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The fire, the stove or cooker, is the\u00a0soul of any home<\/strong>, undoubtedly. Around a fire, the human being has slept, eaten \u2014of course\u2014 and lived. The evolution of the stove goes from those fueled by\u00a0coal<\/strong>\u00a0to those with intelligent sensors that can cook a plate independently and let us know when it is ready, a\u00a0technological revolution<\/strong>\u00a0that makes our lives easier. But the history of the cooker or\u00a0hobs<\/a>, the history of the gas, (vitro) ceramic, and induction were born just a couple of centuries ago, leaving behind many good moments and a few burned dishes too. Join us on this brief journey about the\u00a0history of the hob<\/strong>:<\/p>\n The use of fire in a primitive kitchen is dated 4,000 years ago in the Indo Valley. Rests of holes in the sole for fire and tools to place food above were found there. The race to find ways to dominate\u00a0fire<\/strong>\u00a0runs parallel with the making of\u00a0tools<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0construction<\/strong>\u00a0elements. All these improvements happened in other geographical areas, and the oven began to evolve too for different purposes. But it will take a long time for the Western civilization to stop cooking over a direct flame.<\/p>\n In\u00a0Alsace<\/strong>, that territory everybody used to love to annex, a structure similar to a cooker is dated in 1490. It was made out of brick and tile. This structure had some room on the top to release the heat, and it also had a\u00a0chimney<\/strong>\u00a0to help the smoke go out. Scandinavians and Russians, particularly interested in developing any heating system for obvious reasons, improved these models.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s going to travel a bit further in time, landing in the future U.S.A.\u00a0Benjamin Franklin<\/strong>, the man of the kite, invented in 1742 a sort of cooker based on a fireplace that begins to look like the future kitchen stoves, the \u201cPennsylvania fireplace\u201d. Another North American,\u00a0David Rittenhouse,<\/strong>\u00a0somebody who was able to build a planetarium and study the atmosphere in Venus at the same time, improved this new Franklin stove. His upgrade preserved the heat better. He decided to name it \u201cRittenhouse stove\u201d since stealing ideas was something common by then. Edison experienced something similar a few years later, and it is said even that the so-called great inventor also developed extortion with great success.<\/p>\n Europa was already developing new tools for the kitchen with brick models, progressively more safe and\u00a0efficient<\/strong>\u00a0with smoke and keeping heat.\u00a0Benjamin Thompson<\/strong>\u00a0is well-known too as the inventor of the modern stove at the end of the XVIII century, or at least, his promoter, thanks to some models made with this new system. The stoves or cooktops were usually found in most\u00a0homes<\/strong>\u00a0and, when population emigrated to the cities, they became even more popular. The next step was the\u00a0cast iron<\/strong>\u00a0stove, very common for a long time in many homes, especially in the countryside.<\/p>\n The\u00a0gas<\/a> cooktops were born at the beginning of the 19th century. But it was not until the end of the same century that these tips of cooktops reached ordinary homes. And they became a success. The gas meant, among other improvements, that the source of energy could be used just and only when it was needed, with higher control of consumption<\/span><\/strong>. When the 20th century arrived, these cooktops were popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It was <\/span>cleaner<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0than charcoal or wood and, apparently, more convenient, because the\u00a0gas<\/a>\u00a0did not need much room. It was very dangerous, though, that\u2019s a fact.<\/span><\/p>\n However,\u00a0gas<\/a> is still common with several improvements, and it is the most usual sort of cooktop in professional kitchens. That total control over the flame that our ancestors were looking for became a reality. It is just that it takes us, let\u2019s say, a few centuries. But we are going to come back a few years again because the cooktops would change even more, at least, the sources of energy<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n In the 19th century, the cooktop story is about to give a huge step forward. The gas cooktop has a rival: electricity<\/strong>. Even though the electric cooktop was introduced at the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition \u2014Chicago World\u2019s Fair\u2014 in 1893, they did not become accessible until the \u201950s, because not everybody can afford electricity<\/a>\u00a0at home. And watching the electricity prices we may come back to that, who knows. Anyway, the\u00a0welfare<\/strong> state in some countries since 1950 meant the definitive launching for these sorts of cooktops.<\/p>\n The electric cooktops used a heating resistance to heat iron plates. Many developed homes had these cooktops, but the next step was imminent: the invention of the (vitro) ceramic cooktops<\/strong><\/a>. Also, the higher purchase power for most of the people made that money was available to spend on home improvements. And after two world wars and war casualties, people were eager to spend. It was a period good for\u00a0research and development<\/strong>\u00a0in the everyday life needs.<\/span><\/p>\n A brand-new field of possibilities for the stoves and cooktops arrived with the electric cooktop. And the vitroceramic, glass-ceramic cooktop, arouse. With an improving surface, easy to clean, it became immediately one of the favourite choices for the kitchen.<\/p>\n The North American\u00a0Donald Stookey<\/strong>\u00a0discovered in 1953 this new material, the\u00a0glass-ceramic.<\/strong>\u00a0It happened when he accidentally set a higher temperature in an oven during an experiment. This also was the first step for many\u00a0thermal resistance<\/strong> kitchen tools, and it was the base of the glass-ceramic cooktops we know these days: a heating coil or halogen lamps heating anything we put over them.<\/span><\/p>\n The improvements related to the heating source came, so it happens with the furniture where the cooktop was. The models changed size<\/strong>,\u00a0weight<\/strong>, they improved the\u00a0space<\/strong>\u00a0for other kitchen tools and plates. They began to be more convenient and easier to use. And the most important thing: they were becoming safer. The iron on the surface of the cooker was eventually substituted by other metals or enamel finish. Because a new concept was also introduced, the hob or cooktop as a new\u00a0design, stylish element in the kitchen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Electromagnetic induction, the invention of electricity generated by magnetism, emerged thanks to the British\u00a0Michael Faraday<\/strong> in the second half of the 19th century. The induction cooktop<\/a> is a vitroceramic cooktop, but it heats the pans with electromagnetism<\/strong>, not with resistance like the vitroceramic does. It did not become popular in the kitchens until the \u201870s in the 20th century with the firm Westinghouse. Nobody paid attention before, frankly. The real step forward will be at the end of the century with the induction as we know it today: full of possibilities.<\/p>\n Things like pan <\/span>detection<\/span><\/a>, heating\u00a0<\/span>flexibility<\/span><\/a>, energy efficiency,\u00a0<\/span>smart<\/span><\/a> sensors, cooking speed\u2026 turn these cooktops into a real <\/span>cooking<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0assistant<\/a><\/strong> hard to imagine 25 years ago. The easy-cleaning with vitroceramic<\/a>, induction cooktops<\/a> and hybrid cooktops<\/a> make them very popular and part of most homes.<\/span><\/p>\nThe first cookers and stoves<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nCooktops and hobs in the modern times<\/h2>\n
The gas cooktops<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nThe electric cooktop<\/h3>\n
Vitroceramic is here<\/h3>\n
![\"History](\"https:\/\/www.teka.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/vitroceramic-glass-ceramic-install.jpg\")
<\/p>\nInduction breaks through<\/h3>\n
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