Rumford roaster explained

The Rumford roaster is an early cast iron oven, invented by Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford,^[1] around 1800.^[2] It was part of his development of the kitchen range, which gave more control of the cooking and saved fuel.^[3] He published his research in 1805.^[4]

The Rumford roaster is a cylinder of cast-iron set into a brick wall. It is heated by a separate firebox below, and the ashes fall into a lower box. Coal or charcoal is burned to get the oven and bricks up to temperature, then the bricks continue to heat the oven after the fuel is burnt.^[5] Rumford's invention distributed heat evenly around the food. A system of moisture-venting tubes and blowpipes improved browning.^[4]

A similar design, the Reip "Bake Oven and Roaster", was patented by Henry Reip in 1825.^{[6] [7]}

The Rumford roaster was often built next to a Rumford fireplace, in the wall of a kitchen.^[8]

The Rumford roaster was ultimately made obsolete by improvements in cast-iron technology. This allowed the development of the closed-fire cooking range, which enabled even more control over cooking.^[4]

At the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893, a kitchen design described as the "Rumford Kitchen" was exhibited.^[9]

Examples

• Rundlet-May House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire^[8]
• Lorenzo, New York^[2]
• Hamilton Hall, Salem, Massachusetts^[10]

See also

• Rumford fireplace

Notes and References

1. https://streetsofsalem.com/2013/02/01/rumford-roasters/
2. Web site: Radocchia . Jane Griswold . Rumford Roasters . 2 December 2024 . en.
3. Book: Blake . Anthony . Crewe . Quentin . Great Chefs of France: The Masters of Haute Cuisine and Their Secrets . 1978 . H. N. Abrams . 978-0-8317-3961-4 . 20-21 . en.
4. Ferry . John H. . Food for Thought: A View Toward a Richer Interpretation of the House Museum Kitchen . CRM: Cultural Resource Management . 2001 . 24 . 4 . 2 December 2024.
5. Web site: Rundlet-May House - Rumford Roaster . 2 December 2024 . en.
6. Web site: Reber . Patricia Bixler . Iron wall ovens . www.angelfire.com . 2 December 2024 . 1999.
7. Web site: Researching Food History : Rumford Roaster - never before seen pieces . Researching Food History . 2 December 2024 . 17 February 2020.
8. Web site: Rundlet-May House - Front Kitchen . 2 December 2024 . en.
9. Web site: Ellen Swallow Richards: Rumford Kitchen: Institute Archives & Special Collections: MIT . web.archive.org . https://web.archive.org/web/20030413085405/https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/esr/esr-rumford.html . 13 April 2003 . 13 April 2003 . dead.
10. Web site: The Remond Family . Hamilton Hall . 2 December 2024.