If you are hunting for a house and have come across the term ‘summer kitchen’ in a real estate list, you are definitely in for a treat. If that is, the mention refers to one of the few authentic summer kitchens that still exist, restored to serve as reminders of how our forebears lived a century or so ago. These days, however, ‘summer kitchen’ may be misused to describe a modern outdoor patio kitchen where the folks cook and entertain in nice weather. Read this article on to better understand what a real summer kitchen is, where you can find one, and how to make use of this charming historic feature!
The late 18th century and early 19th century happened to see the rise of the summer kitchen in Orlando. The outdoor structures resembling one-or-two story barns were well constructed next to the house of wealthy landowners, many of who even owned slaves. There are mostly outfitted with large fireplaces and stone bake oven, these early summer kitchens, located mostly in New England, were originally designed to be used by salves or servants for cooking the big meals which are necessary to feed all the people living on the property. Just like the separate servant or slave quarters, the summer kitchens found on the estates and plantations were served to keep the cooks and their helpers separate from the main house while they prepared their meals.
Just within a few decades, the smaller summer kitchens began to appear beside the homes of less-wealthy property owners, which were outfitted with similar cooking amenities but on a reduced scale. These one or one-and-a-half story structures were quite common in New England, upstate New York, and the mid-Atlantic region. In the early 1800s, the pioneers brought the idea with them to the Midwest where it caught on with large farm families. The smaller summer kitchens all remained common throughout much of the 19th century. The canning foods had become quite popular, and womenfolk would spend weeks putting up the harvest from the extensive gardens and orchards to feed their families during the winter and sell to the local stores.
The key reason for building a smaller kitchen was to simply keep the main house cool by preparing meals elsewhere. At this point of time, there was no air conditioning as such, and cooking was done exclusively on the wood-burning stoves and fireplace hearths, both of which radiated intense heat. Keeping the heat, the smoky smells, and the risk of fire out of the main house made a lot of sense. When the winter season arrived and the canning season was over, most of the daily cooking resumed in the main house on a cast-iron woodstove.
Author’s Bio: The author is an avid blogger. This article is about history of summer kitchens.
