08 November 2012

Hearth Cooking



Last month I was lucky to spend the day cooking in an 18th century kitchen at the Nathan Hale Homestead during a BAR event. Here are some photos from that fun day...

 
 The view from the kitchen.

So New England autumnal! 


Baking bread literally on the hearth! 
"Checking" the meat...not that I was actually cooking this. 

Yum!



This photo is totally staged, but I wanted something to illustrate my "duh" moment of the day. I've been using repro wooden spoons in my kitchen for years because they're so much nicer than most modern wooden spoons, but I never understood why the handles on the repro spoons are so long. After sitting at the hearth for five minutes, it quickly became apparent how helpful the long handle is for stirring next to a fire. Duh





To learn more about the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry, CT (which is a really great site!), click here. You can also read about Kitty Calash's experience from that day on her blog.



3 comments:

  1. These are the most fantastic photos; I love seeing what every day life might have looked like in a colonial home. Camp pictures are always fun, but by and large the average 18th century woman's life wouldn't have been spent anywhere near a tent, haha. Thanks for sharing your day of cooking :)

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  2. Wow, great pictures, and a treat to see you in costume, doing housework (most of the time I see people in the movies and I say how the heck did they sweep a hearth in THAT getup!)
    As to spoons, as Shakespeare said, when you sup with the devil you must use a long spoon...(very much paraphrased, I'm afraid).
    Keep those great reflections coming!

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