Every 1970s Home Had This Vintage Kitchen Appliance That Put Oven Ranges To Shame

Kitchen trends come and go on the regular. Iceboxes were once the dominant method people used to keep perishable items cold, but they have long since faded into the annals of time with the rise in popularity of the refrigerator. And there are dozens more retro kitchen gadgets that have had their time in the sun before fading into disuse (and possibly ending up sitting at a yard sale or, worse, in a landfill). However, few appliances — not even the oven range — could match the electric frying pan for either practicality or ubiquity.

Electric frying pans had been a hit since their debut in the 1950s, and by the '70s, they were a fixture in seemingly every household in the United States. They were bulky, yes, and tended to be square in shape, with a base that sat up on legs and a lid that fit over the top. But unlike a stove, they could be moved around and used wherever you had access to an electrical outlet, which was especially useful if you were entertaining.

Plug in your electric frying pan, and you could regulate the temperature, a terrific feature if you needed to step away from your skillet to attend to something else for a brief period. All in all, these appliances were incredibly useful, as well as affordable, so it's no wonder they were used in seemingly every 1970s home.

Appliances used to be built to last, so it should come as no surprise that many electric frying pans have withstood the test of time. One Redditor reported in 2025 that they were going to use theirs to make breakfast. "I just love these things," they wrote. The nonstick Teflon coating, incredibly, was still sound, though they naturally had to baby it a bit to help maintain its integrity.

But it seems that manufacturers never really stopped making electric frying pans, though they fell out of fashion — though perhaps the vintage appliances will make a comeback. More commonly referred to as electric skillets these days, they have only gotten better with time and technology. Today, the heating elements are truly precise, reaching and holding a consistent, steady temperature (unlike the older models, which tended to have noticeable hot and cold spots).

Another major improvement is the lids. In the "before times," the lids were often opaque and bulky, but newer models often feature clear glass, so you can keep a closer eye on your food as it's cooking. And they're just as easy to clean as they were in the '70s, if not easier, thanks to their less bulky designs. Some of them are even dishwasher-safe.