Engineering:Rumford roaster
The Rumford roaster is an early cast iron oven, invented by Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford,[1] around 1800.[2] It was part of his development of the kitchen range, which gave more control of the cooking and saved fuel.[3] He published his research in 1805.[4]
The Rumford roaster is a cylinder of cast-iron set into a brick wall. It is heated by a separate firebox below, and the ashes fall into a lower box. Coal or charcoal is burned to get the oven and bricks up to temperature, then the bricks continue to heat the oven after the fuel is burnt.[5][6] Rumford's invention distributed heat evenly around the food. A system of moisture-venting tubes and blowpipes improved browning.[4]
A similar design, the Reip "Bake Oven and Roaster", was patented by Henry Reip in 1825.[7][8]
The Rumford roaster was often built next to a Rumford fireplace, in the wall of a kitchen.[5]
The Rumford roaster was ultimately made obsolete by improvements in cast-iron technology. This allowed the development of the closed-fire cooking range, which enabled even more control over cooking.[4]
At the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893, a kitchen design described as the "Rumford Kitchen" was exhibited.[9]
Examples
- Rundlet-May House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire[5]
- Lorenzo, New York[2]
- Hamilton Hall, Salem, Massachusetts[10]
See also
References
- ↑ https://streetsofsalem.com/2013/02/01/rumford-roasters/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Radocchia, Jane Griswold. "Rumford Roasters" (in en). https://www.jgrarchitect.com/2008/11/rumford-roasters.html.
- ↑ Blake, Anthony; Crewe, Quentin (1978) (in en). Great Chefs of France: The Masters of Haute Cuisine and Their Secrets. H. N. Abrams. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-8317-3961-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=uCO5p4O736cC.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ferry, John H. (2001). "Food for Thought: A View Toward a Richer Interpretation of the House Museum Kitchen". CRM: Cultural Resource Management 24 (4). http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/24-04/24-04-3.pdf. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Rundlet-May House - Front Kitchen" (in en). https://rundletmay.house/location/kitchen/.
- ↑ "Rundlet-May House - Rumford Roaster" (in en). https://rundletmay.house/content-block/rumford-roaster/.
- ↑ Reber, Patricia Bixler (1999). "Iron wall ovens". https://www.angelfire.com/md3/openhearthcooking/aaOven-Iron.html.
- ↑ "Researching Food History : Rumford Roaster - never before seen pieces". 17 February 2020. https://researchingfoodhistory.blogspot.com/2020/02/rumford-roaster-for-sale.html.
- ↑ "Ellen Swallow Richards: Rumford Kitchen: Institute Archives & Special Collections: MIT". 13 April 2003. https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/esr/esr-rumford.html.
- ↑ "The Remond Family". https://www.hamiltonhall.org/remond.
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