Julia Child - Later kitchen (B&W)

[foraloysius]

This looks close to Julia's. A kitchen appliance automatic control panel.

https://retrorenovation.com/2011/12...ic-control-panel-4-other-designs-ive-spotted/

 

[combo52]

Early Julia child shows

The first shows had GE cooking appliances and there was a Frigidaire washer and dryer in the background.

These first shows were done in the test kitchen at Boston Edison that’s probably why the washer and dryer were there.

Once they had their own set they pretty quickly went to Thermidor cooking appliances, and over the years they had a variety of different refrigerators including a subzero, they finally went to the nice Thermidor side by side wall ovens.

 

[turquoisedude]

The dishwasher...

It's a GE, an SU70 model.  That was the Top Of The Line of the GE pull-outs made only in 1960 and 1961.  The 1960 model had an integrated rapid-advance timer; the 1961 reverted to an exposed 'half-moon' timer dial on the front panel.   I'm fighting with the 1960 SU70 dishwasher at the moment - I could spot one from 10 miles away... LOL 

 

[iej]

That control panel looks interesting. Was it useful or just one of those kitchen gimmicks of the era?

Non-grounded, handheld, metal kitchen appliances too!

 

[bradfordwhite]

Certainly well intentioned.  It was an easy way to add abundant plugs, a  light, a clock, timed outlets, and (if not mistaken) a fuse to a kitchen work area that in the 1950s, there were still plenty of houses that did not have electric, or adequate electric plugs in the kitchen.  

 

I doubt it sold many because for those on a budget, it would be easier and cheaper to just install an outlet.  For those with more money, why would you want to install something like this that would require all your appliances to be within 3' of it?

 

[bradfordwhite]

One without timer and has weird version of three prong plugs.  Plus this one has a cord on it.  

One would think you'd want to have at least 2- 20 amp single-pole circuits feeding this plug center.  A mere 15 amp cord isn't really going to cut it.

 

And why no clock?  How am I supposed to know when my potatoes have boiled enough so they can be mashed?  What if I want to plug in my coffee pot and have it come on in the morning?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304525209823?hash=item46e71df0df:g:2sUAAOSwIj5inRRK

 

[bradfordwhite]

Greet SCOTT Batman!

Only 4 two-prong outlets and it's not even working?

 

[iej]

I’m just wondering though, what would have been timing?
I could sort of understand maybe crockpots or something simple like that, maybe old fashioned drip coffee makers could have been switched on and would have activated when the power came on?

I suppose though you get plenty of gimmicky kitchen things that appear and disappear again.

Very reminiscent of the control panels of mid-century stoves and cookers. We had plenty of them with complicated clocks and eye level control panels with lights. I don’t think many people ever used them - the clocks weren’t all that intuitive.

1970s Creda Carefree clocks:

 

[bradfordwhite]

Ireland-guy

Yes, that timer with the three knobs seems rather ubiquitous.  Our 70s Whirlpool built-in oven had something similar.  Nearly every stove or oven I've come across with an analog clock that has start/stop features looks the same.  

 

Before the drip coffee maker craze of the late 70s, I don't think coffee makers came with a built in timer.  What other (stinky) appliance would be as connected to a desire for some people to want to have it come on automatically at a certain time.  

 

The drip coffee makers had the space on them to have a built-in timing device where as a percolator would not have.

 

In the 70s, my Dad installed one of these intermatic permanent install timers in place of an outlet for our avocado and stainless percolator.  It has two outlets on the bottom, one is timed.  I can still hear the subtle ticking noise it made.  When we got a new GE drip coffee maker they no longer needed the timer thing and wanted the coffee maker next to the sink where it was easy to fill.

 

[jamiel]

The timer was for the percolator (remember we didn't have automatic drip coffee in the US till the mid 70s) and an further case (which was my grandmother's use) was for a small oven (bigger than toaster oven) which baked a small meatloaf and a couple potatoes very nicely in 45 minutes which she set up to start at 5:15 and turn off at 6:00 (as her last violin lesson ended) so they could sit down to dinner at 6:15.

 

[iej]

I’m not old enough to remember the Julia Child’s reign as TV chef, but I have seen plenty of her shows on TV in modern times. Hands on, no nonsense approach to cooking is how it should be done and she had a great TV presence, without any need for over polished production.

It’s an interesting piece of TV, as there really isn’t very much of that era that’s presented without that notion of ‘showbiz’ glamour. It was very real and has a warmth that a lot of tv if that time lacked - at least the bits that made it to film or tape and that we see now.

She’s a hard act to follow! I don’t think many ever have or will.

..

The timer being for a percolator makes sense. Just as long as you didn’t accidentally plug the waffle iron into the wrong socket!

 

[bradfordwhite]

Well..... someone tried to follow her

Another reigning queen in particular: Meryl Streep.

Frankly, I think it was more fun seeing Meryl with her head on backwards and fighting it out with Goldie Hawn in Death Becomes Her

 

[helicaldrive]

Thank you!

For years I have wondered what those panels on the wall were. It never occurred to me to ask.

And I’ve never seen one of those!

