A kitchen stove, cooking stove, cookstove, or 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.

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''.re: cooking in the Middle Ages "The division of stoves into several compartments as in our day was seldom seen. The dishes were cooked on the fire itself. 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. Natural 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 pre-existing 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 their 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 in American English as the cooktop or range and, 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 were first 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.

Open fire has three major disadvantages that prompted inventors even in the 16th century to devise improvements: it is dangerous, it produces much smoke, and the heat efficiency is poor. Attempts were made to enclose the fire to make better use of the heat that it generated and thus reduce the wood consumption. A first step was the ''fire chamber'': the fire was enclosed on three sides by brick-and-mortar walls and covered by an iron plate. This technique also caused a change in the kitchenware used for cooking, for it required flat-bottomed pots instead of cauldrons. Only in 1735 did the first design that completely enclosed the fire appear: the ''Castrol stove'' of the French architect François de Cuvilliés was a masonry construction with several fireholes covered by perforated iron plates. It is also known as a ''stew stove''. Near the end of the 18th century, the design was refined by hanging the pots in holes through the top iron plate, thus improving heat efficiency even more.

Charcoal stoves

Stoves continued to evolve and charcoal began to replace wood as the burning material in stoves. Up until the 1970s, the top French restaurant Le Pyramid continued to use charcoal stoves. These stoves had flat tops and the heat was concentrated on one side of the stove top so that cooks could cook things at different temperatures based on where the pot or pan was located. This was called the "piano" system. After coal was replaced with gas, French chefs continued to prefer the smooth cooking surface and so the majority of French gas ovens had flat metal surfaces over the gas burners, which continues to be known as the "french style" today.

Gas stoves

The first gas stoves were developed already in the 1820s, but these remained isolated experiments. At the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, a gas stove was shown, but only in the 1880s did this technology start to become a commercial success. The main factor in this delay was the slow growth of the gas pipe network.

Design evolution

There are still many traditional stoves made, which burn wood or solid fuel. The look and feel maybe very similar to many traditional stoves, but the way fuel is burnt has evolved. Many also have back boilers for domestic heating.

Induction cooker

Rather than applying direct heat to a cooking vessel, an induction cooker causes metal vessels to heat by electromagnetic induction. This leaves the cooking top cold (or rather, only heated by proximity to the cooking vessel) and increases efficiency.

Microwave ovens use microwave radiation to directly heat the water held inside food.

Flattop grills are also being installed into kitchen counters and islands, which do double-duty as a direct cooking surface as well as a platform for heating pots and pans.

A hot plate is a similar device, which is mobile and can be used as an appropriate technology.

See also

Electric stove

Gas stove

Beverage-can stove

Portable stove

Hot plate

Pressure cooker

Rocket stove

Biomass Cook Stoves

Slow cooker

Solar cooker

Extractor hood

References

Category:Cooking appliances

bg:Готварска печка cs:Sporák da:Komfur de:Herd es:Cocina (artefacto) eo:Kuirforno fr:Cuisinière (appareil) lt:Viryklė nl:Kookplaat ja:ストーブ ru:Кухонная плита simple:Kitchen stove sk:Sporák fi:Liesi sv:Spis

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Clarence Brown
Alias	Gatemouth, Gate
Born	April 18, 1924Vinton, Louisiana, United States
Died	September 10, 2005Orange, Texas, United States
Instrument	vocals, guitar, violin, viola, mandolin, drums, harmonica, piano
Genre	Blues, swing, country, cajun
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1947–2005
Label	Aladdin RecordsPeacock RecordsCindrella RecordsBlack and Blue RecordsBarclay RecordsMusic Is MedicineRounder RecordsAlligator RecordsVerve RecordsOccidental Records
Associated acts	Gate's Express (Harold Floyd, David Peters, Joe Krown, Eric Demmer), Los Super Seven
Website	Gatemouth.com
Notable instruments	}}

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 — September 10, 2005) was an American musician from Louisiana and Texas. He is best known for his work as a blues musician, but embraced other styles of music, having "spent his career fighting purism by synthesizing old blues, country, jazz, Cajun music and R&B; styles"

He was an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, who played an array of musical instruments such as guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola as well as harmonica and drums. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1982 for his album, ''Alright Again!'' He is regarded as one of the most influential exponents of blues fiddle and has had enormous influence in American fiddle circles.

