ADOBE WOOD BURNING OVENS

“Adobe”* Wood Burning Ovens

by Georgie Seligmann

Argentina

”Adobe”* : a mixture of mud and straw.

Contents:

1 - History and information.

2 - Servicing and accessories.

3 - Addresses to contact us for orders and further details.

History and Information:

Cooking, since the origin of man, has been a characteristic of human beings. Once man discovered fire he began to cook his food. Cooking techniques have changed and improved over the centuries. Today we have a wide variety of alternatives, improved facilities and a range of preferences.

In Europe, in by-gone days, ovens were huge and were used by the whole community. They were managed by the bakers who were considered a special caste of people and worked for kings and noblemen. But, at certain hours of the day, their ovens could be used by the local inhabitants. When the church bells tolled everyone who wished could take their food to be cooked.

Before ovens were invented food was cooked in holes in the ground covered by heated stones. This custom is still observed in the south of Chile where “curanto”, (a mixture of fish and shell fish), is cooked in this way. In Santo Domingo, pirates had the custom of smoking and drying fish and the meat of wild cows in holes dug out in the sand covered with heated stones. This system was called “boucaner” hence the word “buccaneer”. With the advent of the oven, cooking made a radical change in the way food was prepared. It is said that the oldest known oven cooking took place in ancient Egypt in 4000 B.C. and from there the idea spread to the Near East and the fertile lands between the Euphrates and the Tigris. An example of a primitive oven is the tandoori” which gives its name to food cooked in it.

Old mediterranean oven

The “Criollo” Oven (Oven made in Argentina since colonial times):

This type of oven is very much appreciated – it is made with ecological materials par excellence – it has good insulation and retains the heat better than any other. These ovens are as old as bread itself, of varied size and shape, but always basically semi-spherical. They are ideal for cooking bread, all types of pizzas, “empanadas” ( local stuffed pasties) even suckling pigs and all types of meat and vegetables. They are also used for dehydrating (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) in a medium hot oven with the addition of bay leaves, rosemary, thyme,, etc. Of course, all sorts of fish can be cooked in these ovens too.

Food cooked with a wood fire, has that special flavour (one can use “quebracho”, pine, or wood with a strong aroma) and sprinkle bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, etc., on the embers. Cooking in an adobe” oven is a wonderful excuse for inviting relations and friends to enjoy something special.

Georgie Seligmann, with over fivehundred (500) ovens built in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and the USA, is the person best known in this speciality. The materials used are “adobe” and ordinary bricks, built on a heat resistant platform which preserves the heat for hours. His ovens, as can be seen in the following photographs, are decorative and in good taste and have an original design with different motifs on the cast iron door which makes them so attractive. Today, Georgie is an expert in oven building and we recommend you look at the Services and Accessories section for more information.

If you are interesting in building or buying an oven, please, do not hesitate to contact us. We have the best prices and qualities in adobe wood burning ovens.

Servicing and Accessories :

· Adobe” Wood Burning Oven.

· Open- top adobe cooker for round cooking disc

· Tools for working the oven.

· New models

· Small ovens

· Ovens built on trailers for catering companies

· Ovens in Argentina and in other countries

· Interviews for magazines and TV.

Addresses to Contact us for orders and further details :

E-mail Addresses: info@hornosdeadobe.com.ar