, but it is hard to imagine a slightly cold
cupboard as sufficient storage for perishable meat and dairy products. Even in
Roman times, it was understood that keeping foods cool was a way to both
preserve and prolong. It was the advent of electricity and the technology of
convection that led to the creation of the first fridges in the early twentieth
century. Now available in all shapes and sizes, it is impossible to imagine
today's kitchen without one.
No more marigolds
The majority of us now own dishwashers, whether integral
to the kitchen design or freestanding. The novelty of not having to spend
forever leaning over the basin of the sink routinely washing, rinsing, drying
must have been truly revolutionary when mooted in as early as 1850. Dishwashers
that dried as well as washed first appeared in the 1940s but it was the latter
part of the century which saw the machine become an affordable luxury for many.
Ping!
Microwaves divide opinion but almost all households own
one. They can cook, they can defrost and some have evolved to perform even more
tasks. However, it could have been very different. The first microwave oven was
more than six feet in height and weighed nearly sixty stone imagine trying to fit that next to your
fridge!
If you can't stand
the heat
A kitchen is not a kitchen without a
cooker and a hob. The hob in
particular is essential to everyday life as it is the primary way that we cook
and prepare food in our kitchens today. The first electric hobs were developed
and became popular in the early twentieth century as people warmly embraced new
technologies. They were the rival of the gas hob, its elder by around twenty
years. Although both remain readily available, most new build homes show a
preference for the gas hob when trying to attract buyers.
There have no doubt been many kitchen ideas that have
fallen by the wayside and been lost in a vast swathe of invention. But we
should appreciate all new gadgets with an open mind as who knows how technology
will next impact on the modern kitchen?
