Microwave Turntable

Microwave Turntable

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Description (Brief)
Nordic Ware, a family-owned manufacturing firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded in 1946 by brothers Dave and Mark Dalquist, as “Plastics for Industry.” In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of “Nordic Ware” products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan and trademarked it as the “Bundt” pan. The company continued to grow its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items, including the microwave turntable. Nordic Ware is notable due to its history of product innovation through engineering, and its continued production of cookware in the United States.
Nordic Ware manufactured the original Micro-Go-Round in 1980 to take advantage of the surging popularity of microwave ovens. Without a rotation mechanism, early microwaves produced food that had hot and cold spots. Identifying this problem, Nordic Ware developed and patented the Micro-Go-Round, which could be wound up and turned on, and would rotate a plate of food for up to an hour to produce evenly heated food.
Description
In 2007 the Museum collected thirty-six objects and twenty cubic feet of archives from Minneapolis-based Nordic Ware, a producer of cookware since 1946. The family-owned manufacturer is best known for its Bundt pan, the world's most popular specialty cake mold.
Over the course of several years company engineers tested an array of plastics to determine which could be used safely in a microwave oven. They also spent a good deal of time designing a turning mechanism that could rotate the plastic surface while supporting a heavy food item, and still be small enough to fit inside the housing. By 1978 they had several working models and, in 1980, introduced the patented "Micro-Go-Round." Between 1981 and 1987, the company shipped about twenty-four thousand Micro-Go-Rounds to suppliers per week.
Object Name
microwave turntable
maker
Nordic Ware
Place Made
United States: Minnesota, Minneapolis
Physical Description
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 2 3/8 in x 11 1/2 in; 6.0325 cm x 29.21 cm
ID Number
2007.0034.17
accession number
2007.0034
catalog number
2007.0034.17
Credit Line
Nordic Ware thru H. David Dalquist, President & CEO
See more items in
Work and Industry: Food Technology
Food
Industry & Manufacturing
Food Technology
Nordic Ware cookware
Exhibition
Food: Transforming the American Table
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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