Stove

The word “stove” has two primary meanings in American English. It can refer to the cooking appliance—which is also known as a range, oven, or cooking top—or a fuel burning room-heating appliance. Of the first kind, there are gas and electric types. The second type includes wood burning, coal burning, natural gas, and pellet burning models. For man years, they were used for both heating and cooking. Even gas ranges, developed in the beginning of the twentieth century, were used for both cooking and heating. That is why this word can refer to both appliances.

One of the first models that effectively moved heat through the room, instead of up the chimney, was the Franklin; invented by Benjamin Franklin. But this type also marks the beginning of the separation between the food cooking appliance and the room heating devise, as Franklin’s model was primarily designed to heat a room. However, despite the gap between the two types, there are still some models designed to pull double-duty as a heater and a cooker. This includes the Amish wood burner, which heats any room it’s in, and an outdoor wood burner, which can be used to cook a variety of foods as well as provide warmth.