Appliances

Much of the technological breakthroughs on appliances followed after the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison in 1879. A couple of years later, the brand Singer introduced the home electric sewing machine. This was followed by the lightweight electric iron as well as the “Thor,” the first electric-powered washing machine in 1901. The …

A standard stove’s measurements are 30 inches wide, about 27 inches deep, and 36 inches tall. These measurements typically fit the usual bottom cabinet arrangements. That’s the standard, though.  I’ve cooked on a college dorm’s two-burner 20-inch, three-foot high stove, a Girl Scout Bunson-type burner made of a large coffee can over a small fire …

Quicklist: Sewing Machines Manual Electronic Computerized Embroidery Overlock/Serger Buttonhole Double-Needle Bar Tack Button Attachment Lock Stitch Portable Quilting Flat-Bed Post-Bed Cylinder-Bed Free-Arm Feed-Off-the-Arm Although sewing machines are becoming a rare sight in homes, Gandhi, who eschewed all other technological advancements, called them “one of the few useful things ever invented.” The sewing machine has been …

Gas as a source of heat for cooking began to gain prominence over coal and wood in the late 1880s. Gas companies began making stoves to create a market for gas, since gas lamps on city streets were being wiped out. Today, many people replace their stoves due to modernizing styles, technology, and changing personal …

Quicklist: Espresso Machine Types Single Boiler Heat Exchanger Double Boiler Pour-Over/Reservoir Direct-Connect Volumetric Semi-Automatic Super-Automatic Manual-Lever PID temperature control Steam Pressure Moka Pot Pump-Driven Semi-Automatic Fully Automatic Super-Automatic Ultra-Automatic Most of us love coffee and espresso, but few of us realize the amount of engineering that goes into the machines that make it for us. …

We have this gas stove at our farm. It has to be lit by a match or a lighter. Every time we go there, I try to light it and it won’t light. Of course, the gas had been turned off. You’d think I’d learn, wouldn’t you? You see, a gas stove works by a …

I once had a Jenn Aire induction stove. Its ceramic top would heat food faster than gas or electric stoves. The ceramic would remain cool to the touch while the food was dancing merrily inside the pan. This gave me peace of mind because my kids were small at the time. How did it do …

Quicklist: Cooktops, Rangetops and Stoves Gas  Electric Induction  Coil  Radiant  Portable Coal Commercial-Style Modular Wood Pellet Solar Cooking grills and stoves have a long history. The earliest versions date back 4,000 years ago to the Indus Valley which then spread throughout Eastern Asia. Cooking grills, known as “kamado,” appear in Japan about 500 CE. In …

Flashlights, like electricity, transformed our capabilities, illuminating the world and making things like camping and travel so much more accessible and easy. The tool has a unique and interesting history, and has evolved over time. Join me in discovering the history, and how flashlights actually work.    The History of Flashlights The first dry cell …

I love single-serve coffee makers because they brew coffee fast and you enjoy fresh coffee every time. I also like the flexibility they offer a household too. I may want regular while my wife prefers decaf. With a large coffee maker such as a drip brewer, you don’t get that flexibility. I’m not the only …

It goes without saying today that a toilet is an essential, yet given, tool in our daily lives. At a certain point in history, however, toilets did not exist. Let’s dive into the fascinating history behind the invention of the toilet, and how it has progressed and evolved over time.    The word toilet derives from …

When I first hear the question, why is it called a Dutch oven, I instinctively return to my high school days. Because that’s when I learned all the best fart jokes! However, this is not the point of today’s lesson on kitchen equipment. A Dutch oven is actually just as entertaining as a fart joke …

You may be the type that likes to guess the origins of words. When presented with ‘oven’, you may think of words like overt. Perhaps you’ve been learning French and now know that ‘oeuvre la porte’ means open the door. The idea behind it all is openness, but what does that have to do with …

– Quicklist: Washing Machines Front-Loading  Top-Loading HE Top-Loading Washing Machine/Dryer Combo Stacked Laundry Center Table Top Portable Stackable Washing Machine with Drawer HE Washer/Dryer Set Steam Adaptive Fill Compact Cycle Status Adjustable Legs Add Garment Advanced Vibration Control Delay Start Door Window Soft-Close Lid Smart (WiFi) Energy Star Agitator Impeller Washing machines existed as early …

Your oven is one of the most important appliances in your home. However, you may not know everything about your oven, and what it does.  If you are wondering what the drawer under your oven is for, you aren’t alone. It turns out, the answer isn’t straightforward. There are three possible purposes for the oven …

A cold-pressed juicer, also known as an auger juicer, grinds fruits and vegetables into a paste. The presser then forces the paste through a shaft that extracts more juice out of the fruits and vegetables. I fell in love with fruits and vegetables when I started cold-press juicing every morning. It gets me energized and …

The fridge is one of the greatest inventions of our time. It’s the go-to appliance for almost everyone when the weather gets a bit hot. We could say the same about a freezer. Getting ice in your drink on a hot summer day feels like heaven. But is there a difference between the freezer in …

Essentially, freezers are little more than heat pumps that need to work in very small spaces. They work by removing warm air from inside the freezer, then forcing this air over a cooled coil to absorb the heat.  The cold air that is left is then pumped back into the freezer. Freezers are one of …

You may feel like every day; there is a new kitchen appliance coming out. Every one of them seems better than everything else you have. But, you only have so much room in your kitchen. So, sometimes you have to make choices about which new appliance and gadgets you really want.  Air fryers are a …

Starting the morning with a hot shower is one of the favorite ways to kick-start the day. This little pleasure of life would not be possible without water heaters. This is one of those electrical devices whose purchase has probably generated these questions on some other occasion. Water heaters are made with gas and electricity …

I love baking. Cookies, cakes and shortbread are part of my passion. This surely means an oven is the perfect cooking utensil for me. On the other hand, I also love stews and soups, especially when I can leave them to cook the whole day. Surely, then, a slow cooker is what I need. Before …