Key Takeaways
- The holiday season is a time for cooking and baking, and various technologies have been developed to make this process easier and more efficient.
- Some of these technologies, such as pressure cookers and electric appliances, have become mainstays in kitchens everywhere, while others, like radium-coated cookware, have disappeared due to concerns over safety and effectiveness.
- The development of new cooking technologies has often been driven by wartime necessity, with products like glass utensils and pressure cookers being promoted as ways to conserve resources and preserve food.
- The use of electric appliances has also played a significant role in shaping the modern kitchen, with companies like Kelvinator and TECFAB designing and manufacturing a range of products to make cooking easier and more efficient.
Introduction to Holiday Cooking
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—holiday cooking and baking season. Though the slow rising of a dough or hand-mixing of a batter can be satisfying and soothing, sometimes we welcome opportunities to cut corners. Today, we’ve mined the collection for technologies meant to make cooking just a little bit easier. Some have become mainstays of kitchens everywhere, while others have long ago disappeared to that impossible to reach top corner kitchen cabinet. Thankfully, radium-coated cookware never gained great popularity, despite being advertised as impervious to acid and grease, and never burning or sticking.
Radium-Coated Cookware
Promising to be impervious to acid and grease, to never burn or stick, X-Radium Cooking Utensils were advertised at a moment when the element was finding its way into all sorts of consumer products, whether as an additive or just as a futuristic name. Our collection includes trademark registrations for a number of radium-infused or radium-inspired products, including suspenders, theatrical costumes, heaters, boots, paper, printing pigments, silk, soap, shirts, and hosiery. Housekeepers were among the target audience for these products, which were touted as the latest and most scientific cooking utensils yet produced.
Wartime Necessity and Cooking Technologies
Many developments in cooking technologies sprung from wartime necessity. The Office of War Information encouraged substitution of materials based on availability, with glass utensils replacing metal, which was in demand for military use. Substitute materials like glass utensils were promoted as a way to conserve resources, with products like glass measuring cups making it simple to prepare baby’s formula or cook recipes. Pressure cookers were also highlighted as a means of conserving gas and preserving food, with educators from the Farm Security Administration traveling the country to extol the use of the pressure cooker as part of courses in efficient home management.
Pressure Cookers and Efficient Home Management
The pressure cooker was seen as a vital tool for efficient home management, with homesteaders like Mrs. Faro Caudill packing up their kitchen equipment, including a pressure cooker, to move to a new dugout nearer the well. Home cooks like Eulia Smart made impressive use of the device, canning 264 quarts of food since spring. The pressure cooker was even seen as a symbol of American ingenuity, with some homesteaders suggesting that it should be put on the national flag. The use of pressure cookers was widely promoted, with photographs and advertisements showcasing their benefits and encouraging people to adopt this technology in their kitchens.
Electric Appliances and Modern Kitchens
Electricity is the star of the next photograph, with steam billowing out as a woman opens the lid to her electric roaster to check on the state of her turkey. The power cord features prominently against the modern geometric countertop, with a boy illuminating the scene with an electric spotlight. In 1954, the electric appliance company Kelvinator commissioned architect Charles Goodman to design a home that would be offered as the grand prize in a short essay contest. The home, which could be built in the location of the winner’s choosing, would be fitted with electric appliances designed to make every day feel like a holiday. The kitchen featured a sleek Kelvinator refrigerator, freezer, and oven, showcasing the latest in modern kitchen design.
Modern Kitchen Design and Efficient Cooking
Goodman would later design a series of appliances and cookware for the building materials company TECFAB. The items in these drawings, like the console, have the monumental feel of architectural elevations. The use of electric appliances has played a significant role in shaping the modern kitchen, with companies like Kelvinator and TECFAB designing and manufacturing a range of products to make cooking easier and more efficient. As we move forward in the holiday season, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the technologies that have made cooking and baking easier and more enjoyable. Whether it’s a pressure cooker or an electric roaster, these tools have become essential components of our kitchens, and have played a significant role in shaping the way we cook and live.
