Start Date
29-5-2024 10:00 AM
End Date
29-5-2024 10:15 AM
Description
Food preparation in a domestic context has evolved through the application of technology. When electricity became available and motors to power appliances were developed from the late nineteenth century onwards, this made a significant change to the use of appliances for food preparation from post-Second World War onwards. This paper explores the history of and increasing use of small domestic electrical appliances used for food preparation and their development and transition from a commercial to a domestic context. Between the 1950s and 1980s in Britain, the development and promotion of a range of new small domestic electrical appliances were important for the adoption of the appliances to assist preparation tasks. Professional home economists demonstrated the advantages of these appliances, often working for regional electricity boards and becoming involved in the development of booklets and manuals. However, their role declined when electricity industry was privatised in 1990 and appliance manufacturers moved development and production away from the UK. The paper concludes with a discussion of how traditional food preparation skills and “from scratch” preparation have been influenced by the adoption of small domestic electrical preparation equipment.
Creative Commons License
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/y2sq-6f58
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, Food Studies Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social History Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons
The Appliance of Science: Traditions and Change in Food Preparation Using Small Domestic Electrical Appliances
Food preparation in a domestic context has evolved through the application of technology. When electricity became available and motors to power appliances were developed from the late nineteenth century onwards, this made a significant change to the use of appliances for food preparation from post-Second World War onwards. This paper explores the history of and increasing use of small domestic electrical appliances used for food preparation and their development and transition from a commercial to a domestic context. Between the 1950s and 1980s in Britain, the development and promotion of a range of new small domestic electrical appliances were important for the adoption of the appliances to assist preparation tasks. Professional home economists demonstrated the advantages of these appliances, often working for regional electricity boards and becoming involved in the development of booklets and manuals. However, their role declined when electricity industry was privatised in 1990 and appliance manufacturers moved development and production away from the UK. The paper concludes with a discussion of how traditional food preparation skills and “from scratch” preparation have been influenced by the adoption of small domestic electrical preparation equipment.