Dictionary Definition
cooker n : a utensil for cooking
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ʊkə(r)
Derived terms
Extensive Definition
A kitchen stove, cooker or cookstove is a
kitchen
appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves
rely on the application of direct
heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for baking.
In the industrialized world, as stoves replaced open fires and
braziers as a source of
more efficient and reliable heating, models were developed that
could also be used for cooking, these came to be known as kitchen stoves. When homes began
to be heated with central
heating systems there was less need for an appliance that
served as both heat source and cooker and stand alone cookers
replaced them. Cooker and stove are often used
interchangeably,
The fuel-burning stove is the most basic design
of kitchen stove. In the developing
world, such stoves are still the most common cooking appliances
and new, more fuel efficient and environmentally sound biomass
cook stoves are being developed for use there. Modern kitchen
stoves may use alternative methods for heating food. Gas and electric stoves are the most
common today in western countries. Both are equally mature and
safe, and the choice between the two is largely a matter of
personal preference and preexisting utility outlets: if a house has
no gas supply, adding one just to be able to run a gas stove is an
expensive endeavour. In particular, professional chefs often prefer gas cooktops,
for they allow them to control the heat more finely and more
quickly. On the other hand, some chefs often prefer electric ovens
because they tend to heat food more evenly. According to
EnergyGuide labels on appliances sold in the U.S. and EnerGuide
labels in Canada, natural gas fueled appliances are more
cost-efficient for the duration of its life. Today's major brands
offer both gas and electric stoves, and many also offer dual-fuel
stoves combining gas cooktops and electric ovens.
Modern kitchen stoves have both burners on the
top (also known as the cooktop or range or, in British English, the
hob) and, as noted, an oven. A cooktop just has burners on the top
and is usually installed into a countertop. A drop-in range
has both burners on the top and an oven and hangs from a cutout in
the countertop (that is, it cannot be installed free-standing on
its own).
Early kitchen stoves
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
civilizations had discovered the principle of the closed stove much
earlier than the West. Already from the Chinese Qin Dynasty
(221 BC–206/207 BC), clay
stoves that enclosed the fire completely are known, and a similar
design known as kamado (かまど) appeared in the Kofun period
(3rd–6th century) in Japan. These stoves were fired by wood or
charcoal through a hole
in the front. In both designs, pots were placed over or hung into
holes at the top of the knee-high construction. Raised kamados were
developed in Japan during the Edo period
(1603–1867).
In Europe, prior to the
18th
century people cooked over open fires fueled by wood, which first were on the floor
or on low masonry
constructions. In the Middle Ages,
waist-high brick-and-mortar hearths and the first chimneys appeared, so that cooks
no longer had to kneel or sit to tend to foods on the fire. The
fire was built on top of the construction; the cooking done mainly
in cauldrons hung above
the fire or placed on trivets. The heat was regulated
by placing the cauldron higher or lower above the fire..
References
See also
cooker in Danish: komfur
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Dutch oven, alcohol stove, baker, barbecue, boiler, broiler, burner, caliduct, camp stove, chafer, chafing dish, cook stove,
cookery, element, furnace, gas jet, grill, griller, heater, heating duct, infrared
cooker, jet, pans, percolator, pilot light,
roaster, samovar, steam pipe, stove, tewel, toaster, tuyere, warmer