History of Wall Ovens

One of the main purposes of a kitchen appliance is to make life easier when cooking, preparing and storing food. If you recall the times when we had to do all our cooking and cleaning by hand then, you'd also remember the inconvenience that went with it. Thankfully, innovative thinkers all over the world recognized this need and researched the best ways to get the work done more efficiently. All their work resulted in the creation and advancement of all the great appliances that we have in our kitchens today. Even though there are a ton of cool features that have been introduced, not all of them are surviving the competitive appliances market.

Just like many other cooking appliances, the very first oven was made of brick, tile and cement. The Castrol Stove, the first oven, was invented by Franconis Curillies in 1735. Ever since then, one innovation after another was made to advance the cooking process. The Five Plate Stove was created in 1800, the first gas oven was created in 1826, the first electric oven came out in 1896 and the microwave oven was created in 1945. All of these steps would eventually lead to the creation of the wall oven as we know it today.

1947

That final leap happened in 1947 when Thermador, a major innovator in the industry, introduced the very first wall oven, along with many other stainless steel kitchen appliances. This innovation quickly gained the favor of cooking enthusiasts throughout the country. Thermador's first built-in oven featured recessed broiling, double compartment doors, and a protective hood. This innovation, boosted Thermador's reputation and helped them gain greater notoriety with homeowners and builders. The invention of modern-day wall ovens exponentially increased user convenience in the kitchen. Two of the biggest advantages that wall ovens offer are increased baking space and easier access. Modern wall ovens are available as single or doubles oven and can measure up to 48 inches in height. Also, wall ovens are easily accessible and eliminate the need for bending (depending on where you install them). The easy accessibility of wall oven allows chefs of all ages to enjoy baking!

1967

Current wall ovens come in various types like an oven only options, oven/microwave combos, speed ovens, or steam ovens. Most are electric but there are still some gas ovens on the market. These wall ovens have a total capacity ranging from under three cubic feet to over nine cubic feet, with the exterior widths ranging from 24 inches to 36 inches.

Newer models have advanced so much that they allow you to connect your smartphone to your wall oven and control it from anywhere and anytime. One of the most recent models with this capability is the Bosch HBE5452UC Single Wall Oven with Home Connect. Bosch has a whole line of those appliances and we recently did an article on that full suite. You can read more about it on our Bosch Smart Appliances with Home Connect article. The newer wall ovens usually come with convection fan, too.

A convection fan is usually located at the back of the interior oven cavity and it circulates the heat evenly throughout the oven to bake faster and more evenly. Some other important features that have come out in recent years are interior halogen light, self-cleaning, and Sabbath mode. Steam cleaning is an even more recent advancement on the wall oven that is beginning to replace traditional self-cleaning cycles. Steam cleaning is said to be safer because it uses steam, as the name suggests, rather than chemicals and high heat (which is how the traditional self-cleaning cycle operates).