Easy Bake Oven Made Kitchens More Accessible To The Kids
Since its introduction in 1963 by Cincinnati-based Kenner Toys, the Easy Bake Oven has been a staple for several generations of children. The simplicity and effectiveness of its design, using the heat from a light bulb to bake ready-mixed pastries and cakes in its miniature oven, earned Easy Bake Oven a reputation of being one of the top toys every invented. It has also had a major influence on many of today's top chefs and many home bakers who got their first domestic experiences using one of the small, colorful ovens.
Replacing the 40-watt light bulb with a 100-watt bulb in 1993, the Easy Bake Oven, now owned by Hasbro can bake cookies, cakes and other pastries in minutes while retaining its appearance. Initially, they were deigned to resemble the traditional oven, and later versions replicated taller ovens and even took on the short, squat appearance of a microwave oven to make them fit better into the more modern looks of today's kitchen.
Like many good ideas, changes often do not result in the anticipated success of a product and such is the case with the Easy Bake Oven. Originally, the cooking pan was pushed into the oven through a slot sized to only accept the size of the pan. Once baking was complete, the pan was pushed out through another slot in the rear of the Easy Bake Oven. After making some physical changes, children began getting their hands and fingers tuck in the opening with more than 250 reports of burns from the heat of the single light bulb.
Staying On Track With A Sure Winner
The newer design of the Easy Bake Oven known as the Real Meal Oven, could accept two pans at a time and used a heating element instead of a light bulb. They were also available in gender-neutral colors to be better accepted by girls and boys. Although it won awards for being the best new toy in 2003, the bigger pans making it better suited to different styles of baked desserts, also had larger opening into which little hands could fit.
Even after Hasbro recalled the ovens and offered a retrofitted device to limit the size of the opening, reports still came in of children receiving second and third degree burns. Many parents then went on the hunt for the original version of the Easy Bake Oven, considering them safer to use for their young and budding bakers.
