The Old Brings Life to the New

When I post here about recipes, talk to friends or share pictures many ask me “You must have the most amazing kitchen with all the bells and whistles!” In my old kitchen I did have top of the line appliances. But I always dreamed of an old ranch kitchen where pots of stews and soups would warm the air with spices, and aromas of a hearty feast. An abundance of homegrown crops would be canned and preserved to last through the season. Or fresh baked bread would make one's mouth water with anticipation. But that was just a dream…

Then the year came to be. I had graduated from culinary school, the glimmers of retiring were upon the horizon as a faint dream. It was then that I got my first glimmer of the stove of my dreams. Oh it was a beauty, but not within my grasp. It sat within another’s kitchen. How I coveted the magnificence of such a stove. To have something such as this to create, to have it inspire with it’s history and stories. And Lo! The opportunity arrived and the coveted stove became mine to own.

I present to you my 1934 Magic Chef Stove –

Yep I cook on a stove that is almost 100 years old. It is so basic and just wonderful. I must point out her lovely legs. We set them on the bricks to bring the stove to counter level. I don’t know of a stove more sexy than this. There is a robin’s egg blue stencil over a buttercream yellow porcelain finish. Let me share with you some of the features and then the nuances.

It has 4 small burners so with large pots you have to get creative.

The burners are very small and the ones in the back are restricted due to the lid of the stove having sidewalls. This means you can’t put tall or wide pots on these back burners.

How cool are these ‘knobs’!?

These are the knobs that control the burners and the far right one feeds gas to the oven.

Under the burners (the 2 doors you see in the first picture) is some wonderful storage. I keep all my cast iron pans here because it’s dry and the warmth from the oven keeps any/all moisture from reaching them. You see there is also a drawer above for utensils.

My stove is not only so incredibly practical but beautiful with it’s details. These are the handles. They are on each of the doors below the burners and on the oven and broiler and begs you to peek inside while something is baking or simmering.

Yes this is a pilot light.

They are ignited 24/7 waiting for you to turn the gas valve to open and bring the oven to temperature. When we go away for a few days I turn the gas off to the stove. (The only other gas appliance I have is my dryer) 

While I have a vent over the stove this is where the heat vents from the oven. 

Once the oven is heated up the excess heat escapes from a vent right above the stove. And let me tell you it’s not subtle. There’s a lot of heat coming out of these little hole. It’s great in winter as it really helps warm the front of the house. In the summer, not so much which is why I grill a lot.

Side Bar – Ok I see you’ve noticed the the RCA dog salt and pepper shakers. Are they not adorable?! My dear father in law used to repair TV’s back in 1944. He obtained these cute little things and I thought they just fit perfectly with the old stove. 

This dial is how to control the oven temp.

This dial is located on the right side of the stove. It controls the temperature of the oven. It starts at 100F degrees. (Note - This oven without propping doors open and dial at 100F will still reach 300F) Although with just the pilot light the heat is a constant 80 degrees. The first number on the dial is 250F. Then the word Slow (275) and 300F.  After 300 is Mode Rate which I equate to 325F. After 350 is the word HOT. This is about 375F. Interesting how in 1934 they thought a hot temperature was 375. Right after 400F is QUICK. Not sure what this means but the temp is about 425. After that is 450F and after that is VERY HOT. It then goes to 500-550 and after than is Broil. Keep in mind whatever you set the temperature to, the oven door, the right side, the top of the oven will also be that temp. It's very easy to set something on top and forget you put it there, turn on the stove and walk away to come back to a melted mess. And yes, I do speak from experience. 

The main burner, under the hot box, is small. It will approximately 1 hour to reach a temp of 375F. If you want a hot oven, say 450 you're looking at around 1 hour and 35 min. 500 to do a pizza on a stone, over 2 hours. 

The inside of the oven has one full rack the width and length of the oven and 2 half racks. (If you look closely at the top rack you can see it’s actually 2) It’s really nice to have a full rack for a large pot and then I can pull one of the half rack out and use one for rolls or biscuits.

Under the main oven is my broiler. To be honest I have yet to use my broiler. I never have used a broiler much. 

I have so fallen in love with this old stove! Of course I have to prop the oven door open with a lid to a canning jar on the right side to keep the heat at 275 or another lid I have specially marked to keep it at 300 degrees. If I want it at 250 the broiler door must be open about an inch and the 300 degree lid utilized on the oven. While it sounds like work it is truly an act of love. It was first made to work on natural gas.

However the American Stove Company, who made this beauty, also knew that folks on the West Coast who utilized LPG, aka Propane, would also be ordering these stoves. Current stoves today need to have special gas to propane (and vice versa) conversion kits. But not the old work horses of the 1930’s. They had special valves that could be turned to a lower rate with a few simple adjustments. (By simple I mean my hubby playing with a propane tank and a wrench for a year prior to moving to Oregon where we have no natural gas and propane only. I really must give this wonderful man an incredible shout out! He worked 50 hours a week and every weekend he had off he made copious adjustment and notes to make sure this would work when we arrived. There are pages and pages of notes. I so love this man!)

I have even found the original print ad for my stove! So pop on over to my streams if you have any questions or would like to see her live Sun/Mon 12pm PT. Kehnara Live