Technology in the kitchen

With the article below, you will learn step by step how technology has evolved in the kitchen, what has happened over the centuries and what it looks like today.

2,5 million BC The knife is considered the oldest tool of mankind. First stone tools that look like knives (1) found at sites of the Oldowan culture in Africa, the oldest Paleolithic culture. Then the knives were made, among other things, with the participation volcanic glass i flint with hewn edges and less than 5 thousand years ago, metal appeared in the history of civilization. Since then, the shape and quality of the blade has been constantly improved. The table knife did not develop until the second half of the XNUMXth century. Today we most often meet knives with stainless steel.

1. The first stone knife blades

13 thousand stump There are pot-shaped vessels made of clay and then fired (earlier pots were objects made of stone, tortoise shells, and even specially prepared wood). Over time, the man developed metal production methods and he also began to make pots and pans out of it. In the Middle Ages, iron pans, teapots and cauldrons were made, which looked a little like the household appliances of today's kitchen.

3 thousand stump Surviving examples of various spoon shapes used by the ancient Egyptians during this period include: ivory products, flints, slate i wood. Early bronze spoons found in China had a sharp point and could also be used as cutlery. Greek and Roman spoons were mostly made of bronze and silver.and the hilt usually took the form of a pointed trunk. The Greek and Latin word for spoon, snail, refers to the spiral snail shell that was used as a spoon. From this word comes the Polish "ladle". The English word (spoon) comes from Anglo-Saxon, which means shard, slate from a tree or bark.

The Romans around the 2st century AD created two models of spoons. The first, ligula (XNUMX), had a rod-shaped handle and a shallow, oval, slightly pointed ladle. The second, called the snail, had a ladle in the form of a small bowl. Ligula eventually transformed into a tablespoon and became a model for various types of ladles and scoops. The kind that we know today (a longer handle with a recess) was acquired only in the middle of the XNUMXth century.

2400-1900 tenge A fork-like bone tool has been found at archaeological sites in China's Qijia culture from the Bronze Age (Shan Dynasty). In turn, a stone drawing from an Eastern Han tomb (in Da-kua-liang, Suide County, Shaanxi) shows forks hanging in the dining room. These cutlery came to Europe in the 3rd century from the East. According to legend, they were brought to Italy by a Byzantine princess who married a Venetian doge. However, they were not accepted, and their use was even considered a heretical demonstration and a scandal. They finally settled on the tables in Western Europe only at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. (XNUMX).

3. Old forks

2-1 types. shit They appear in China Food stickswhich we use today in sushi bars. Gradually, they became the most popular dining tool in Asia. They work like tongs and are made of wood, metal, ivory and even plastic.

Okay. 1 type. shit At that time (or maybe earlier) it was already in use mortar - in the territories that later became part of the Roman Empire, as well as in the lands inhabited by the Aztecs, who called this equipment molcahete (4). For centuries, pots made of stone, wood, metal, or ceramic have been used as solutions. It was the same with the Bludger. Early versions of these instruments have been found in India and South Asia, among others. In Europe, they were used by pharmacists (and shamans of all stripes) to make medicines and herbal mixtures.

4. Mortar stone type 

200 and China could build closed firebox. In Europe, the idea of ​​built-in hearths did not become widespread until the Middle Ages. The first attempts at closed fireplaces were unsuccessful - the smoke hurt the eyes and scratched the throat, there was also a serious fire hazard, and the direction of the flame upwards led to heat leakage, which was also not good. It took several centuries to develop a functional, safe, completely closed firebox.

300-400 of them They spread screw presses, introduced into use in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. It can be safely called a revolution, because the invention significantly improved the entire production process (it is known that a really strong press is needed to produce wine from grapes, cider from apples, and olive oil from olives) and reduced working time. Today's juicers - although they take energy from the outlet, and not the work of a person or animal, they still use the old and proven scheme of screw presses.

XVI p. They arise first graterspossibly in France. Since then, they have settled in the kitchen, taking on a variety of forms - from the simplest with one wall, through square ones, to various modern options known to us.

XVII century. The first one was built in France. pressure cooker. Its creator was a physicist, doctor and mathematician in one person - Denis Papin (five). Pressure cookers began to be produced on an industrial scale only after the end of the Second World War. At that time, they became a very popular device among young families. Today they are forgotten and replaced, for example, steamboats.

5. Old pressure cooker illustration, i.e. Daddy's boiler 1

1710 Appears infusion drink preparation technique. In the first trials in France, this meant immersing ground coffee, usually sealed in a linen bag, in hot water until the desired infusion was obtained.

