Remember When The Kitchen Was...

[EDDIE BUCK]

Built a little ways from the house,in case the kitchen burned from cooking with a woodstove, hopefully the rest of the house would be saved.This cold weather makes me glad I don't have to hit that breezeway that exhisted between those houses and their kitchens.Somehow I picture a bunch of kids in their drawers,Like a streak through that breezeway, to hurry up and back up to that warm stove with that life saving heat. I never lived in one,but my Dad did. The funny thing to me was, I was raised in a house where the livingroom was next to the kitchen,like homes are today,and every time we were finished eating,my Dad would always say,"Lets Go In The House".When my FIL was there,he would always whisper to me and laugh, "I thought we wuz in the House". lol, Eddie Buck

[Junkman]

Had an old relative tell us their house had a disconnected kitchen. One time it caught fire from the old cast iron stove and burned. How they kept the house from going too, I don't know. But, it seems there was a shed across the road and they took the horses and moved it across to the back of the house and another kitchen was 'born.' Another of the make do with what you have stories.

[MELOC]

in my neck of the woods, detached kitchens were known as "summer kitchens" and built to keep the main house from getting hot in the summer.

[Bearfootfarm]

I used to live in a house in Ayden (Eddie knows where that is) that was originally built that way, but had been remodeled to connect the kitchen to the house.

There's also an old house on the farm here that has a small kitchen in the back part, seperated by an open porch. There is still no "indoor plumbing" in that house, although it did get wired for lights in the 40's

[Okie-Dokie]

Showing my age I guess, but I thought the kitchen was out the back door so it wouldn't get so hot inside the house in the summer. It was sort of like a storage shed of today except there was lots of windows with screens so the bugs would not get in too bad.

[reese]

Originally Posted by MELOC

in my neck of the woods, detached kitchens were known as "summer kitchens" and built to keep the main house from getting hot in the summer.

We had a "summer kitchen" with it's original wood stove in it, growing up. We never used it as such, but it was a neat place for us kids to go play in (even though we weren't supposed o).

[catdance62]

i still see that a lot in Central America. But there it is mainly due to the heat

[Nette]

On our farm, we still have a "wash house," which I guess was the same principle as the detached kitchen (?). They could boil water for washing clothes and keep the main house from burning up (figuratively and literally).

[dancingfatcat]

I too have only heard of summer kitchens. Used in the summer so the house wouldn't get hot. In the winter you would cook inside to keep your house warm

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by dancingfatcat

I too have only heard of summer kitchens. Used in the summer so the house wouldn't get hot. In the winter you would cook inside to keep your house warm

Thats the way I do it here. In the summer I never fire up the stove in the house, all the cooking is done outside.

[EDDIE BUCK]

Well evidently they were "summer kitchens", but someone told me it was for fire safety by not being attached to the rest of the house. Eddie

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Recently, I heard kitchens were detached because cooking odors were considered "distasteful", maybe on PBS, but I can't remember. It struck me as pretty petty compared to fire safety!

[Nette]

Originally Posted by EDDIE BUCK

Well evidently they were "summer kitchens", but someone told me it was for fire safety by not being attached to the rest of the house. Eddie

That's what I've always heard, too, Eddie.

[FolioMark]

Historically, completely seperate kitchens occur in warm climates where winters are relatively mild. The issue of fire prevention was certainly a factor, but it was primarily to keep the constant heat of the cooking fire out of the main fmily rooms, but more importantly to distance the noise, mess and odor of cooking, not to mention the unsavoury dirty presence of the cooking staff, A good cook was a valuable servant, but our ladylike and dainty great grandmamas didnt necessarily care to see, hear or smell the cook or her assistants.

On farmsteads in cold weather climates, the seperate kitchen was used for warm weather but also as a place for rough kitchen work like butchering or canning, but also for delicate specialized food prep like jams, jellies,custards or pastry or for distilling things like orange or rosewater, fruit syrups or medicinal herbs. Often you will see these secondary kitchens labelled as Still Rooms on old floor plans or Cooks Closets. Seperate rooms for producing dairy products, cheese butter etc were common. In manor houses or castles, there is usually a room called a Buttery. This wasnt a place to make butter, but a 'Butlery' a place for staff to get a simple meal, bread, cheese cold meat and beer. a sort of snack bar. Really large establishments had room after room for specialized work or food prep and storage and a servant to work in them. All this came crashing down during WW1 and even large modern households are the merest shadow of their ancestor. Try to hire a good skivvy or jack boy in this day and age.

[Callieslamb]

My grandmother was quite the modern woman. She had her kitchen on the porch. The neighbors said she was going to burn the place down, but she never did. Not even after they pulled the house with horses down the road 10 blocks to their new place.

[Old John]

Originally Posted by MELOC

in my neck of the woods, detached kitchens were known as "summer kitchens" and built to keep the main house from getting hot in the summer.

My grandfathers old place had a Summer Kitchen, where they use to cook, when I was a little kid. It was a huge Family, 13 children. My DMom was the middle child, 6 older, 6 younger. I was one of 9 siblings. We had 76 first cousins, on that side.
I have many good memories, of going there, as I grew up, in Franklin County, IN.

When Grandpa died, there was such a squabble over the money, the Place had to be sold, out of the Family, to divide up the money.
It is still a beautiful old Place. It has air conditioning now, though.

[jd4020]

I love those old summer kitchens. I would love to have one of them, just to put a stove and sink to process garden truck in the summer. Maybe some day.
My Dad sort of collects them. He has the means to transport them and he has about 7 of them and uses them for storage of other things he collects.
jd

[MariaAZ]

Originally Posted by Matthew Lindsay

Recently, I heard kitchens were detached because cooking odors were considered "distasteful", maybe on PBS, but I can't remember. It struck me as pretty petty compared to fire safety!

Ah, but times and sensibilities have changed. Back then, I'm sure they would find our habit of washing clothing after only one or two wearings as being excessive

[Wolf mom]

I lived in a house with a summer kitchen. It was tacked on the back of the garage. Had a stove, running cold water & a freezer along with a long counter & kitchen cabinets.

Great for doing what was needed for the garden produce.

I don't think it'd be too hard to build as a lean-to attached to your garage. With an instant hot water maker installed, what more would one want?