Brown's two biggest musical influences were Louis Jordan and T-Bone Walker.

Career

1940s and 1950s

Born in Vinton, Louisiana, Brown was raised in Orange, Texas. His professional musical career began in 1945, playing drums in San Antonio, Texas. Tagged with the "Gatemouth" handle by a high school instructor who accused Brown of having a "voice like a gate," Brown has used it to his advantage throughout his career. His career was boosted while attending a 1947 concert by T-Bone Walker in Don Robey's Bronze Peacock Houston nightclub. When Walker became ill, Brown took up his guitar and played "Gatemouth Boogie," to the delight of the audience.

In 1949 Robey founded Peacock Records in order to showcase Brown's virtuoso guitar work. Brown's "Mary Is Fine"/"My Time Is Expensive" was a hit for Peacock in 1949. A string of Peacock releases in the 1950s were less successful commercially, but were nonetheless pioneering musically. Particularly notable was the 1951 instrumental "Okie Dokie Stomp", in which Brown solos continuously over a punchy horn section (other instrumentals from this period include "Boogie Uproar" and "Gate Walks to Board"). As for his gutsy violin playing, Robey allowed him to record "Just Before Dawn" as his final Peacock release in 1959.

1960s and 1970s

In the 1960s Brown moved to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in a syndicated R&B; television show, and while he was there recorded several country singles. He struck up a friendship with Roy Clark and made several appearances on the television show ''Hee Haw''. In 1966, Brown was the musical director for the house band on the short-lived television program, ''The !!!! Beat''. By the late 1960s he had decided to leave the music industry and he moved to New Mexico and became a deputy sheriff.

However, in the early 1970s several countries in Europe had developed an appreciation for American roots music, especially the blues, and Brown was a popular and well-respected artist there. He toured Europe twelve times, beginning in 1971 and continuing throughout the 1970s. He also became an official ambassador for American music, and participated in several tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department, including an extensive tour of Eastern Africa. Brown appeared at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1974, he recorded as a sideman with the New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair on his album, ''Rock 'N' Roll Gumbo'' (originally a Blue Star Records release). He moved to New Orleans in the late 1970s.

Later years

In the 1980s, a series of releases on Rounder Records and Alligator Records revitalized his U.S. career, and he toured extensively and internationally, usually playing between 250 and 300 shows a year. He won a Grammy in 1982 for the album ''Alright Again!'' and was nominated for five more. He was also awarded eight W. C. Handy Awards and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Heroes Award.

Clarence Brown was featured as one of the stellar musicians on the Southern Stars poster created by Dianna Chenevert to help promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. On October 12, 1983 USA Today reporter Miles White highlighted Brown as being included on the poster, which provided him with more nationwide attention. In 1997 he was honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and in 1999 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

In his last few years, he maintained a full touring schedule, including Australia, New Zealand, and countries with political conflicts in Central America, Africa, and the former Soviet Union. "People can't come to me, so I go to them," he explained.

In September 2004, Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. Already suffering from emphysema and heart disease, he and his doctors decided to forgo treatment. His home in Slidell, Louisiana was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he was evacuated to his childhood home town of Orange, Texas, where he died on September 10 at the apartment of a niece, at the age of 81. Brown is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Orange, Texas. However, flooding caused by hurricane Ike in September 2008, damaged his grave.

His final album was ''Timeless'', released in late 2004.

