The toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes. There are also non-electrical toasters that can be used to toast bread products over an open fire or flame.

History

Before the pop-up toaster

Before the development of the electric toaster, sliced bread was toasted by placing it in a metal frame and holding it over a fire or by holding it near to a fire using a long-handled fork. Simple utensils for toasting bread over open flames go back at least 200 years, and earlier people simply speared bread with a stick or knife and held it over a fire.

In 1905, Irishman Connor Neeson (1877–1944) of Detroit, Michigan, and his employer, American chemist, electrical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur William Hoskins (1862–1934) of Chicago, Illinois, invented (and in 1906 patented) chromel (later and still today marketed as nichrome), an alloy from which could be made the first high-resistance wire of the sort used in all early electric heating appliances (and many modern ones).

The first electric bread toaster was created by Maddy Kennedy in 1872. In 1893, Crompton, Stephen J. Cook & Company of the UK marketed an electric, iron-wired toasting appliance called the Eclipse. Early attempts at producing electrical appliances using iron wiring were unsuccessful, because the wiring was easily melted and a serious fire hazard. Meanwhile electricity was not readily available, and when it was, mostly only at night. The first US patent application for an electric toaster was filed by George Schneider of the American Electrical Heater Company of Detroit. AEH's proximity to Hoskins Manufacturing and the fact that the patent was filed only two months after the Marsh patents suggests collaboration and that the device was to use chromel wiring.

In 1913 Lloyd Groff Copeman and his wife Hazel Berger Copeman applied for various toaster patents and in that same year the Copeman Electric Stove Company introduced the toaster with automatic bread turner. The company also produced the "toaster that turns toast." Before this, electric toasters cooked bread on one side and then it was flipped by hand to toast the other side. Copeman's toaster turned the bread around without having to touch it. Copeman also invented the first electric stove and the rubber (flexible) ice cube tray. In 1925, using a redesigned version of Strite's toaster, the Waters Genter Company introduced the Model 1-A-1 Toastmaster, the first automatic pop-up, household toaster that could brown bread on both sides simultaneously, set the heating element on a timer, and eject the toast when finished.

Meanwhile, the first machine-sliced and machine-wrapped loaf of bread was sold on July 7, 1928, using Otto Frederick Rohwedder's technology. In 1930 the Continental Baking Company introduced pre-sliced Wonder Bread.

Later 20th Century and beyond

By the middle of the 20th Centrury, some high-end U.S. toasters featured automatic toast lowering and raising, with no levers to operate - simply dropping the slices into the machine commenced the toasting procedure. A notable example was the Sunbeam T-20, T-35 and T-50 models (identical except for details such as control positioning) made from the late 1940s through the 1960s, which used the mechanically multiplied thermal expansion of the resistance wire in the center element assembly to lower the bread; the inserted slice of bread tripped a lever to switch on the power which immediately caused the heating element to begin expanding thus lowering the bread. When the toast was done, as determined by a small bimetallic sensor actuated by the heat passing through the toast, the heaters were shut off and the pull-down mechanism returned to its room-temperature position, slowly raising the finished toast. This sensing of the heat passing through the toast, meant that regardless of the color of the bread (white or wholemeal) and the initial temperature of the bread (even frozen), the bread would always be toasted to the same degree. If a piece of toast was re-inserted into the toaster, it would only be reheated.

As in most such toasters, one sensing unit controls the toasting of two (or four) slices, so the slot with the sensor is marked "ONE SLICE" because operating the toaster without bread in that slot will result in almost immediate shut-off as the heat from the heating element impinges directly on the sensor. On these Sunbeam models, the trip wire was only in one slot, so if bread was inserted in the wrong slot, the toaster simply would not turn on.

Many of these Sunbeams models are still in service, some over 60 years old, and being used every day. They are easily repaired, and apart from physical damage and heating-element failures, most repairs consist of only cleaning and minor adjustments. There is a secondary market for refurbished units that ranges into the hundreds of dollars.

