The original cult appliance: ‘My mother used the electric frypan constantly’

Modern-day electric frypans have a few updates like non-stick surfaces and better temperature regulation, but their popularity has waned. Photograph: Gonzalo Calle Asprilla/Getty Images/iStockphoto

I double-check the address that’s been sent to me through Facebook Marketplace and ring the doorbell. Jennifer answers the door, asks if I’m Tristan, and hands me my glimmering prize: a 1957 Sunbeam electric frypan. It is in full working order.

“My mother used to cook every meal for us in that,” she tells me as she takes my $25. A frequently repeated lamb and vegetable stew has left its scars in the pan’s cast aluminium surface. Soon, the dents and scratches will be joined by the reanimated spirits of my own mother’s chicken casserole and curried sausages.