Cookers

The character of cooking in the home underwent a dramatic transformation during the twentieth century, partly as a result of technological developments, but also as a result of social changes. In 1900, most households had coal-fired ranges with solid hotplates above small ovens and consumed relatively little preprocessed food. On the whole, processed foods were valued more for their longer shelf lives than for time savings in preparation and cooking. A hundred years later, most households had freestanding or built-in gas or electric cookers (stoves in American parlance) and consumed a wide range of processed foods.