Significant ultramodern chrome designs were the Sunbeam T-9 "Half-Round" or "World's Fair" toaster, designed by George Scharfenberg and Bartek Pociecha, and the General Electric 139T81, produced in quantity from 1946. Automatic electric toasters were very much a luxury item, with the better models costing up to $25 in 1939 (approximately $360 in 2006 dollars). Most toasters produced from the late 1930s through 1960 are generally considered to be of the highest standard in workmanship and material quality; many were built well enough to last for decades. Due to their aesthetic popularity, some of the classic toaster designs from the 1940s and 1950s are now being reintroduced into the market, though these reproductions for the most part are not constructed to the high standard of the original designs.

More newer additions to toaster technology include wider toasting slots for bagels and thick breads, the ability to toast frozen breads, and a single-side heating mode. Most toasters can also be used to toast other foods such as teacakes, Pop Tarts, and crumpets, though the addition of melted butter and/or sugar to the interior components of automatic electric toasters often contributes to eventual mechanical or electrical failure.

Some toasters can be modified to print images and logos on bread slices.

Types

, ca. 1909]]

Modern toasters are typically one of three varieties: pop-up toasters, ovens, and conveyors.

Pop-up toasters

In pop-up or automatic toasters, bread slices are inserted vertically into the slots (generally only large enough to admit a single slice of bread) on the top of the toaster. A lever on the side of the toaster is depressed, activating the toaster. When an internal device determines that the toasting cycle is complete, the toaster turns off and the toast pops up out of the slots. The heating elements of a pop-up toaster are usually oriented vertically, parallel to the bread slice - although there are some variations.

In earlier days, the completion of the toasting operation was determined by a mechanical clockwork timer; the user could adjust the running time of the timer to determine the degree of "doneness" of the toast, but the first cycle produced less toasted toast than subsequent cycles because the toaster was not yet warmed up. Toasters made since the 1930s frequently use a thermal sensor, such as a bimetallic strip, located close to the toast. This allows the first cycle to run longer than subsequent cycles. The thermal device is also slightly responsive to the actual temperature of the toast itself. Like the timer, it can be adjusted by the user to determine the "doneness" of the toast.

There are in fact two possible methods of adjusting the heat that is applied to toast. The first is the method most commonly observed in modern toasters, namely that of fixed distance and either variable time or a heat sensor. The second, less often seen, is to vary the distance of the heaters from the toast, with or without other features. Although a sensor will accurately measure the temperature of the toast-slice's surface with both methods, the outcomes are by no means the same. When heaters are closer to the toast, the surface is crisp and darkened quickly, leaving a softer internal texture at the time when the temperature sensor asserts its readiness. Many enjoy toast made like this. With increased heater distance, the inside of the toast is dried out more by the time that the surface is deemed ready. Perhaps owing to the increased complexity, variable heater distance is rarely found.

Toaster ovens

By comparison, toaster ovens are small electric ovens with a door on one side and a tray within. To toast bread with a toaster oven, one lays down slices of bread horizontally on the tray, closes the door, and activates the toaster. When the toast is done, the toaster turns off, but in most cases the door must be opened manually. Most toaster ovens are significantly larger than toasters, but are capable of performing most of the functions of electric ovens, albeit on a much smaller scale. They can be used to cook toast with toppings, like garlic bread or cheese, though they tend to produce drier toast and require longer operating times, since their heating elements are located farther from the toast (to allow larger items to be cooked). They may also heat less evenly than either toasters or larger electric ovens, and some glass cookware cannot be used in them.

Conveyor toasters

Conveyor toasters are designed to make many slices of toast and are generally used in the catering industry, being suitable for large-scale use. Bread is toasted 350-900 slices an hour, making conveyor toasters ideal for a large restaurant that is constantly busy with growing demand. However, such devices have occasionally been produced for home use as far back as 1938, when the Toast-O-Lator went into limited production.

High-tech toasters

of a modern 4-slice toaster]]

There have been a number of projects adding advanced technology to toasters.

