What were the kitchens like in Medieval Times?

Answer 1

Most people did not have kitchens, because most people could not afford them. Poor people cooked outdoors, when the weather was good. When the weather was not good, they built fires indoors, typically on a hearth in the middle of the floor, and they cooked over these. They did not have fireplaces as we know them because they were not invented until the 11th or 12th century, and were really only for rich people for a long time after that. The smoke went out through a large vent under the gable of the roof, or through a hole in the roof. They did not usually bake their own bread at home. In some places they could rent a community oven to bake, and in others they bought or traded for bread with a local miller or baker.

Monasteries, schools, castles, and manor house had kitchens, sometimes more than one with each specializing in a different kind of food. These were often in free standing buildings, again because they did not have good chimneys. In some places, the smoke was gathered by a smoke canopy which was a plastered thing hanging from the ceiling, and the smoke was vented through the roof or a wall. In others places, they just had large windows. But again, cooking was done out doors when possible.

The cooking methods and equipment were most similar to what we would use when camping out.

Answer 2

Kitchens were used to prepare food for large numbers of people. They were used in manor houses, castles, abbeys and monasteries, and for commercial food preparation.

During the Middle Ages, kitchens were used for different specialized purposes. A manor house would often have more than one kitchen, each intended for some particular use. So one might be only for baking breads and pastries, another only for roasting meat, and yet another for more general cooking. A lot of cooking was done outdoors, so a kitchen might not be used during times of good weather to do the actual cooking.

The reason for this is that while baking was done in large ovens, other cooking was done over open fires. There were no stoves, and for most of the Middle Ages there were no fireplaces with chimneys. The result was that much of the cooking required a lot of space and a lot of ventilation. Combining functions of different kitchens into a single space would have required a huge room. And moving all the cooking indoors would have been difficult.

It should be said that most people who lived in towns did not have kitchens because they were too expensive. Townsfolk seem to have eaten prepared meals they purchased from commercial kitchens. Serfs on manors also did not have kitchens, though they may have made their own meals over fires on hearths in their cottages or nearby. Ovens used for baking were usually placed outdoors on manors. They were usually operated by bakers or millers who sold bread, or they were rented for use by the serfs.

Answer 3

Some kitchens were in buildings built for the purpose. This would commonly happen in monasteries, castles, and at manor houses.

A manor house might have indoor kitchens in the house proper. They had the problem of having to vent smoke, and since chimneys were not invented until the 12th century or so, it was necessary to have a vent in an outside wall or a hole in the roof to get rid of smoke. A kitchen was sometimes a room in the cellar with a vent at an above ground wall.

Many cooking areas were just places outdoors where a large fire could be built. Peasants usually cooked outdoors, but the same was done at the best manors.

Peasants usually had hearths in their cottages, with holes in the roof above them for the smoke. They did not always cook indoors, however.

In towns and cities, most people could not afford kitchens in their own homes, so food was sold by professional cooks, rather like fast food is today. Such kitchens were at buildings like the kitchen buildings of castles and monasteries. These could be almost anywhere in a town.

Answer 4

During the Middle Ages, much of the cooking was done outdoors. The problem with indoor cooking was partly the fact that there were no chimneys, which were only invented in the 12th century, and venting smoke was a problem. So the easiest place to cook was outdoors. This was true even in castles and manors.

Nevertheless, there were indoor kitchens. Very often the kitchens were in buildings specially built for the purpose, and these often had very large windows, through which the smoke escaped.

Indoor kitchens were usually built with floor on the ground, so the fire could be easily supported without a fear of it spreading, and a roof with a hole in it above. An alternative to this was to have a smoke canopy, which gathered the smoke and vented it through a wall. The indoor kitchens in manor houses and castles were nearly always in some wing or in the basement. Since kitchen work was separated according to what was being done, there were often multiple kitchens, each with its own accommodation for a fire or oven.

In peasant cottages, the cooking was usually done outdoors, if possible, or on an open hearth with a hole in the roof above. Alternately, large window-like openings might be below the peaks of the roof to allow smoke out.

The times were not known for being warm and cozy.

There is a link to a question on smoke canopies below.

Answer 5

They probably would live with the servants.