RETAILOBSERVER.COM JANUARY 2024
6
Moe Lastfogel
moe@retailobserver.com
Moe's Musings Views
Happy New Year,
S
ince the mid-1800s, people have been thinking of new and
innovative ways to store food, cook food, and clean up after eating.
Many of these ideas were good enough to be used to this very day,
yet inventors are striving to come up with new products that are more even
more efficient and innovative.
Although stoves (wood fired) have been around since the 1400s, the first gas
stoves were invented in the early 1850s, and by 1912, gas stoves were being
challenged by electric stoves. Today, consumers have a choice between gas
and electric, depending on cooking style and utility cost preferences. Recently
steam injection, hot air impingement, sous-vide and microwave assist have
been added to the stoves to create faster, more uniform cooking. As we are
getting further into the age of innovation, I can see electric ovens that might
incorporate induction into the internal oven workings as the heating source.
If the stove was the most important kitchen appliance product of the 1800s,
the refrigerator must be the most important appliance of the 1900s. Although
the idea of cooling foods dates back to ancient Rome, the pre-cursor for the
modern electric refrigerator was patented in 1914. Now there are hot water and
coffee dispensers, ice cream makers, and beer and wine taps and media
centers installed in refrigerator units. As we progress, I see blast chillers and
more means of inventory management being added to these food preservation
machines.
The dishwasher has become an integral part of any American kitchen. While
some still consider this appliance to be a luxury product rather than a necessity,
the majority of American households have a dishwasher. The first patent for an
appliance that resembles the modern dishwasher occurred in 1850 by Joel
Houghton. Today we have new speed cycles, larger capacities, steam and
special racking , and I think the future holds cold-water cleaning, ultrasonic
washing and of course, the all-important fish and vegetable steaming button.
Kitchen appliances are so helpful, we wonder how we functioned before
their invention, and we are eagerly await the next new thing to make our lives
more hassle-free. With creative minds and the public's acceptance, the future
possibilities of kitchen appliances are endless. Who knows? A photon cooker
or perhaps the Star Trek food replicator are in our near future.
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