Cooking in the 19th Century

In the 19th century, cooking was much different than it is today. In the 19th century, most people cooked over open fires in their homes or outdoors. People used a wood-burning stove inside their homes and also had some utensils that were incorporated with meals. The wood stoves were a common form of heating source back then too. The stoves were made of iron and designed to burn wood as fuel. However, the wood stoves could have been more efficient. Most of the heat went up the chimney. Modern wood stoves are much more efficient and provide warmth in cold weather. The wood stove in the picture had an armrest to hold pots and kettles during food preparation. The wood stove had a particular place in the corner to bake bread. Some of the tools people used in the 19th century were a mortar and pestle, which they might use to crush nuts, or also they might use this to make a paste of vegetables, or even used this to mix spices. The people used a churn to make butter from milk or cream. They used a grinder to mince raw meat, fish, chicken, or vegetables. The wooden utensil, which is located in the middle of the table used to make bread from flour. They used some bottles with covered lids to dry food or save some food for later use. Some of the deep bowls they used to collect broth, or they might have used those as dishes to serve food. One of the utensils in the back is a spatula which might be used during food preparation. The spoons and dippers in the picture are kitchen utensils made from silver, copper, or other materials. This utensil might be used to check the broth's color or even the temperature of any boiling stuff. Cooking can be seen as a challenged back then because of the need to stand close to the fire all the time when preparing food, and also you need to check various metal pots that are used for food preparation. Since people didn't have a tool to check the temperature, they couldn't tell if the food was safe to eat or not, and there were no refrigerators other than ice houses, so most foods had to be consumed right away.