Company type | Defunct |
---|---|
Industry | Appliances |
Founded | 1910 |
Fate | Closed down in c. 1988 |
Headquarters | Shelbyville, Indiana , United States |
Products | gas stoves, electric stoves, built-in electric and gas cooktops and ovens, kitchen hoods, dishwashers |
The Chambers stove is a generic name for several different kitchen cooking appliances sold under the Chambers brand name from 1912 to approximately 1988. Their ranges and stand-alone ovens were known for their patented insulation methods, which enabled them to cook on retained heat with the fuel turned off.
The Chambers Fireless Gas Range was a gas cook stove created by John E. Chambers in 1910, [1] [2] Two years after inventing his fireless cooker, John Chambers organized the Chambers Company in 1912. [1] Chambers' patented method of manufacture [3] used thick rock wool insulation to insulate the oven on all sides. This made it possible for the heat inside the oven to build up over a short period of time. The gas was then turned off, causing a series of internal dampers to close, which effectively isolated the oven compartment from the outside air. The food would continue to cook on retained heat, thus conserving fuel and reducing food shrinkage. This method of cooking, Chambers literature often claimed, also increased the food value of the cooked items.
The Chambers Corporation manufactured successive versions of this design in Shelbyville, Indiana, from 1912 through January, 1955. [1] [2]
Chambers Corporation was sold by the Chambers family in 1950 to the Flato brothers, who were the Chambers distributors in Houston, Texas. The Rangaire company purchased Chambers in 1964, and operated it out of the Oxford, Mississippi, plant built by the Flato brothers in 1963 until 1983, when they sold it to the KitchenAid Division of the Hobart Corporation. [4] During Rangaire's ownership of the Chambers Corporation, manufacture of the famous insulated range continued into the 1970s. In 1986, KitchenAid was sold to Whirlpool. [5] By the early 1990s, Chambers-branded appliances were no longer being manufactured.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, the Thor Corporation of Los Angeles resurrected the Chambers brand name. [6]
The earliest Chambers ranges were small, but all were constructed of cast iron, heavy gauge steel and porcelain enamel. All models were thickly insulated using rock wool insulation, which enabled their owners to use them like an ordinary range or cook using retained heat. To help owners of their products learn the proper use of the retained heat cooking feature of their ranges, Chambers developed a large home economics department in their Shelbyville, Indiana, factory. There, recipes and cooking times using the insulated properties of their products were carefully tested and perfected. These tests resulted in charts which indicated the amount of time - and at what temperature - the gas was to be burned in the oven and the Thermodome [7] (which was succeeded by the Thermowell), before it was to be turned off completely while the food continued to cook on retained heat. [8] By 1927, Chambers published a cookbook for the homemaker to not only help her learn how to care for and operate the appliance, but also to assist her in menu planning, proper table setting, etc. This publication was called The Idle Hour Cookbook. The Idle Hour Cookbook was replaced in the late 1960s by Rangaire with an actual operation manual. [9]
The most updated version of these was the C-series. [10] [11] [12] Up to the early 1930s, Chambers offered up to two dozen different models for different size homes. In 1935, Chambers built its final large, industrial-sized units, called the Imperial line, for use in hotels, restaurants, dormitory kitchens, tea rooms, road houses, large homes, etc. [13]
All residential Chambers ranges beginning with what is now referred to as the A-series (circa 1936) had a top-mounted griddle/broiler. [14] Most models came with a recessed slow cooker called a Thermowell (descendant of the earlier Thermodome) for cooking soups, stews, etc., using special aluminum kettles designed and built for Chambers by the Wearever Corporation. The Thermowell was completely redesigned for the model C for improved performance. With a special accessory called a Thermobaker, it could even be used as a second oven.
In 2015, the Chambers brand was purchased by J.A.K. North America Inc. in Canada, and licensed by J.A.K. North America Inc. in the U.S. They released Chambers branded refrigerators with retro stylings. [15]
While not all models had all the following features, most of the more commonly sold Chambers ranges included:
Famous owners of Chambers ranges included Lee DeForest [21] and Mrs. Harvey W. Wiley, [22] well-known American housewife in the 1920s. [23] A Chambers oven can also be found in the home of the late Sam Rayburn.
