Do you remember deep well cookers on the kitchen stove?

[Georgiagranny]

I don't know about gas stoves, but electric ones had a burner that could be lowered to accommodate a pot that came with the stove, called a deep-well cooker. When not in use, it was raised and used like a regular burner.

My grandmothers both had stoves with this feature, and it seemed like they were always in use. Whatever was leftover that wasn't enough to serve again but too much to throw away (or feed the dog), went into the deep well cooker. Veggies, gravy, meat. The cooker was kept in the fridge during the week and depending on how full it got, was either soup for Saturday night or Monday night supper (Monday being laundry day so not a lot of time to cook).

If on Saturday, yippee because Saturday was the day bread was made so we'd have fresh bread and soup. If on Monday, that was fine, too, except that Sunday's leftovers didn't go in the pot. Sunday dinner was always planned so that there'd be enough leftovers to serve on Tuesday.

If the pot lacked anything, some home-canned veggies, broth and/or tomatoes were added. Of course, the soup was never the same twice, but we didn't care because it was always good.

When we had soup for Saturday supper, we knew what would be Sunday's dinner...pot roast. It would be seared, seasoned, potatoes, onions and carrots added, and set on low in the deep well early so that it would be done when we got home from Mass.

If Monday night supper was going to be the soup, we'd kill a chicken or a duck for Sunday dinner.

Whoever invented the Crock Pot must have gotten the idea from a deep-well cooker.

 

[Flarbalard]

We had a Frigidaire with that feature. Only thing I remember it being used for was ears of corn, but then at some point it became my job to get the water on and the corn in.

 

[Lilac]

Hadn't seen or heard of that before, but growing up all I ever seen was gas stoves. Some of the old appliances seem to have had some neat features in them.

I love gas stoves, but the one feature I really do miss is when the oven didn't rely on the electric thermostat to run your oven.

 

[jujube]

I remember something like that feature when i was a kid, but the one my parents had at first had the "deep fat fryer" built in and below the surface of the stove. You'd just dropped a lid over it when it had cooled down.

The oil was used over and over again....just skimmed off after each use. I *guess* that was sanitary; I don't remember anyone ever getting food poisoning.

 

[RadishRose]

Our next door neighbor had a stove with that sunken fryer in it. Never saw it in use.