Technological progress and innovation represent humankind's ongoing effort to facilitate simple living. Little and large revolutions in the home have been sparked by numerous inventions that have altered how we cook and perform other culinary tasks. As the flag bearers for all things culinary and beverage, we applaud the development of such innovations. Several of which include women working behind the scenes, whose efforts aren't often credited publicly. To celebrate International Women's Day and Week, we gathered 10 of the many functional kitchen tools, gadgets, utility products and edible items invented by women. One would be amazed to know the list.
Electric refrigerator
Humans have been looking for food preservation methods since prehistoric times. These days, a kitchen would only be complete with a refrigerator, a vital device for maintaining the food quality stored there. Florence Parpart developed the first practical electric fridge in 1914, around the turn of the twentieth century. In her ice-free refrigerator concept, she planned to use electricity to pump chilled water throughout the appliance for more uniform and effective cooling. In 1913, Parpart and her husband sought a patent.
Fridge's door shelves, wastebins' food pedal & kitchen for specially-abled
The list of Lillian Gilbreth's inventions is long. Among her many notable accomplishments is installing shelves in the fridge. She improvised ingeniously, allowing install racks inside the fridge's doors. Imagine the chaos if the refrigerator didn't have these shelves. She is responsible for installing the garbage can's foot pedal. She also made designs for kitchens for people with disabilities. She had a master's and doctoral degree in psychology.
Shelves on the fridge's door, Image Source: Pexels
The toasters
Some of us cannot eat breakfast without a piece of crispy bread toast. In addition to providing a crisp beginning to the day, toasted bread also stimulates the digestive system. British inventor Sarah Guppy allowed us to eat toast seven days a week. An early version of the modern toaster was likely a tiny dish used to preserve bread at a steady temperature.
Kitchen appliance: dishwasher
Josephine Cochrane, an American, invented the dishwasher in the late nineteenth century, putting an end to the dreaded task of hand-washing plates. She came up with this handy equipment, which is highly prized in the hospitality industry. On December 28, 1886, Cochran was granted a patent for what is widely regarded as the first practical dishwasher. In 1893, she displayed it at the World's Fair in Chicago. Dishwashers weren't commonplace in American homes until the 1950s.
Appliance for making ice cream
Even the most affluent people in the world didn't have regular access to ice cream until 1800. The invention of the ice cream maker by Nancy Johnson sparked a revolution. The creator of the hand-cranked ice cream freezer sought a patent in 1843. The design featured a crank that could be adjusted and a paddle in the middle to stir the contents. In around 45 minutes of hand-churning, a delectable dairy treat would emerge.
Egg crates
Mary Engle Pennington made one significant improvement to the food industry: the egg carton. According to her findings, appropriate hygiene and refrigeration at all times are required for meat to be consumed safely.
Eggs in an egg carton
Pennington was an instrumental scientist in the enactment of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which established the Food and Drug Administration as we know it today.
Paper filters for coffee
The standard coffee-making method in the early twentieth century involved pouring hot water over coffee grounds in a cloth bag. Commonly, a lot of the coffee grounds would remain in the cup. Melitta Bentz, a German homemaker, solved this issue by poking holes in a cooking pot and lining it with her son's school notebook paper. Bentz saw the potential in her innovative method, and in 1908 she founded Melitta, which continues to this day to sell coffee, filters, drop coffeemakers, and more.
Flat-bottomed paper bags
There was a time when paper bags resembled envelopes or cones. There was no way for them to maintain their stability if placed flat on a table. In 1868, Margaret Knight, a worker at a cotton mill, devised a machine to produce paper bags with a flat bottom. The design credit, however, was not quickly earned.
Wheat flour in a flat-bottomed paper bag, Image Source: Pexels
Charles Annan, a man who had seen her sketches, applied for and was granted a patent without giving Knight credit. The woman took Annan to court and eventually won her own patent in 1871.
Frozen pizza
Rose Totino, a successful businesswoman of Italian descent, created the tasty frozen pizza. In the 1950s, she and her husband launched a pizza takeout store in Minneapolis, which they subsequently expanded into a restaurant where customers could sit down. Later, they began selling frozen pies that customers could take home and bake themselves. As mass production of her pizzas began in 1962, Totino sold her company to Pillsbury and became the baking company's first female corporate vice president.
Pizza saver
On February 10, 1983, Carmela Vitale of Dix Hills, New York, submitted a patent application for a three-legged tripod stool made of plastic. The stool was designed to sit in the middle of a pizza box and prevent the package from sagging. Because of its namesake, pizza savers are typically used to avoid pizza box lids collapsing into the pie's crust. Some people have even started using them as egg holders!
This International Women's Day let's pause for a moment and pay our respects to these brilliant women who have changed the kitchen. Without their incredible innovations of kitchen items, tools, appliances and more, our kitchens wouldn't have been what they are today.