What is Oven?
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance.It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens. The first being used mainly for the fabrication of pottery and the second being used for forging.
History
The earliest ovens were found in Central Europe around 29,000 BC used as roasting and boiling pits located within a yurt structure. They were used to cook mammoth.In Ukraine from 20,000 BC they used pits with hot coals covered in ashes. The food was wrapped in leaves and set on top, then covered with earth. In camps found in Mezhirich, each mammoth bone house had a hearth used for heating and cooking.
Ovens have been used since prehistoric times by cultures who lived in the Indus Valley and pre-dynastic Egypt.Settlements across the Indus Valley had an oven within each mud-brick house by 3200 BC. As for the use of the oven in each respective culture, people in the Indus Valley used them as the hardened mud ovens were found in almost every household. The obvious explanation for the popular use of the oven in the homes would most likely involve its use for cooking food. However, baked brick sewers were also found at the Indus Valley civilization, which shows that they used the oven for masonry as well. Other ancient cultures that had use for the oven were pre-dynastic civilizations in Egypt. An early form of blacktopware was produced there which required a kiln. This is another hint showing how ovens were used from about 5000-4000 BC.
Culinary historians credit the Greeks for developing bread baking into an art. Front-loaded bread ovens were developed in ancient Greece. The Greeks created a wide variety of doughs, loaf shapes and styles of serving bread with other foods. Baking developed as a trade and profession as bread increasingly was prepared outside of the family home by specially trained workers to be sold to the public. This is one of the oldest forms of professional food processing.
Types of ovens
Earth oven:
An earth oven is a pit dug into the ground and then heated usually by rocks or smoldering debris. Historically these have been mainly used by many cultures for cooking. Cooking times are usually long, and the process is usually cooking through slow roasting. It is also important to note that earth ovens are amongst the most common things Archaeologist look for at an anthropological dig, as they are one of the key indicators of human civilization and static society.
Ceramic oven:
The ceramic oven is an oven constructed of clay or any other ceramic material and take many forms in many different cultures. The Indians refer to it as a tandoor, and use it for cooking. They can be dated back as far as 3000 BC as they have been argued to have their origins in the Indus Valley. Brick ovens are also another ceramic type oven. A culture most notable for the use of brick ovens is Italy and its intimate history with pizza. But its history goes even further dating back to Roman times when the brick oven was used not only for commercial use but household use as well.]
Gas oven:
One of the first recorded uses of a gas stove and oven referenced a dinner party in 1802 hosted by Zachaus Winzler at which all the food was prepared either on a gas stove or in its oven compartment. In 1834, British inventor James Sharp began to commercially produce gas ovens after installing one in his own house. In 1851, the Bower`s Registered Gas Stove was displayed at the Great Exhibition. This stove would set the standard and basis for the modern gas oven. Notable improvements to the gas stove since then have been the addition of the oven thermostat that assisted in temperature regulation; also an enamel coating was added to the production of gas stoves and ovens in order to help with easier cleaning.
Masonry oven:
Masonry ovens consist of a baking chamber made of fireproof brick, concrete, stone, or clay. Though traditionally wood-fired, coal-fired ovens were common in the 19th century, modern masonry ovens are often fired with natural gas or even electricity. Modern masonry ovens are closely associated with artisanal bread and pizza, but in the past they were used for any cooking task involving baking.
Microwave oven:
An oven that uses micro radiation waves as a source of heat in order to cook food as opposed to a fire source. Conceptualized in 1946, Dr. Perry Spencer allegedly discovered the heating properties of microwaves while studying the magnetron. By 1947, the first commercial microwave was in use in Boston, Mass.
Changes over time
During the Middle Ages, instead of earth and ceramic ovens, Europeans used fireplaces in conjunction with large cauldrons. These were similar to the Dutch oven. Following the Middle-Ages, ovens underwent many changes over time from wood, iron, coal, gas, and even electric. Each design had its own motivation and purpose. The wood burning stoves saw improvement through the addition of fire chambers that allowed better containment and release of smoke. Another recognizable oven would be the cast-iron stove. These were first used around the early 1700s when they themselves underwent several variations including the Stewart Oberlin iron stove that was smaller and had its own chimney. In the early part of the 19th century, coal ovens were developed. Its shape was cylindrical and was made of heavy cast-iron. The gas oven saw its first use as early as the beginning of the 19th century as well. Gas stoves became very common household ovens once gas lines were available in most houses and neighborhoods. James Sharp patented one of the first gas stoves in 1826. Other various improvements to the gas stove included the AGA cooker invented in 1922 by Gustaf Dalen. The first electric ovens were invented in the very late 19th century, however, like many electrical inventions destined for commercial use, mass ownership of electrical ovens could not be a reality until better and more efficient use of electricity was available.
More recently, ovens have become slightly more high-tech in terms of cooking strategy. The microwave as a cooking tool was discovered by Percy Spen