Toasters

You may not give it much thought as you prepare your breakfast in the morning, but toasters have become the mainstay of kitchens around the world for over 100 years. They are commonly given as wedding and housewarming gifts. Today, these convenient and inexpensive appliances not only toast slices of bread, they also toast pop tarts, bagels, muffins and other various items.

How Toasters Got Their Start

Toasting bread was a practice that has been going on for thousands of years. However, it wasn't until 1905 that the history of toasters started by a discovery that was made by inventor Albert Marsh. He discovered that Nichrome,a brand name for a nickel-chromium resistance wire, can reach high temperatures without being damaged or starting a fire. Another inventor by the name of George Schneider took out a patent for the first electric toaster shortly after. In 1919,Charles Strite invented the first modern pop-up toaster.

How Does A Pop Up Toaster Work?

Modern pop up toasters heat bread and other food products using infrared radiation. The radiation is produced by the coils that are placed inside the heater. One of the most common ways to produce this infrared radiation is the use of nichrome wire that is wrapped across a mica sheet. A timer (also known as the Darkness Setting) is also placed in the appliance as well as a spring-loaded tray. The toaster also has slots to put bread in. These slots contain riders, which hold the bread in and carries it down into the slot when the handle is pushed down. Once in the toaster, the bread is held by grates that center it. An electromagnet holds the rider down until the timer goes off. This electromagnet is deactivated then the timer goes off and causes the spring loaded tray to pop up and disengage the contacts. This action breaks the circuit which results in stopping the current from flowing through the heating element.

Types Of Toasters

There are many different types of toasters on the market today. Among them are the standard two, four or eight slice toaster, toasters with extra-wide slots and additional functions, toaster ovens and microwave toaster ovens.

  • Standard toasters include between two to eight slots for bread, a timer and pop up function. They are the most popular type of toaster that has also been around for many years.
  • Toasters with extra wide slots are convenient for foods such as bagels and other thick breads. Adjustable slots are also included in some of these toasters.
  • Some toasters not only come with extra features such as a cancel and frozen button, they are also capable of toasting a wide variety of foods such as bagels, muffins, hash browns and waffles.
  • Toaster ovens are the types of ovens that allow food to be cooked in an oven area. They not only toast bread, they can also cook meals and other food using special toaster oven recipes.
  • Microwave toaster ovens have a toaster oven and a microwave oven feature. It can be used to toast bread, it is more frequently used to cook meals and other foods.
Advanced technology has also had a hand in adding several other features to the toaster which . Among these features include:
  • The Internet Toaster, a toaster that is controlled through the Internet, was created by Simon Hackett and John Romkey in 1990
  • The Java Toaster, a toaster that dials a pre-coded phone number to get the weather forecast and toasts a graphic of the weather prediction on the slice of bread. The Java Toaster was created in 2001 by Robin Southgate from Brunel University in England.
With so many different types, shapes and colors of toasters that are available to the consumer today, toasting bread and other food items have come a long way since the days of roasting them over the fire. It has become a very affordable and useful appliance in many homes.


© 2007 Tim Sousa - All rights reserved