Colonial Kitchen Tools

Tools of the Trade If it could survive fire, it had a spot in a colonial kitchen. Think: Iron pots and kettles (some over 40 lbs) Skillets and bake kettles Dutch ovens with lids for piling hot coals Roasting jacks and spits for meat Chafing dishes, ladles, and wooden spoons Potato boilers and copper skimmers These weren't optional. Pewter and other metals, like silver, were too expensive for most colonists to afford, so variety of carved wooden ware, including knife boxes and spoon racks, helped the cook keep her kitchen organized.

Almost all colonial kitchens had a salt box, generally kept near the fireplace, where the cooking was done and where the salt would be kept dry. A well-stocked kitchen, full of tools suited to a variety of food preparation and measuring methods, was a sign of an affluent household. New World noblemen or plantation owners often had trained European cooks and lavish kitchens with state-of-the art tools and cooking implements.

At the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, "the household inventory for Governor Botetourt listed copper. Early Americans were close to medieval in their dining habits. Even though people have been sharing communal meals with their families and friends from the beginning of civilization, early meals in Colonial America were more a matter of crude survival.

Most foods in the colony-building 17th century consisted of one-pot dishes like stews, porridges and puddings, meals that are suited for. Unlike all the gadgets, appliances and plastic cookware that are available to the modern cook, Colonial Americans used mostly wood and metal to prepare their meals over wood fires and ovens. Preparation began very early in the day, and it took hours to cook the daily meals for the household.

Enjoy your colonial cooking with the ease of using proper 18th Century cooking supplies! Our pots and pans are crafted with the Early American Chef in mind. Ideal for cooking over an open fire at camp or at home, all of our pots and pans have been carefully researched and put to use. Take in the warm crackling of a fire and the delicious scents that fill the air while you prepare your next.

One Colonial farmer described the kitchen utensils thus: "The crane had a set of rods with hooks on each end, graduated in length so as to hang the kettle at the proper height from the fire. In addition to kettles we had the long-handled frying-pan, the three. In the Early Kitchen Cooking Utensils In: 1830, Around the Home, Browse By Era, Browse by Subject, Colonial & Georgian, In the Kitchen.

Colonial Williamsburg's collection of early mechanical arts contains a diverse array of materials, including tools, machinery, kitchen equipment, arms, military accouterments, scientific and medical instruments, and clocks and watches. The Foundation maintains a large study collection of the tool forms used by eighteenth century tradesmen. Resource Colonial Cooking Kitchen tools illustrate how women prepared food and developed new cooking methods in North American colonies.