1830s |
Cast iron cookstoves gained in popularity, replacing cooking over hearths and open fires |
1900 |
Most families had an iron cookstove; coal had become a more popular cooking fuel than wood; steel was replacing iron in new stoves |
1900s-1920s |
Electricity introduced for cooking; wood, natural gas, and artificial gas were all used in cooking |
1930 |
About twice as many households used gas as used coal and wood or oil; few used electricity |
1930s |
Electric stoves gained in popularity after the introduction of electric thermostats in the late 1920s and increased electrification of homes |
Early 1940s |
One-third of families still cooked with wood or coal |
1945 |
Discovery of microwave cooking at Raytheon |
1967 |
First successful portable microwave oven introduced |
1978 |
99% of households had a kitchen stove and oven, with 43% using natural gas and 53% using electricity |
2009 |
96% of homes had a microwave oven; for the 99% of homes with kitchen stoves and ovens, 34% used natural gas and 60% electricity |