Ah the toaster oven. One of the worlds finest & recent innovations for the food industry. If you think back, the toaster oven hasn't been around for very long but has made its way around several families and restaurants around the globe.
A quick history: General Electric built the first toaster in 1909 but it wasnt for home use just yet until 10 years later (1919) when a man named Charles Strite, a mechanic in Minnesota, built the easy version of the toaster that got used in restaurants and homes. He called it the slice toaster and got it patented in 1921 with the help of Waters-Genter Company to manufacture it. in 1926, Charles redesigned the toaster to become automatic and called it the Toastmaster. Also, the bread brand we know as wonder bread was around back in those times but sold whole un-sliced loaves of bread, however in 1930, they started selling sliced bread that made the slice toaster oven a best seller. It wasn't until 30 years later in 1960 where the toaster became more affordable for people to purchase. Back the 30's the toaster cost was around $25 which would be equivalent to around almost $400. Gladly the price of them reduced for families to buy, also the size of the toaster became alot smaller so it could fit comfortably in the kitchen of homes and on the counter. In 1970, toasters were becoming more customized by colour. In the 1980's, the toaster started to get larger slots to hold different things such as bagels which as wider in size than a slice of bread. Manufacturers also started to make it with heat resistant material as well as adding more slots to the toaster, so it became a 4-slice toaster or a 6-slice. Which brings us to today, where toasters now come in all different sizes, colours, and shapes.
http://www.overstock.com/guides/history-of-the-toaster
This falls under the product & technological innovations, as well as the idea category because like I explained above, General Electric invented the very first toaster but it took 10 years later by another man to make it known to the world.
I feel like this innovation was important because it changed the way food was made as well as adding new & different styles of food textures and colours. For example, the PB&J sandwich, a toaster made it easy to toast your bread which made it easier to spread your peanutbutter and your jam and gave a nice crunch on the outside. Speaking of bread, I feel like the toaster also brought the brilliant idea of sliced bread to the table. The famous saying "the best thing since sliced bread" well how would you toast your sliced bread perfectly on both sides if it werent for the toaster!
This innovation has affected me with the way I think about the style of cooking food. The toaster was to accomplish a easier way of making a meal or snack. It gave breakfast a whole new meaning. Since the toaster was invented, you see foods (that I personally have for breakfast) like Eggo waffles & pancakes which are meant for the toaster, as well as toaster strudel, and you could always toss a pop-tart in a toaster as well. Who knows where the world would be without the toaster, who knows what food we wouldn't have discovered!
A quick history: General Electric built the first toaster in 1909 but it wasnt for home use just yet until 10 years later (1919) when a man named Charles Strite, a mechanic in Minnesota, built the easy version of the toaster that got used in restaurants and homes. He called it the slice toaster and got it patented in 1921 with the help of Waters-Genter Company to manufacture it. in 1926, Charles redesigned the toaster to become automatic and called it the Toastmaster. Also, the bread brand we know as wonder bread was around back in those times but sold whole un-sliced loaves of bread, however in 1930, they started selling sliced bread that made the slice toaster oven a best seller. It wasn't until 30 years later in 1960 where the toaster became more affordable for people to purchase. Back the 30's the toaster cost was around $25 which would be equivalent to around almost $400. Gladly the price of them reduced for families to buy, also the size of the toaster became alot smaller so it could fit comfortably in the kitchen of homes and on the counter. In 1970, toasters were becoming more customized by colour. In the 1980's, the toaster started to get larger slots to hold different things such as bagels which as wider in size than a slice of bread. Manufacturers also started to make it with heat resistant material as well as adding more slots to the toaster, so it became a 4-slice toaster or a 6-slice. Which brings us to today, where toasters now come in all different sizes, colours, and shapes.
http://www.overstock.com/guides/history-of-the-toaster
This falls under the product & technological innovations, as well as the idea category because like I explained above, General Electric invented the very first toaster but it took 10 years later by another man to make it known to the world.
I feel like this innovation was important because it changed the way food was made as well as adding new & different styles of food textures and colours. For example, the PB&J sandwich, a toaster made it easy to toast your bread which made it easier to spread your peanutbutter and your jam and gave a nice crunch on the outside. Speaking of bread, I feel like the toaster also brought the brilliant idea of sliced bread to the table. The famous saying "the best thing since sliced bread" well how would you toast your sliced bread perfectly on both sides if it werent for the toaster!
This innovation has affected me with the way I think about the style of cooking food. The toaster was to accomplish a easier way of making a meal or snack. It gave breakfast a whole new meaning. Since the toaster was invented, you see foods (that I personally have for breakfast) like Eggo waffles & pancakes which are meant for the toaster, as well as toaster strudel, and you could always toss a pop-tart in a toaster as well. Who knows where the world would be without the toaster, who knows what food we wouldn't have discovered!