Seems to me that would be a complex installation. Surely it’d need to be hooked to 4 dedicated lines with separate circuit breakers or in those days fuses. Four kitchen appliances on the same circuit would surely blow fuses, overheat the wiring and possibly even start a fire.

 

[helicaldrive]

220 volt line

Looked at the installation instructions and it must be connected to a 220 volt line.

So probably, in the day, people installed those in older houses with old wiring to avoid blowing fuses with kitchen appliances.

Very interesting!

 

[helicaldrive]

Oooooooh….

And in the link, there’s the drawing of Sunbeam’s fantasy for the 1950s housewife to covet: the ability to make breakfast — bacon, soft boiled eggs, toast and perked coffee — effortlessly with four Sunbeam appliances, all plugged in at the same time.

One would have had to be a very wealthy person to be able to afford all those Sunbeam appliances in that day.

 

[helicaldrive]

Speaking of Julia

She was definitely a master at regulating the heat on an electric stove. Clearly she preheated her burners way ahead of time so everything cooked fast and she knew just how to gradually reduce the heat as she went so she got the exact result she needed every time without the burner ever getting out of hand.

But to me the strange thing about it all is that she was so verbose about every precise detail, yet she was totally silent about that one, most essential thing — how to set that damm electric stove!

Not to start another gas versus electric stove argument here. It’s just that I simply cannot cook on an electric stove. I never could get the knack of regulating the heat. The even heat of electric burners and the easier cleaning would be very nice — but I could never master the skill of starting it on high to get it going, and then gradually turn it down before it got out of hand. All I could ever do with any electric stove I had was to figure out what setting where things wouldn’t burn, and just stick with that, but that meant very slow cooking performance.

Anyway it was a shame she didn’t show people how to use an electric stove while she was at it. It could have been very helpful to me when I had apartments with electric stoves.

 

[ea56]

Regulating an Electric Stove

Practice makes perfect! It’s really very easy. Many of the owners manuals for vintage electric stoves used to tell the user how to make the most out of their electric stoves.

I only start out on high if I’m boiling something or bringing something to a boil, then reduce the heat to finish the cooking process. If I’m going to brown and cook meat I start out on med or med high, heat the pan first and check the temp by holding my hand over the heating pan, once I can feel the heat steadily rising from the pan I put the meat in, brown on each side for 4-5 mins, then reduce the heat to low to finish the cooking. The secret to controlling electric stoves is to not use too high of a heat setting and learn to use residual heat to finish cooking.

Tonight I made Omelettes for dinner, I started the heat out on 7 (or med-hi) and waited until the heat felt right to my hand held above the pan, poured in the beaten eggs then reduced the heat to 6. and finished cooking the omelette on 6. For the second omelette I just left the heat on 6. After a while it just becomes instinctive. Trust yourself and your judgement.

I can control the heat on an electric stove much more accurately and better on an electric stove than any gas stove. And holding constant low heat on an electric stove is much more accurate than on a gas stove in my experience.

When cooking on an electric stove less is more. Most people run into problems controlling the heat of an electric stove because they just start out the cooking on too high of a heat setting.

Eddie

 

[combo52]

Electric range surface cooking

It takes a little more experience and definitely some mechanical skill to use an electric range top. However it’s much easier to cook on an electric surface but a gas range any day because you have such a greater variety of heat available to you.

A few simple rules for cooking on electric surface elements are you never put a skillet or an item with very little mass on high heat, as Eddie mentioned in the post before you start on medium or medium high heat with a skillet.

Much like driving a car you don’t Floor the gas pedal if you’re only trying to get to 25 miles an hour in a residential neighborhood.

Electric Surface elements have a range of heat from 5% to 100% a much greater range than you can get on any gas burner, generally higher on high and much lower on low and completely consistent.

If you watch professional chefs cook on gas ranges they don’t adjust the heat very much they move the pans around as did Julia Child you don’t have to leave something on an element that’s too hot many cooking operations involve using two elements cooking rice to start on high on one element switch it to Another element set on low heat you’ll never fail at cooking rice on an electric stove.

John L

 

[ea56]

Yes John, you’ll never fail at cooking rice on an electric stove. Its almost impossible to get a gas flame low enough and have it stay lit in order to allow rice to properly steam. I always had the flame blow out when it was set low enough to finish cooking rice and come back to find uncooked rice. This NEVER happens with an electric stove. If I leave the flame high enough so it doesn’t blow out then its too hot and the rice scorches, I’ve never been able to find a happy medium on a gas stove for cooking rice.

I would also like to add that since I got my new ceramic top electric stove in January I’ve found that its even better at the lowest setting than my coil top was. I can leave finished gravy on the lowest setting it stays just like it was when I finished making it. Perfect temperature and consistency, no scorching, no skin on top (provided I leave the pan covered) just perfect gravy. This is a great help when preparing a big holiday meal and I still have other things to finish after I’ve made the gravy.

Eddie

 

[combo52]

I have always noticed in many of the thousands of kitchens I have been in that most people that have electric rice cookers always only have gas burners in their kitchens.