> wrote:
> My sister has one of the gas stoves with a thermostatically controlled
> burner, but I haven't seen that feature in years, either.

Maybe it wasn't the greatest idea? ;-)

Probably several manufacturers were using that same system, as I see the
exact same term "Burner-with-a-Brain" on a Sears Kenmore (definitely not
made by Caloric) gas stove in a 1965 Sears catalog I have.

Though the thermostatic burner never really caught on, that Caloric stove my
parents had came with another feature that has since become de rigueur in
high end gas stoves and outdoor grills. That is, an infrared gas broiler. I
was quite amazed by it as a kid. It basically consisted of a shallow box
covered by a screen through which gas passed. The gas burned on the surface
of the screen and heated it red hot. The broiler was very "directional", in
that a burger that was half out of the path of the infrared rays would get
broiled on one side and not the other. Back then Caloric used the term
"Ultra Ray" when marketing this broiler. The Caloric broiler design
eventually showed up in Amana stoves as Raytheon, the owner of Amana also
acquired Caloric. At some point Maytag acquired both and I think this
broiler design ended up in Maytag stoves too. But on recent checks at
appliance stores, it seems to be gone now from Maytag's (and now
Whirlpool's) various product lines, but it does live on in other high end
products as I've mentioned.

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