7 Women Inventors in STEM Who Changed the Way We Eat and Cook

Published on March 05, 2024 by Beatrice Alvarez


Think about kitchens today and think about kitchens a hundred years ago. Even if we consider the last 50 years, how we cook and what we cook have changed dramatically. From advancements in appliances we use in our homes to the ingredients we can keep on hand for a meal, to the way we cook and clean at home, we have many women inventors to thank for these developments. Here are just 7 of the countless women inventors who have changed the way we eat and cook today. Maybe learning their stories will inspire you to create something new in your kitchen!



Mary Engle Pennington


Thanks to Mary Engle Pennington (1872 - 1952) we don’t all have to be farmers to eat fresh food. Her scientific work in ensuring the safe transport of perishable foods (like eggs!) focused on refrigeration and its impact on food. Pennington earned a PhD in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 1895, after being initially denied a bachelors degree in chemistry because of her gender. In addition to having been an expert in refrigeration science, Pennington is credited with inventing the egg carton to ship eggs in a safe and sanitary way.

While you marvel at how important the egg carton has been in your own cooking, learn to make Eggs Jeannette from Jacques Pepin. It's a stuffed egg recipe he named after his mother and we think it's a good way to remind ourselves of Mary Engle Pennington's accomplishments. You can watch the video here and find the recipe on PBS Food.



Florence Parpart


Do you know the work of inventor Florence Parpart? You might not say her name often in your home, but you probably use her invention daily. In fact, it might be in use 24/7 because Parpart (1873 - 1930) patented the electrical refrigerator in 1914. That beautiful appliance that keeps our food fresh and our leftovers safe to eat the next day. Parpart, who filed patents under her married Layman, was a trained stenographer who actually filed several patents, but as a co-inventor because women commonly listed male co-inventors on paperwork to curb bias against women. She kept on inventing despite the roadblocks and we are so thankful.

While we’re thanking Florence Parpart for her ingenuity, here’s a video to help you get your refrigerator organized! (No shade, y’all.)


Nancy Johnson


Ice cream! You scream. Let’s all scream for Nancy Johnson, the inventor of an ice cream maker that allowed for efficient and easy ice cream production! Johnson (1794 - 1890) was a housewife turned inventor, who was living in Philadelphia when she filed the 1843 patent for the “artificial freezer,” a hand-cranked ice cream churn that would set a path towards the billion dollar ice cream industry we know today.

In honor of Nancy Johnson, would you consider making ice cream at home? Here's a recipe for mint and chocolate ice cream that will make any day better.




Lillian Gilbreth


Lillian Gilbreth (1878-1972) was an engineer whose workplace efficiency studies led to numerous inventions for the modern-day kitchen. Gilbreth invented the foot-pedal trashcan, for example. It’s something so ubiquitous now that we might not always think about how disposing of waste might have looked without it. Then there’s the electric mixer, which cut food preparation time drastically for all home cooks. And those shelves in your refrigerator door, well those were also non-existent before Lilian Gilbreth applied her industrial engineering and psychology degrees. Imagine where all our condiments would go without her invention! Seriously though, those are just a few of Gilbreth’s inventions and most of them targeted the kitchen and how we cook and feed our families because as a woman who was also a leading industrial engineer, she was expected to be a homemaker first and foremost. In other firsts: Gilbreth was the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the first female engineering professor at Purdue University.

Learn more about Lillian Gilbreth's life, including some disturbing views on race, and her accomplishments from American Masters.