1799 The method of preparation (which in French means "in a vacuum") appears in the USA and France − food is sealed in a plastic vacuum bagthen placed in a water or steam bath at a precisely controlled temperature, lower than that used for traditional cooking and for a longer time than traditional methods.

1826-1834 James Sharp (6), an employee of the Northampton gasworks, designs the first gas stovewhich was later sold to the market, first setting it up at home in 1826. The first copies were sold to hotel kitchens in 1834, but despite their success, their creator was afraid to launch a full-scale production. Just a visit from the Lord to Sharpe's house Frederick Spencerwho wanted a gas-cooked meal convinced the inventor that he had to meet the existing demand. In 1836 he founded a factory with 35 workers. His ovens were vertical ovens with hooks at the top from which meat could be hung for roasting, with a ring of burners at the bottom.

7. Napier Vacuum Machine

1840 Gets up early founder of coffee machines, that is, a vacuum machine (7). Vacuum machines, although generally too complex for everyday use, were valued for producing a clear infusion and were popular until the middle of the 30th century, after which coffee brewing equipment improved. In the 1972s, fully automatic espresso machines with electric heating appeared. The first filter coffee maker hit the market in XNUMX.

1850 American Joel Houghton patented a wooden machine with a hand-turned wheel that sprayed water onto dishes. It was first patented dishwasher. Then in this category there were better and more useful devices.

1858 Ezra Warner creates the world's first can opener. In 1925 William Lyman it was completed about. swivel wheel. This model was adapted to only one type of can, but this shortcoming was soon corrected by the creation of a universal version.

1876 Bavarian engineer and physicist Karl von Linde built a device in which food was frozen using liquid ammonia (8). The ice produced by this machine was formed into blocks and distributed to the houses. The Vikings also noticed that meat stored in the cold lasts longer. That is why special pits were dug in the darkest place of the huts, stuffed with piles of snow and ice, and then, having put food there, they covered the whole thing with a wooden roof and a layer of earth, which provided thermal insulation. . Yes the concept of the cold store was developed, two essential elements of which - an isolated space and a coolant - have remained unchanged to this day. They became popular at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. ice basketswhere special isolation systems were used. A few years after Linde's invention, the first electric refrigerator. The sealed version in use today was created in 1925.

8. Schematic diagram of the refrigerator Carl von Linde

1885 Rufus M. Eastman was granted the first US patent for a device that can be considered a prototype. electric mixer.

1882-1893 At the World Dog Show in Chicago Friedrich Schindler received gold medal for electric stove. The designer was the heir to flourishing textile factories, but he was more interested in technical discoveries. Being a wealthy entrepreneur, he visited world exhibitions, where the latest technological achievements were presented. In 1881, at such an exhibition in Paris, he bought Thomas Edison Electric Generator and launched the first electric light bulb and power generator in Austria. I wonder what Schindler hired to help with his inventions Gabriela Narutowicz, who later became the first president of independent Poland ... Although Schindler received an award for his invention, the Canadian experimenter was the first to connect the stove to the mains Thomas Ahern. His device was used to reheat meals at the Windsor Hotel in Ottawa. Ahern also received a patent for an electric stove in North America. Four years later William Hadaway from the United States received a patent for an "automatically controlled electric stove".

1893 Alfred Louis Bernardin patents the first bottle opener. It was permanently attached to the table top. A year later, he patented a very similar model. William Painter - the inventor of corona shutters, i.e. caps. They are still used today in various forms.

1909 First successful toaster patents Frank Shaylor from General Electric. His device did not have an outer casing, temperature sensors and controls, and in addition, it had only one heating section, so each side of a slice of bread had to be fried separately, like in a pan. toasterwhat we all know today, i.e. determining that the toast is ready to eat and tossing it up, was invented in the 20s by Charles Streit.

1922 Polish by birth Stefan Poplavski, builds a milkshake machine. It consisted of a tall container, at the bottom of which were knives that set it in motion. Of such kind mixer enjoys great popularity to this day.

1922 Arthur Leslie Big constructs Electric kettle. Eight years later, the General Electric concern brings the company to the market electric kettle with automatic switch-off.

1938 He is considered the inventor of Teflon. Roy Plunkettwho worked in the DuPont laboratory. In the course of research on frozen gases, it turned out that one of the samples was covered with a previously unknown white powder - Teflon. Before it was massively introduced into the production of kitchen utensils, it appeared, for example, in the Manhattan Project, the purpose of which was to create Atomic bomb.

