In the Kitchen

    Historic kitchens are fascinating places.  I look around my (thoroughly) modern kitchen and am astounded by the sheer number of labor-saving devices that are at my disposal.  Forget microwaves and garbage disposals.  Think of the toaster and the coffeemaker.  Granted, the Medieval cook wouldn't need a can opener, but you see a bit of what I'm driving at.  The modern idea of "cooking from scratch" is nothing compared to what these people had to do every day.  So the question is, "How do you create a 'Fantasy' kitchen?"
    Kitchen design varied widely based on region and economic status.  My research focused on Europe.  In poor households, the kitchen would also be the home heat source.  Very poor homes might have a simple fire pit, located under the high point in the roof, which had a hole for the smoke to pass through.  The next step up would be to have some kind of hood and chimney for the fire, maybe a brick or stone fireplace (still as the primary heat source for the home).  The early Halls of the lords would have a separate kitchen area at the far end of the hall (from the family Solar) near the door, hidden from view by wooden screens.  Eventually, these screened areas became separate rooms, though in the same general position in the floorplan.  In castles, the kitchens were often in separate buildings to reduce the risk of fire.  Early castle kitchens would have been wooden, with thatched roofs (in England) with a covered walkway to get you to the living area.  Later kitchens (of the wealthy) became much more elaborate, consisting of multiple rooms and/or buildings with specific functions.  Some later castles might have a whole tower devoted to the kitchens, or even separate kitchens for the nobility and for the staff. 
    The needs of any kitchen are reliant on what you plan to cook in it.  The poor of medieval Europe ate lots of brown bread, grains, onions and root vegetables, legumes, eggs, cheese and fish.  They might have a skilled, a pot and a spit.  Bread was often baked in clay pots in the embers of the fire.  One of the most common dishes was potage (a stew of legumes/grains, onion, roots, greens, herbs and maybe some meat or a soup bone).  The nobility might dine on roasted or boiled game, well spiced (not spicy) sauces, fowl, soup, pies and tarts, white bread, fritters and pancakes, fruits, vegetables, and so on.  Their needs were a bit more extensive.  It was interesting to discover that menus were developed to follow the medical concept of maintaining balanced humors (hot/dry/wet/cold, in this application).  Consequently, beef (dry/cold) was often boiled, while pork (wet) was roasted.  It was also common for food to be well ground and mixed to spread these properties evenly and ease digestion.   
    Still today, heat source is a very important concern for cooks.  Naturally, in the medieval period the fuel choice was generally wood or peat.  It seems, few cooks who lived in towns or cities would keep fires burning all night (unless, perhaps, it was winter).  Fuel was much too expensive to waste in such a manner.  Fires were generally lit with the assistance of a tinderbox (flint and steel).  The application of heat (no thermometers, silly) was determined based on the color of the fire and controlled by the distance from the flame.  Hearths often had multiple hooks at various heights for just that purpose.  Similarly, spits would be placed at different heights, dependent on what you were roasting.  Some castle hearths were big enough to roast three oxen simultaneously. 
    It is important to remember that cooking was labor intensive and in many poorer kitchens people needed to fill multiple functions.  In a noble kitchen, there might be: one man for roasting meats, one for making sauces, one for making stews (like your potage), one for handling and herbs (that's Mister mortar and pestle to you), one for maintaining the fires, and one for scrubbing pots and dishes.  This list of course doesn't include the Chief Cook, the butler (for handling the booze), the baker, someone to sharpen knives, someone to gut the animals, someone to process the dairy goods (churn butter, make cheese, etc), or the porters to carry the food to table and serve.  Larger kitchens (like Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace) also included a brewery, separate sculleries for silver and pewter, pastry bakehouse, confectionary, wafery (not a waifery), boilinghouse, dry fish house, and loads of other task specific buildings, each with appropriate staff.  The staff of these noble kitchens was often male, due to the intense labor required. 
    Furnishings in kitchens of this period were limited and often rough, even in the houses of the nobility.  Open space is very important in working kitchens to allow freedom of movement around other stations.  Professional kitchens often had high ceilings because of the smoke and to reduce the risk of fire.  Storage shelves were also high on the walls, as were windows.  Rushes often covered the floor (which might have been hard packed earth, stone or tile) and were changed often (old ones helped to kindle the new fire).  Trestle tables were common, due to ease of assembly/dis-assembly.  Chopping blocks were a necessity for processing animals.  Seats were generally simple three-legged stools.  With all of those people sharing a space it must have been chaotic at times.
    Just because these kitchens were primitive (relative to today) doesn't mean that they didn't have their share of gadgets.  Frying pans might have legs to keep them level and above the embers (since there was no range), or they might use an iron trivet.  There were all kinds of grills and grates for roasting or toasting.  Hearths needed andirons and rakes, spits and pothooks.  Pots came in all shapes and sizes.  There were roasting forks (though not eating ones) and skimming spoons, colanders and rolling pins, weights and scales, and knives aplenty (carving, boning, chopping, mincing, cleaving).  Bunches of twigs were used for whisking as well as scouring.  Baskets could be used for just about everything going to or from market.  They also used cheese graters and pepper mills to go with their mortar and pestle.  Plus, who could live without a waffle iron?  As long as we have been cooking, people have been trying to make it easier.
    Copious storage space has long been a necessity for a good kitchen.  Certain items were kept in large quantities and stored in ways that are not common today.  Sacks, casks, and barrels were all used for storage.  Meats could be salted, smoked or dried and were then hung to keep them away from vermin.  Fats would be rendered and stored in glazed earthenware crocks.  Fruits, nuts and vegetables might be preserved in honey.  The more expensive spices may be locked away like the silver.   The buttery (where they kept the butts of wine and ale; run by the butler) would most certainly be locked, to keep the staff honest.  A root cellar might be important to keep things cool, as well as out of the way.  Where to keep things is often as important as how to cook them.
    When designing your kitchen, it is important to remember the needs of the owners.  A house with a large staff obviously needs a larger kitchen with additional storage and maybe a separate dining area.  Smaller kitchens often didn't even have ovens.  Some communities in Italy had communal kitchens that all common people used.  Basically, anything you can dream of, someone has done already.  I hope this exploration serves as a good jumping-off point for your culinary exploits.  The only thing I would encourage is that you read more about how these things were done and to think for a moment about why they were done in that way before you apply them to your world.  When you find your answers, it should help provide a more enriching experience for you and your readers. 



Helpful References
real 360 kitchen image - http://www.gainsborougholdhall.com/explore/photography-360/medieval-kitchen
lengthy article - http://www.katjaorlova.com/MedievalKitchenEquipment.htm
brief - http://www.magnet.co.uk/blog/2013/Oct/the-medieval-kitchen
Marksburg Castle - http://aspoonfulofthyme.blogspot.com/2011/03/medieval-kitchen-and-herb-garden.html
manor house design http://www.britainexpress.com/architecture/medieval-manors.htm
Italian kitchen (brief) http://theitaliantribune.com/?p=1159
British Castles - http://www.castles-of-britain.com/kitchens.htm
Medieval Architecture - http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Architecture-Interior.html
gardens - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356400618277/
gardens (more in depth) http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/medievalgardens.htm
some recipes - http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/706842.html
recipe links http://www.archaeolink.com/medieval_cooking_anthropology_of.htm