The Chambers Range was awarded the Good Housekeeping Institute's Seal of Approval in 1925, [22] was awarded the Grand Prize and Gold Medal for distinguished service at the International Exposition in Paris, France, 1937, [24] and was featured at the World's Fair Exposition of 1939 in New York City.[ citation needed ]
Demand for refurbished Chambers stoves remains high - some of the Imperial models have been restored and sold for prices up to US$17,000, [25] though selling prices of unrestored residential models is far less. Increased interest in the Chambers Range may be due to its exposure on the televised cooking show of Rachael Ray. [26] [27]
Websites for fans of vintage Chambers products have been developed in order to provide general information about them to those on the internet. Links to service technicians, sources for parts, as well as operational literature may also be found there. Also helpful are the pictorial documentaries on the restoration of Chambers ranges by their owners. In addition to websites such as these, at least two active Internet Forums exist for those interested in older Chambers products. There, people can find recipes, repair tips, cooking techniques, and restoration advice.
A wok is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of Chinese origin. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in Greater China, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as being popular in other parts of the world.
The Aga Range Cooker is a Swedish range cooker. Invented and initially produced in Sweden, since 1957 most production has been located in the UK. In 2015, the British AGA Cooker manufacturing company, AGA Rangemaster Group, was acquired by the American corporation Middleby.
A barbecue grill or barbeque grill is a device that cooks food by applying heat from below. There are several varieties of grills, with most falling into one of three categories: gas-fueled, charcoal, or electric. There is debate over which method yields superior results.
Caloric is a brand of kitchen appliances, which dates back to 1903.
An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been used to accomplish a wide variety of tasks requiring controlled heating. Because they are used for a variety of purposes, there are many different types of ovens. These types differ depending on their intended purpose and based upon how they generate heat.
A stove or range is a device that generates heat inside or on top of the device, for local heating or cooking. Stoves can be powered with many fuels, such as electricity, natural gas, gasoline, wood, and coal.
A kitchen stove, often called simply a stove or a cooker, 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. "Cookstoves" are heated by burning wood or charcoal; "gas stoves" are heated by gas; and "electric stoves" by electricity. A stove with a built-in cooktop is also called a range.
A slow cooker, also known as a crock-pot, is a countertop electrical cooking appliance used to simmer at a lower temperature than other cooking methods, such as baking, boiling, and frying. This facilitates unattended cooking for many hours of dishes that would otherwise be boiled: pot roast, soups, stews and other dishes.
Induction cooking is performed using direct electrical induction heating of cooking vessels, rather than relying on indirect radiation, convection, or thermal conduction. Induction cooking allows high power and very rapid increases in temperature to be achieved: changes in heat settings are instantaneous.
A gas stove is a stove that is fuelled by combustible gas such as natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas, syngas, or other flammable gas. Before the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuels such as coal or wood. The first gas stoves were developed in the 1820s and a gas stove factory was established in England in 1836. This new cooking technology had the advantage of being easily adjustable and could be turned off when not in use. The gas stove, however, did not become a commercial success until the 1880s, by which time supplies of piped gas were available in cities and large towns in Britain. The stoves became widespread on the European Continent and in the United States in the early 20th century.
An electric stove, electric cooker or electric range is a stove with an integrated electrical heating device to cook and bake. Electric stoves became popular as replacements for solid-fuel stoves which required more labor to operate and maintain. Some modern stoves come in a unit with built-in extractor hoods.
AGA Rangemaster Group Limited is a British manufacturer of range cookers, kitchen appliances, and interior furnishings, which was acquired by the American Company, Middleby Corporation in September 2015 after it received a takeover approach from Whirlpool. The Group employs just over 2,500 people worldwide. "AGA" stands for Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator.
A cooktop, stovetop or hob, is a device commonly used for cooking that is commonly found in kitchens and used to apply heat to the base of pans or pots. Cooktops are often found integrated with an oven into a kitchen stove but may also be standalone devices. Cooktops are commonly powered by gas or electricity, although oil or other fuels are sometimes used.
A haybox, straw box, fireless cooker, insulation cooker, wonder oven, self-cooking apparatus, norwegian cooker or retained-heat cooker is a cooker that utilizes the heat of the food being cooked to complete the cooking process. Food items to be cooked are heated to boiling point, and then insulated. Over a period of time, the food items cook by the heat captured in the insulated container. Generally, it takes three times the normal cooking time to cook food in a haybox.
Cooker may refer to several types of cooking appliances and devices used for cooking foods.
A thermal cooker, or a vacuum flask cooker, is a cooking device that uses thermal insulation to retain heat and cook food without the continuous use of fuel or other heat source. It is a modern implementation of a haybox, which uses hay or straw to insulate a cooking pot.
Constructa-Neff Vertriebs-GmbH is a German manufacturer of high-end kitchen appliances headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company was founded by Carl Andreas Neff in 1877 and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH since 1982.
Rinnai Corporation is a Japanese multinational company based in Nagoya, Japan, that manufactures gas appliances, including energy-efficient tankless water heaters, home heating appliances, kitchen appliances, gas clothes dryers and commercial-use equipment such as rice cookers, grillers, fryers and salamanders.
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