Kitchen Wood Stoves

[jimbom]

...What I regret is that these people took with them many, many useful skills that were not passed on. ...There are many people hunting around to try and rediscover the tricks of living that way.

Try the "Foxfire" books. My dad had them. His opinion was the Ozarks' old ways were well documented even though the books came from the eastern mountains.

 

[nate379]

I will ask my Mom tomorrow when I give them a call to see if she can remember more about it.

 

[nate379]

Was talking to my Mom about this and I was mistaken on the stove. It was actually kerosene for the heat part and propane for cooking. It was an older stove before the one I was talking about that was wood.

 

[TX-L]

This stove was used by my grandparents virtually their whole lives. My great grandmother even used it all summer to cook on; how hot would the kitchen be then? I can't really put my finger on why, but all the food that was prepared on this stove tasted better somehow. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but there are no better pancakes in the world than were made on a big round cast iron griddle on top of this stove, and with syrup we made ourselves. It still sits in a spare room in my house, and saw use as recently as 4 years ago. Also in the house is an enamel roller-counter flour-holding cabinet/cupboard, as referenced in a previous entry. I expect my grandparents, while not from the mountains of the south, had very similar values and a way of life. They grew up on dairy farms, and milked a whopping 10-12 cows on their own farm. Who could raise a family and make a living doing that? They had to be very self sufficient with most everything, from gardening, canning, clothing, raising and butchering their own meat, hunting/trapping/fishing, etc. And obviously, the only heat they had was wood. I wish I had their accumulated knowledge in my head.

 

[bluedogz]

What I regret is that these people took with them many, many useful skills that were not passed on. The good news, sort of, is that we're going to be needing those skills again as we come down the long descent that goes along with the depletion of cheap energy sources. There are many people hunting around to try and rediscover the tricks of living that way.

I don't know...whether or not the skills are needed, it would be nice to know HOW to do certain things. Have you ever gone to an estate sale, auction or the like and come across a tool that is obviously old and you can't determine what it was used for?

Cook's Illustrated magazine has a regular advice column for tag-sale "what-is-this-thing" letters... people are always mailing in a photo of a cast-iron whoozywatsit they found at a yard sale....

 

[eclecticcottage]

I can't really put my finger on why, but all the food that was prepared on this stove tasted better somehow. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but there are no better pancakes in the world than were made on a big round cast iron griddle on top of this stove, and with syrup we made ourselves. It still sits in a spare room in my house, and saw use as recently as 4 years ago. Also in the house is an enamel roller-counter flour-holding cabinet/cupboard, as referenced in a previous entry. I expect my grandparents, while not from the mountains of the south, had very similar values and a way of life.

I think cast iron does really make things taste better, but I bet wood stoves make it even better!

Ooohhh...a hoosier!! I SO wanted one of those. No room though.

 

[coaly]

I prefer the Kitchen Queen for various reasons.
We have cooked on an antique Buckwalter "Real Apollo" 6 eye with oven. The first thing you learn is to move the pan around to the correct heat. You also need the right type of old pans with a smoke ring on the bottom. They seal to the stove top at the outer edge of the pan. You remove the eye and put the pan over the hole so the heat is directly on the bottom of pan for fast cooking. Just as quick as gas. Some eyes have a small center piece with graduated removable rings to make the hole larger to adjust the direct heat. Biggest problem with all the antiques is the circulation around the oven was across the top, down the side, and across the bottom with an angle deflector directing it towards the exhaust in the back. This cools the exhaust to below the condensation point and creates a sticky creosote mess below the oven. You really need to burn them hot when the divertor is pulled to direct the heat around oven. We used ours on coal, most are made for coal with shaker grates. I learned real fast the danger of using an antique waffle iron on top of the stove. You only brush very little cooking oil on the inside of the iron to prevent sticking. Too much, and the thin hot oil will run out when you open it and flare up on top of the stove ! Your hand still on the waffle iron handle if you're not ready for this creates the burnt arm hair smell associated with stove top cooking.

The Pioneer Maid line now includes the Bakers Choice which is built well, but not fancy. Regular paint, not porcelain enamel, it's very fixable. All steel plate with cast one piece top. These were the first airtight cookstoves made by Amish brothers in 1979. They are affordable and a utilitarian stove. They do require a custom made brick for the firebox. A coal grate with coal burning design firebox is in the works for the Pioneer line made in Canada. The owner, Suppertime Stoves (John Tschirhart) also makes custom pool tables.

The Kitchen Queen is an enameled stove with steel plate throughout including the top. (unpainted top) The circulation around the oven is the opposite of all other cookstoves. The exhaust is directed off the fire UNDER the oven first, up the side and across the top eliminating the tar and soot build up. There is a "Turbo Charger" air intake on the bottom as well as the regular air intake on the front. Regular size firebricks are used and summer grtae is avalable to raise the fire near the top for summer use of the stove top without heating the mass of the stove. The 2 eyes are steel plate as well, 10 inch diameter. So it would be easy to make your own with multiple pieces to remove for different size holes. The oven thermometer goes from 0 to 1000*f. An Amish Bishop is actually the business owner.

Both loose their UL listing when used with coal, but the Amish self insure, so it's not a problem for them.

 

[coaly]

Ooohhh...a hoosier!! I SO wanted one of those. No room though.

Got to set the Hoosier into Fisher Bear Paw Feet !