By Ranita Ray
Women's roles in the kitchen have gone beyond food preparation. Several kitchen innovations came from them. As the world celebrates International Women's Day, let's honour 10 women who invented useful kitchen equipment, gadgets, and utility products.
Around 1914, Florence Parpart invented the first functional electric fridge. Parpart and her husband obtained a patent in 1913.
Lillian Gilbreth ingeniously added racks to the fridge doors. She also invented the foot pedal for the garbage can and designed disability-friendly kitchens.
American Josephine Cochrane devised the dishwasher. Cochran patented the first functional dishwasher on December 28, 1886.
Toasted bread starts the day crisply and stimulates digestion. British inventor Sarah Guppy created a forerunner to the contemporary toaster.
Nancy Johnson's ice cream maker started a revolution. In 1843, the hand-cranked ice cream freezer inventor filed a patent.
Melitta Bentz simplified the coffee filter problem by piercing holes in a cooking pot and lining it with her son's notebook paper. In 1908, Bentz founded Melitta based on her novel approach.
Rose Totino invented frozen pizza. In 1962, with mass productions of her pizzas, she sold the company to Pillsbury and became the first female corporate vice president.
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A pizza saver sits in the middle of a pizza box to prevent the cheesy food from messing. Carmela Vitale, the inventor, patented this tripod stool on February 10, 1983.
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In 1868, cotton mill worker Margaret Knight invented a flat-bottom paper bag-creating machine. She gained her patent in 1871.
The egg carton was Mary Engle Pennington's food business innovation. Her research found that nonvegetarian foods must always be refrigerated and hygienic.