The History of Toaster Ovens – One of the Most Common Appliances Today

Toaster Ovens

Toaster ovens are basically a contemporary form of toasters. They are among some of the most common kitchen appliances found in our homes today.

In order to discuss its history, it is important to go to its root i.e. “the toaster”. Toasters have long been used to crisp different kinds of breads to different levels. Invented back in the 19th Century in Scotland, toasters have branched out into different forms, shapes and sizes.

One of the most common types is the pop-up toaster. The earlier forms did not have an auto-timer on it, requiring the user to stop the heat manually once the bread was toasted to the right amount. Can you imagine what a difficult and frustrating process that must have been?

Interestingly enough, it was years into the twentieth century that the auto-popup mechanism was introduced. Can you imagine how many burnt pieces of bread there were before that?

A Breakdown of Toaster Ovens

Toaster ovens are a modern form of toasters. They have a front door with a baking pan inside. Modern ones are more like a small oven that allow you to toast and cook different things like breads, pizzas, puffed pastries, snacks, appetizers and more. Today’s versions are very convenient and perfect for families of any size. They are easy to use and heat up just about anything.

So really, this device combines the best of both worlds, by being able to merge the features of both a small oven and an electrical toaster.

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The History

Pre – 20th Century

Toaster ovens are an evolution of the electric toasters which were invented back in 1872 by Maddy Kennedy. However, they did not bring forward the response that was expected until the early twentieth century when Connor Neeson invented chromel. The Irishman, along with his employer, created an alloy high resistance wire called chromel in 1905 which was a huge breakthrough in the industry of electrical appliances.

Who would have thought that just a simple wire could change everything? This discovery ultimately changed our lives forever, and was the precursor to so many the modern appliances we use in our kitchen today.

20th Century

Having chromel at his disposal, a guy named William Hadaway invented the first ever toaster ovens in 1910. The company William built this product for was the Westinghouse Corporation – the United States’ leading toaster-oven producer to this day!

Another breakthrough came when an electric toaster was developed that could toast both sides of the bread simultaneously. This happened in the year 1919. This toaster also ejected the toasted breads after they were toasted to the required amount – an option which was not available with the previous toasters.

These electrical toasters started becoming household appliances by 1925. The very next year, the Toastmaster Company launched another design which became a massive hit in the market. Initially, they were only able to toast breads, but as technology advanced, it allowed the ovens to toast different things like frozen breads or operate in multiple layers.

21st Century

The most contemporary forms that we see today come with horizontal electrical filaments. In addition to that, they come with certain additional features which were not available in the pop-up toaster designs. It includes things like reheating the bread without getting it burnt or the option of heating certain baked goods.

The design of modern toaster ovens is also entirely different. Instead of vertical openings, they now come with a horizontally settled tray and a glass door. The best part is that contemporary versions also allow the addition of certain features of a regular oven, thus the name Toaster Oven.

The toaster ovens we see today are a blend of inventions and modifications from the past hundred years. The toasters that started their journey as an appliance to heat a single side of bread have evolved greatly during their lifetime.

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Looking for a New Electrical Appliance?

With an insight into the history of this very popular product, you have all the additional information you need to appreciate this kind of device. When you think about how difficult it has been in the past to toast bread, you really start to appreciate the features of contemporary machines, right?

Of course, these are just one of the many appliances that we use in our homes today. We think it’s helpful to read about their histories, because if we have some perspective into how useful they are, we can also do our best to buy the ones that do it perfectly, every time!

In addition, it’s now easier than ever before to find what you’re looking for online. For more reviews and similar articles about home appliances, visit the rest of our site.

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