Discography

Original albums

1972 ''The Blues Ain't Nothin' '' (Black and Blue)

1973 ''Cold Strange'' (Black and Blue)

1973 ''Sings Louis Jordan'' (Black and Blue)

1973 ''Drifter Rides Again'' (Barclay)

1974 ''Gate's on the Heat'' (Barclay)

1974 ''Down South in Bayou County'' (Barclay)

1975 ''Bogalusa Boogie Man'' (Barclay)

1976 ''Blackjack'' (Music Is Medicine)

1977 ''Heatwave'' (with Lloyd Glenn) (Black and Blue)

1979 ''Makin' Music'' (with Roy Clark) (One Way)

1981 ''Alright Again!'' (Rounder)

1982 ''One More Mile'' (Rounder)

1986 ''Real Life'' (Rounder)

1989 ''Standing My Ground'' (Alligator)

1992 ''No Looking Back'' (Alligator)

1994 ''The Man (Verve/Gitanes)

1996 ''Long Way Home'' (Verve/Gitanes)

1997 ''Gate Swings'' (Verve/Gitanes)

1999 ''American Music, Texas Style'' (Verve/Blue Thumb)

2001 ''Back to Bogalusa'' (Verve/Gitanes)

2004 ''Timeless'' (Hightone)

Compilations and bootlegs

1974 ''San Antonio Ballbuster'' (Red Lightnin') ''Peacock recordings''

1983 ''Atomic Energy'' (Blues Boy) ''Peacock recordings''

1985 ''Pressure Cooker'' (Alligator) ''Black and Blue recordings''

1985 ''More Stuff'' (Black and Blue) ''Black and Blue recordings''

1987 ''Texas Swing'' (Rounder) ''Rounder recordings''

1989 ''Hot Times Tonight'' (P-Vine)''various recordings of the 1960-70s''

1990 ''The Original Peacock Recordings'' (Rounder) ''Peacock recordings''

1993 ''Just Got Lucky'' (Evidence Music) ''Black and Blue recordings''

1994 ''Live'' (Charly) ''unreleased live recording''

1995 ''The Best of Clarence Gatemouth Brown, A Blues Legend'' (Verve) ''Barclay recordings''

1999 ''Okie Dokie Stomp'' (Bullseye Blues & Jazz) ''Rounder recordings''

1999 ''Guitar in My Hand'' (Catfish) ''Aladdin & Peacock recordings''

1999 ''Hot Club Drive'' (P-Vine) ''Black and Blue recordings''

1999 ''The Blues Ain't Nothing'' (P-Vine) ''Black and Blue recordings''

2000 ''Okie Dokie'' (AIM)''various recordings of the 1960s''

2002 ''"Gatemouth" Brown: 1947–1951'' (Classics) ''Aladdin & Peacock recordings''

2003 ''Clarence Gatemouth Brown: In Concert'' (DVD)

2005 ''"Gatemouth" Brown: 1952–1954'' (Classics) ''Peacock recordings''

Other contributions

2003 ''Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash'' (Northern Blues)

See also

List of blues musicians

List of fiddlers

List of Gibson players

Music of Texas

References

External links

Alligator Records' biography

Obituary in the New York Times

Brown's obituary at KLTV

"W.C. Handy Blues Awards", from National Public Radio ''Talk of the Nation'', program, May 24, 2001

"Music: 'Gatemouth' Brown Plays Through Cancer, Years", from National Public Radio ''All Things Considered'' program, June 22, 2005

"Remembrances: 'Gatemouth' Brown's Blues Voice Goes Quiet", from National Public Radio ''All Things Considered'' program, September 12, 2005

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Disk Guide

Category:1924 births Category:2005 deaths Category:People from Vinton, Louisiana Category:African American musicians Category:American blues guitarists Category:American blues harmonica players Category:American blues violists Category:American country musicians Category:American drummers Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:American mandolinists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Charly Records artists Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:People from Orange County, Texas Category:People from San Antonio, Texas Category:American country fiddlers Category:Blues fiddlers Category:Cancer deaths in Texas Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Texas blues musicians

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