What You Might Not Know About The Kitchen
The gradual and steady improvement of the kitchen down through the centuries would certainly serve to impress people if they cared to learn a bit about this completely ubiquitous room in almost any home today. From the first open campfire where foods were prepared to the room we now know, many developments in design and technology can also be laid at the feet of engineers who sought to improve workflow.
Throughout much of human history, what we think of as the kitchen consisted of not much more than an open fire and a few implements and tools to cook food over it. For sure, wealthy ancient Greeks and Romans quite often had separate rooms in which an open fire was kept and food was cooked on but most people tended to not even have what could be considered a rudimentary kitchen.
The common folk, instead, were more focused on procuring the pots, pans and utensils in which food could be prepared over a campfire rather than obtaining a room in whatever home they had. The first attempt at bringing kitchens to the masses was undertaken by the ancient Romans, who built large kitchens open to the public where food could be prepared by one and all.
Things carried on in much the same way for many centuries, though the wealthier classes in many Western societies had food preparation rooms that were used as kitchens. Early pioneer and colonial American settlers on the frontier, in their cabins, first began to consider an area in their cabin as a kitchen. It would consist of a fireplace and a designated eating area.
Improvement in cook stoves and ranges from those days is just as responsible for the design and eventual form of the kitchen as we know it today, for along with the creation of improved stoves came the ability to bring those stoves into the home. Additionally, the development of modern-day plumbing that brought running water into the home meant a kitchen could be made for most of the common classes.
Like much of everything that has developed over the last few centuries, improvement in mass production as a result of the Industrial Revolution, led to the increasing ubiquity and low cost of stoves and refrigerators and other kitchen appliances. This made it possible for even the middle and lower classes to devote an entire room to the task of preparing of foods.
Additionally, efforts undertaken by scientists and engineers to improve the efficiency of work processes are partly responsible for many design touches found in kitchens today. The thinking was that women who had more efficient kitchens would spend less time in the home cooking and more time working in the factory. Some of these kitchens were very small and compact but highly efficient.
Along with the growth of indoor plumbing and the electrification of even rural areas in the early to mid-20th century, came the improvement and sophistication of the kitchen in the home. Today, while one might not look like one from just a half-century ago, just about every room intended for the heating and cooking of food for the family owes its history to those early kitchens.
Matthew Kerridge is an expert in kitchen design. If you would like further information about types of kitchen or are looking for a reputable kitchen retailer please visit http://www.wrenkitchens.com