The Evolution of the Oven
You use it often, likely on a daily basis in your kitchen, but have you ever thought of how the oven came to be?
![woman with curly hair reaching into modern oven](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-1164900216_480x480.jpg?v=1708623328)
Dating back to 29,000 BC and possibly earlier, some form of the oven has been used throughout history. In Spain, there is documented evidence of campsites that included roasting and boiling pits to cook Mammoth inside of yurts. Thankfully, we no longer need to cook Mammoth (and couldn't if we tried).
![Campfire outside](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-471656670_480x480.jpg?v=1708623800)
As time marched forward, invention and ingenuity took hold and people from various cultures began using clay and bricks to create cooking surfaces.
![Clay oven](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-1898227037_480x480.jpg?v=1708624709)
![Stone oven with flue](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-497825884_480x480.jpg?v=1708623894)
Ancient Greeks, Jews, Romans and Egyptians utilized some form of a brick or stone oven to bake bread. It is likely that other cultures also utilized this early form of an oven.
![Brick oven with fire](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-1791166224_480x480.jpg?v=1708623902)
The first proper oven recorded in history dates back to 1490 in Alasce, France. Crafted entirely of tile and brick, this oven featured the invention of a flue. Fast forward to 1795 when Count Rumford created a popular version of the Cast Iron stove.
![Old time cast iron oven](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-538914899_480x480.jpg?v=1708625600)
![Vintage oven with flue](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-531255972_480x480.jpg?v=1708625607)
Then, in 1892 a Canadian man named Thomas Ahearn manufactured an early model of an electric oven! As electricity became a staple in North American households, so did the modern oven!
![Vintage oven with electric coil stovetop](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-87632354_480x480.jpg?v=1708624809)
![Man opening modern oven](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1344/1669/files/GettyImages-1140566423_480x480.jpg?v=1708624994)