In 1990 Simon Hackett and John Romkey created The Internet Toaster, a toaster which could be controlled from the Internet.

In 2001 Robin Southgate from Brunel University in England created a toaster that could toast a graphic of the weather prediction (limited to sunny or cloudy) onto a piece of bread. The toaster dials a pre-coded phone number to get the weather forecast.

In 2005, Technologic Systems, a vendor of embedded systems hardware, designed a toaster running the NetBSD Unix-like operating system as a sales demonstration system.

Alternative uses

Toasters can be used to defrost frozen food like fishsticks and potato waffles.

With permanent modifications a toaster can be used as a reflow oven to melt and solidify toxic solder.

In 2002, a product called ToastaBags was released. It is a re-usable washable heat resistant plastic bag which allows one to cook other products in a toaster from toasted sandwiches to scrambled eggs.

See also

Sandwich toaster

References

External links

The Toaster Museum: A detailed site devoted entirely to toasters and their history

The International Central Services Toaster Museum

Category:Cooking appliances Category:1919 introductions

Name	Wolfgang Johannes Puck
Caption	Wolfgang Puck at the 2010 Academy Awards
Birth date	July 08, 1949
Birth place	Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria
Style	California, French, and Fusion
Education	Apprenticeship
Restaurants	Spago (Beverly Hills)Spago (Las Vegas)Spago (Maui)Spago (Colorado)Cut and sideBar (Beverly Hills)Vert (Hollywood)Chinois (Santa Monica)Chinois (Las Vegas)Postrio (San Francisco)Postrio (Las Vegas)Trattoria del Lupo (Las Vegas)Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill (Las Vegas)Wolfgang Puck American Grille (Atlantic City)Wolfgang Puck Grille (Detroit)20.21 (Minneapolis)The Source (Washington, DC)CUT (Las Vegas)Wolfgang Puck Express (numerous)
Television	Iron Chef AmericaLas VegasFrasierFood NetworkGood Morning America

Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born Wolfgang Johannes Topfschnig on July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions.

Biography

He was born to Maria Worth and a butcher, who abandoned her before their child's birth. In 1956 Maria married Josef Puck, who adopted Wolfgang. The marriage produced another son and two daughters.

Puck learned cooking from his mother, who sometimes worked as a pastry chef. He trained as an apprentice under Raymond Thuilier at L'Oustau de Baumaniere in Provence, at Hotel de Paris in Monaco, and at Maxim's Paris before moving to the United States in 1973 at age 25. After two years at La Tour in Indianapolis, Puck moved to Los Angeles to become chef and part owner at Ma Maison restaurant. Following the 1981 publication of his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen based on his Ma Maison recipes, Puck opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck opened the award-winning Spago in Beverly Hills, which has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004. His success enabled him to launch the Wolfgang Puck Companies which includes the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. and Wolfgang Puck Catering. The Wolfgang Puck Companies encompasses over 20 fine dining restaurants, premium catering services, more than 80 Wolfgang Puck Express operations, and kitchen and food merchandise, including cookbooks and canned foods. He is the official caterer for the Academy Awards Governors Ball, and has parlayed his celebrity into acting; his credits include Frasier, a recurring role as himself on Las Vegas and a cameo appearance on The Weather Man. He also appeared as himself on Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters, as well as Cooking Class with Wolfgang Puck on The Food Network, and in an American Idol season finale episode where he introduced unusual foods to Kellie Pickler in comic relief segments. He also made a cameo appearance as himself on an episode of Tales from the Crypt, and appeared in a TV commercial advertising California (along with famous OG's such as Andrew Chavez and Steven Marczak). A quote from both of the "Official Queensbridge Merderers" was " Yea we taught Wolf since he was a wee lil child. We let him make everything out of chopped up people so he could experiment all he wanted. Really liked the fingers and calling them 'pigs in a blanket'"

Puck is active in philanthropic endeavors and charitable organizations, co-founding the Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation in 1982. The foundation supports the annual American Wine & Food Festival which benefits Meals on Wheels and has raised more than $15 million since its inception.

