6 traditional ways people cooked before Gas Stove was invented

Today, the skyrocketing prices of LPG concern us, but things were not this stressful in the past.

For thousands of years before gas stoves existed, people relied on a variety of traditional cooking methods using wood, coal, animal dung, and open fires.

These methods were not just inexpensive but also shaped culinary traditions with unique flavours and textures.

For the unversed, the first practical gas stove was patented by English inventor James Sharp in 1826, and a gas stove factory was established in England in 1836.

In India, LPG-based cooking gradually gained popularity after the 1950s, with domestic LPG distribution expanding significantly during the 1960s and 1970s.

Let us take a look the lesser-known ways people cooked before Gas Stove was invented.

This is one of the oldest cooking methods, involving preparing food directly over an open flame.

Early humans discovered that fire could make food tastier and safer to consume, hence, they started roasting food on sticks or cooking in simple pots suspended above the fire.

To this day, this method is used to retain the smoky flavors that originated from open-fire cooking.Traditional Mud Chulha was the heart of Indian homes for centuries and is still used for religious purposes, as it is considered pure and auspicious.

Made with clay and mud, it was inexpensive and could be built using locally available materials.

Foods cooked on a chulha often developed a distinctive smoky aroma that many people still associate with traditional home-cooked meals.With the change in time, coal made its way to Indian kitchens.

Coal-fired stoves generated high and consistent heat, making them suitable for cooking large quantities of food; thus, they were used for larger gatherings and by community kitchens.

This marked a big transition during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The only drawback was that it required regular cleaning and produced ash and smoke.

In rural India, cow dung was abundant and it was converted into dried cow dung cake, which served as an important cooking fuel.

These cakes were made by mixing dung with straw and drying them under the sun.

It was considered as an economical and readily available source of energy in agricultural regions.

This method is very rare today but can be witnessed in rural homes where people own cattle.

Innovation in the mud chulha led to the development of tandoors and clay ovens.

Inspired by trends in the Middle East and Europe, tandoors and clay ovens became particularly popular for baking breads and roasting meats.

These were cylindrical clay ovens fueled by wood or charcoal and produced very high heat, which was used to make dishes like naan, tandoori chicken, and kebabs.As the metal technology expanded, Indian homes began using cast-iron wood-burning stoves.

These enclosed stoves were more efficient than open fires because they retained heat better and directed smoke through chimneys.

They became common in Indian homes before gas and electric stoves became widespread.Images Courtesy: istock