Toy Kitchens Throughout Time

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June 11, 2012

As a kid, did you ever have an Easy Bake oven, that bulb-powered plastic box that would "bake" tiny cakes and cookies to feed your dolls? I never did, but I always loved them -- so much so that as a freshman in college (a little old for it, I know) my roommates pooled together and bought one for my birthday! We used it to make snacks of warmed-up cookie dough all winter, but I can't say I wasn't happy to swap it out for a real kitchen when I moved off campus.

What I didn't know at the time was how long and storied a history tiny play kitchens have -- don't miss this slideshow from NPR's The Salt on toy kitchens throughout time. From the real iron stoves (just on a smaller scale) of the 1800s to the first Easy Bake oven in 1963, kids have been playing at cooking for centuries.

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Tiny Ovens for Tots: A Kitchen Evolution from NPR's The Salt

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  • meglet
    meglet
  • TXExpatInBKK
    TXExpatInBKK
Food52 (we cook 52 weeks a year, get it?) is a food and home brand, here to help you eat thoughtfully and live joyfully.

2 Comments

meglet June 11, 2012
Just the sight of the turquoise Easy Bake Oven brings back the taste of the powder in the packets, which we liked to eat as is. Proust would be appalled.
 
TXExpatInBKK June 12, 2012
Yes! Once I ran out of icing so I just mixed up more "batter" and poured that on top of the poor little cake. And then gave it to my mother, shining with pride. I assume she chucked it in the trash as soon as I was out of the room but it was high praises up to that point. :-)