Changes

In early complex societies in the Near East, Egypt, and in the eastern Mediterranean, including Crete and Cyprus, many homes had open fire places or covered stoves with a fire burning inside (similar to modern clay ovens often used for bread baking). Stoves ranged from simple clay-made pieces to brick-made cooking places. The stoves for cooking were often in open places so that the smoke can escape. Most cooking, therefore, would be outside, although food preparation could take place nearby or in the same space. Some homes may not have had a specific place for cooking, such as smaller homes, where a shared communal space may have been used for making meals (Figure 1). Wealthy people generally had more elaborate rooms that had facilities for storage of foods, what were essentially pantries, that were often next to an open space for cooking. In very wealthy residences, or even palaces, food storage may have been more elaborate, where types of ice houses and large storage rooms would have been present. Some kitchens could also be enclosed, where a possible chimney could have carried the smoke for cooking fires (Figure 2).<ref>For more on kitchens in antiquity in the Mediterranean region, see: Klarich, Elizabeth, ed. 2010. <i>Inside Ancient Kitchens: New Directions in the Study of Daily Meals and Feasts.</i> Boulder: University Press of Colorado.

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One interesting find is cuneiform tablets in Mesopotamia and other writings from parts of the Near East, including Egypt, have been found to sometimes indicate recipes. Although recipes on tablets have not generally been found in kitchens, it is likely chefs at more wealthy residences and palaces would have had access to these recipes as a way to prepare elaborate feasts for guests. The keeping of information on preparing favorite foods was now part of some households written records, making the kitchen an important component for entertaining guests. However, the kitchen itself was seen as a workplace and rarely as the main dinning area for guests.<ref>For more on ancient recipes, see: Kaufman, Cathy K. 2006. <i>Cooking in Ancient Civilizations.</i> The Greenwood Press “Daily Life through History” series. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.</ref>

==Later Periods==

In the late Medieval period in Europe, by the 12-13th centuries, kitchens in wealthier homes and palaces began to be more commonly separated. This created more class separation between areas where food was prepared versus areas where food was served. This had to do with the smoke and smells of the kitchen, which nobles were keen to separate. Alternatives included using sunken floor or areas to allow the smoke to escape using another way from the main building. In more common homes, fireplaces and chimneys were now more typically created, particularly around a side of the house or along one particular wall. This now made the corner or side wall of a larger room, or where chimney might be placed, as an area where indoor cooking was done. Pots and pans were now mostly metallic, where they were hung above a fireplace on stands. Stands or hung cooking wares could be lowered or raised to control heating.<ref>For more on changes in kitchens in the late Medieval period, see: Freedman, Paul, ed. 2007. <i>Food: The History of Taste.</i> California Studies in Food and Culture 21. Berkeley: University of California Press.

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