Puck is The Honorary Chair Chef for the "Five Star Sensation" Benefit in Cleveland, Ohio every two years helping to bring $10 million to support The Ireland Cancer Foundation of University Hospitals.

Wolfgang Puck's favorite food is macarons.

Awards

Spago Beverly Hills received a James Beard Foundation Outstanding Service Award in 2005. In November 2007 it was awarded 2 Michelin Stars in the 2008 Los Angeles Michelin Guide.

In 1993, Spago Hollywood was inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame. The next year it received the James Beard Restaurant of the Year Award.

In 2002 Puck received the 2001-2002 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Service Show, Wolfgang Puck.

Restaurants

Spago, Puck's first restaurant opened on the Sunset Strip serving California cuisine.

Chinois, Santa Monica, California (1983), Asian fusion.

Postrio, San Francisco (1989), Mediterranean and Asian fusion.

Spago, Beverly Hills (1997), known for serving California cuisine. Spago Beverly Hills, Spago Las Vegas, Spago Maui, and Spago Beaver Creek.

Postrio, Las Vegas.

Trattoria del Lupo, Las Vegas.

CUT in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands resort.

Five-Sixty is located in Dallas, Texas and features Asian-inspired New American cuisine.

The Source, Washington, DC, modern interpretation of Asian cuisine located at the Newseum.

Wolfgang Puck B&G; (2009) in Los Angeles.

Wolfgang Puck in Walt Disney World. It is located in Downtown Disney.

20.21 located in the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota serves Asian cuisine.

Museum of Science in Boston.

Wolfgang Puck Grille, a signature restaurant of MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit.

Wolfgang Puck American Grille, a signature restaurant located in the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.

Springs Preserve Café, Las Vegas.

WP24 by Wolfgang Puck located in The Ritz-Carlton in Downtown Los Angeles, modern Chinese cuisine.

Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria and Cucina, Las Vegas.

Wolfgang Puck Bistro Tulsa, Oklahoma

Jai by Wolfgang Puck La Jolla, CA

Bibliography

Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen (1980)

The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook (1986)

Adventures in the Kitchen with Wolfgang Puck (1991)

Pizza, Pasta, and More (2000)

Live, Love, Eat (2002)

Wolfgang Puck Makes it Easy (2004)

Television and movie credits

The Smurfs (Chef Smurf) 2011 Movie

Top Chef: New York (Guest Judge) 2011 TV Show Series

Top Chef: Las Vegas (Guest Judge) 2009 TV Show Series

Celebrity Cooking Showdown (Reality Cast Member) 2006 TV Show Series

Las Vegas (four episodes) 2006

AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes (Remarks by) 2005 TV Show Series

The Weather Man (Actor - Himself) 2005 Movie

The Simpsons - The Bart Wants What It Wants (Guest Star) - 2002 TV Show Series

Wolfgang Puck series 2001 S

The Muse (Actor - Himself) 1999 Movie

Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters

Frasier episode: The Proposal (Actor - Himself) TV Show Series

The Jay Leno Show: Jaywalking (Himself) October 13, 2009

Las Vegas t.v. series: As Himself

Tales from the Crypt - Werewolf Concerto (Himself) September 9, 1992 Mentioned by the character Richard Thornburg in Die Hard (1988), played by William Atherton, when on the phone to someone he wishes to take to a restaurant. He says, "Of course we can get a table. I know Wolfgang personally. I interviewed him."

References

External links

Official Website

"Wolfgang Puck: Biography"; WolfgangPuck.com (2005); retrieved January 30, 2006

"Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group-Spago" retrieved September 26, 2008

"Wolfgang Puck Answers 10 Questions"

"2001-2002 Daytime Emmy Awards"

Category:1949 births Category:American chefs Category:American television personalities Category:American television chefs Category:American people of Austrian descent Category:Austrian chefs Category:Austrian immigrants to the United States Category:Food Network chefs Category:Living people Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States