1945 In the process of working on radar devices, it occurs quite by accident microwave. Its creator was an American engineer and inventor Percy Spencer. He noticed that as a result of the experiments, a bar of chocolate melted in his pocket. Popcorn was the first food the scientist intentionally warmed up in the microwave. In 1947, Raytheon launched the first Radarange microwave oven on the market. It was 1,5 m high, weighed over 300 kg and cost $5. dollars.

9. One of the first microwave ovens

1952 George Stephen, Weber Brother Metal Works welder, invented prototype grillwe are currently using. He developed a portable model with a functional coating that protected the food from possible rain, and the grates from smoke.

1976 Rational launches combi steamer – development of the idea of ​​a convection oven, to which the function of steaming the chamber was added. Fans force hot air through the chamber, causing it to move horizontally. The air then passes through filters that remove grease particles from them and is sent back to the fans. Horizontal air circulation and degreasing guarantee the impermeability of odors (the main carriers of which are fats) and a uniform temperature in the chamber. Steam is added to the air circulation chamber, which speeds up the heat treatment and prevents food from losing moisture.

The latest technology in the kitchen

Internet of things

Many companies offer sensors that enhance the intelligence of the equipment we already have without having to replace it. Let it be an example SmartThingQ Korean company LG. This round appliance can be connected to compatible appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens or air conditioners. It registers certain stimuli, such as temperature or vibration levels, and reports them to the user via an app on a smartphone or tablet (if they run on Android). The manufacturer guarantees that the SmartThingQ drive connected to the washing machine will report, for example, the end of the wash cycle, and the sensor from the refrigerator will generate a notification about the expiration date of the food. It can also signal, for example, the opening of the refrigerator during our absence.

Smart kitchen appliances

If we have problems measuring and weighing ingredients, Smart fall scale using a smartphone application, this will help us achieve the ideal proportions. The pan with the meaningful name Pantelligent is equipped with sensors, thanks to which we will always know if the frying temperature is correct. Even a "stupid" cutting board is no longer stupid if it is called GKilo and can weigh cut pieces up to a gram.

Stand for Tablet

Countertops and kitchen tables are not the best place for a tablet - besides, the hands of the kitchen worker are not always clean. And yet it is an indispensable piece of equipment when we need to browse recipes or watch TV shows while cooking… Fortunately, there are already many different models of tablet stands from different manufacturers. You just have to choose the most convenient one.

Voice controlled coffee machine

For techno-natives, it goes without saying that devices must be activated and voice control. Therefore, for example, the Hamilton Beach Voice Activated 12 Cup Coffeemaker coffee machine can be set to prepare a certain type of coffee at a certain time, in a certain quantity, of course.

Mobile Apps for Cooking

Another obvious for those who are used to it. There are countless of them. They allow you to remotely control kitchen appliances, manage the cooking process synchronously with an interactive recipe, and, finally, which is quite natural for the younger generation of chefs, share the result of your culinary efforts on social networks.

Kitchen XNUMXth century.

CookPlat is a glass-ceramic induction cooker that can be carried with you, carried in luggage and cooked on it anywhere. Unless, of course, it happens there Power supply. Importantly, the device has a modular structure, so if necessary, you can customize the individual elements of the plate, necessary in a given situation. Another advantage is the water-resistance, thanks to which CookPlat for example, it can be safely washed in the dishwasher along with other dishes. Electrical plugs and sockets have a flattened structure, which makes packing much easier.

Refrigerator with internet

today refrigerators have transparent door touch screens. For example, the LG InstaView or Samsung Family Hub smart refrigerator models allow you to order groceries through this door, turn on music, or leave and send messages to family members thanks to a computer system. The cameras inside the device allow us to see from a distance if something is missing, which is certainly useful when we are shopping. The LG hardware is also present and the Samsung product offers recipes based on its current content.

French fries in the air

We love french fries, but for our family and health, this is not the best dish. So Phillips created french frying machine - Airfryer, in which we use only a small teaspoon of oil to cook potatoes for frying, and the equipment provides a lot of hot air. Fat and calories in such a delicacy are certainly much less than usual. Everyone should judge taste for themselves.

3D printer

BlinBot will print any pancake we want. Our own designs or pancake designs obtained from the market can be downloaded using a removable memory card. mostly sweets. ChefJet, created by 3D Systems, prints from sugar or icing and is an electronic "pen" for writing and drawing with chocolate.