Brazier
A brazier (/ˈbreɪʒər/) is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers have been used since ancient times; the Nimrud brazier dates to at least 824 BC.[1]
History
The word brazier is mentioned in the
- Jeremiah 36:22–23 - the winter palace of King Jehoiakim was heated by a brazier (Hebrew: אָח).
Roman Emperor Jovian was poisoned by the fumes from a brazier in his tent in 364, ending the line of Constantine.
Uses
Heating
Despite risks in burning
The brazier could sit in the open in a large room; often it was incorporated into furniture. Many cultures developed their own variants of a low table, with a heat source underneath and blankets to capture the warmth: the kotatsu in Japan, the korsi in Iran, the sandali in Afghanistan,[4] and the foot stove in northern Europe. In Spain the brasero continued to be one of the main means of heating until the early 20th century; Gerald Brenan described in his memoir South from Granada its widespread habit in the 1920s of placing dying embers of a brazier beneath a cloth-covered table to keep the legs and feet of the family warm on winter evenings.[5]
Scent
Moist rose and grapevine trimmings produce a pungent, sweet-smelling smoke, and make charcoal, but unless fully pre-dried (seasoned or kilned) as with wood, do
Aromatics (lavender seeds, orange peel) were sometimes added to the embers in the brazier.[3]
A "brazier" for burning aromatics (incense) is known as a censer or thurible.
Other
In some churches a brazier is used to host a small fire, called new fire, which is then used to light the Paschal candle during the Easter Vigil.
Braziers were common on industrial picket lines, largely replaced by protest marches and rallies, and a newspaper casts strikes as more white collar as a further reason for their decline.[6]
The Japanese translation is hibachi - principally for cooking and in cultural rituals such as the Japanese tea ceremony.
Since 1957 Dairy Queen has used the word "brazier" on their signage to indicate the particular locations that serve hot food like hot dogs and hamburgers, etc..
Gallery
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Simple box-style brazier, with broad grill, intended as a metal container (e.g. kettle/tray) heater/cooker
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Pompeii, Italy. Table and small brazier to keep food warm. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection
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Brazier used for lighting the Paschal candle during Easter Vigil.
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This is a small one used for cooking tortillas.
See also
- Asado
- Angithi, a traditional Indian brazier
- Barbecue grill
- Chafing dish, a cooking implement
- Hibachi, a Japanese brazier
- List of cooking appliances
- Fire basket
- Torch
- Cresset, a cup for burning oil
- Kanger, a traditional Kashmiri personal heating device
- Crucible
References
- ^ Russell, John M. (November 2003). "The MPs Do It Again: Two More Antiquities from the Top 30 Are Back in the Iraq Museum" (PDF). Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
- ^ Parish, Sir Woodbine (1839). Buenos Ayres and the Provinces of the Rio de La Plata; Their Present State, Trade and Debt. John Murray.
- ^ Ford, Richard (1845). A Handbook for Travellers in Spain. John Murray.
- ^ Jessica Barry (23 January 2009). "Afghanistan: Sandali stoves, a blessing and a curse". ICRC. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ISBN 9780241890028.
- ^ Bennett, Catherine (2001-11-28). "Every strike needs a brazier". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-08-10.