Rumford roaster

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][6] 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.^[7][8]

The Rumford roaster was often built next to a Rumford fireplace, in the wall of a kitchen.^[5]

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^[5]
• Lorenzo, New York^[2]
• Hamilton Hall, Salem, Massachusetts^[10]

See also

• Rumford fireplace