The kitchen is the place where you cook and prepare meals, and while its function has stayed the same over the centuries, the way in which the kitchen looks and the appliances it contains have been changing constantly. The introduction and implementation of new technologies have changed the domestic landscape quite drastically, to the point that the kitchen of today is very different compared to the ones that were popular when your grandparents or great-grandparents used your age. Let’s have a look at some of the many ways in which this essential household space has transformed over the years; what are some of the items that were once very popular but have since fallen out of use, and what are the latest innovations and developments that will build the kitchens of the future.
From the very beginnings
Nowadays, getting new cabinets and gadgets for your kitchen is easier than ever. All you have to do is head to a furniture and household goods store and pick the items you want for your household. In many cases, you don’t need to leave the comfort of your home; you can just order what you want online and have it delivered straight to your doorstep. Whether you’re looking for hand painted kitchens, new countertops, or a different splashback, there are many different alternatives and designs to choose from, ranging from timeless and traditional to the most modern, cutting-edge choices.
We’ve come a long way since things looked very different during the earliest days of human history. The first humans were strictly hunters and gatherers who had to look for roots, tubers, berries, nuts, or grains, as well as hunt for meat, and then bring everything to a central location where a fire would be started and the food cooked and eaten. When people began practicing agriculture and living in permanent structures, the hearth became the focal point of the household, the area where all members of a household would spend most of their time.
The wealthy could afford to have enormous kitchens in which large numbers of people would toil to bring food to the patrician dining tables. In fact, in Ancient Rome, dining was a way in which one displayed their wealth because it not only meant that they had people working as their kitchen staff so that they could host banquets in the first place but that they had enough space in their household to have a kitchen in the first place. The majority of the citizens lived in insulae, a kind of apartment buildings that had shops and businesses at the ground-level and living quarters above, and these dwellings often didn’t have their own kitchen, meaning that the people often ate at the thermopolium, an establishment that served ready-to-eat foods.
From the Middle Ages to the Modern Era
For most of human history, the regular kitchen has been fairly small and has a heat source at its core, which could be a brazier, grill, fireplace, or even a fire pit. Before the 13th century, the homes of the poor consisted of only one room, so there were no kitchens per se, rather areas of the room where food would be prepared. Since this would naturally have been the warmest place in the house, families typically slept near the fires as well.
The cooking equipment, consisting of pans, pots, knives, ladles and turnspits, would be kept close, and a flat surface would be the designated area for preparing food. The turnspit is an interesting device which required canine assistance in order to work. The turnspit dog, a short-legged type of dog that is now extinct, was kept in order to run on a wheel that activated a mechanism which kept the meat turning and allowed it to cook. Apart from this case, there are several other cooking and tableware items that are no longer popular nowadays, such as the traditional butter churns and trenchers, the latter of which started as a piece of stale bread used as a plate and then evolved to be a flat or circular plate made of wood or metal.
Apart from being a multi-use space, the kitchen was also a much more unpleasant space than it is today. Most kitchens used to be fairly dark and not at all well-ventilated, so they got smoky, incredibly hot, and overall uncomfortable. Most of the people working in the kitchens would toil very long hours and perform painstaking tasks. On top of that, they were all of low status, which meant that they would be treated unfairly more often than not. By the 15th century, cookbooks began to be published and following recipes became a characteristic of cooking, baking, and preparation. Vents that would remove the soot and smoke were also introduced.
The current era
As coal-fired stoves replaced the earlier alternatives that used wood, the kitchen also gained its status as one of the essential rooms in any household. Indoor plumbing became more commonplace during the early 20th century, meaning that food sanitation started to be prioritised. Gas stoves were the next big thing, and nowadays, an ever-growing number of people are looking to purchase electric cookers in light of the research highlighting the possible adverse effects of gas appliances on human health. The Frankfurt Kitchen, one of the most important innovations brought to domestic architecture, was designed in the late 1920s by Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky.
The primary consideration when creating the Frankfurt Kitchen was to provide plenty of clean air and light to the room. It was pretty narrow, not just as a result of the space constraints, but a purposeful decision so that the number of steps you needed to take while cooking was performed. The kitchens were installed complete with the furniture, making them the first fitted kitchens in the world. Lihotzky used beech wood for table tops due to its resistance to scratches, stains, and acidic substances, while the spaces storing flour and cereals were made out of oak in order to repel mealworms.
Electrical appliances such as mixers, toasters, waffle irons, and coffee pots appeared step by step, but refrigeration was arguably the most massive innovation as it allowed dairy, meat, and fresh produce to stay fresh for longer. Freezers decreased waste and were also the first step towards processed foods, including frozen meals. Microwave ovens are yet another item showing how convenient kitchens are nowadays compared to the past.
Although the kitchen of today would be mostly unrecognisable to someone from, say, the 1400s, it has maintained the same functionality and is still the most important room in a household, whether it is used to cook elaborate breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, or just to reheat takeaway.
