Apr 27 2008

Kitchen Spaces

Published by dodo at 7:55 pm under Appliance, Beater, Blender, Cabinet, Cast Iron, Coffee Maker, Container, Countertop, Crusher, Cupboard, Decoration, Dinner Table, Dish Washer, Food Processor, Fridge, Furniture, Juicer, Kettle, Measure Cup, Microwave, Non-Stick, Oven, Pans, Peeler, Pots, Pressure Cooker, Roasting Pan, Saucepan, Steamer, Stockpot, Stove, Toaster, Woks

The kitchen is the heart of the house, the centre of consumption, the hub of daily life. It is the place where family and friends gather to eat, drink, and chat, share their joys, or solve their problems. It is the base of all domestic operations and the one place where we can “act locally”, and play an active part in protecting the health of ourselves and that of the wider environment.

The kitchen of childhood dreams is a place full of appetizing and tantalizing smells, a farmhouse kitchen, perhaps, hung with polished copper pots and pans and warmed by a glowing fire. However, behind that dream lay the reality for the housewife of long hours of tiring work stoking fires, heating water, hand-washing and ironing, scrubbing and polishing, and cooking.

Kitchen EssentialThe modern kitchen evolved largely from a desire to eliminate the worst of the laborious and time-consuming chores and to create an easier, safe, and hygienic environment. It soon took us far beyond the basic improvements and became a status symbol. Streamlined and super-efficient, every wall crammed with designer fitted units and a profusion of handy gadgets for every imaginable task, the kitchen had become no more than a fast processor of overpackaged supermarket goods and overpriced convenience foods, and a depository for electrical appliances. As fashion changed, the former country style returned and the strident, white laminated surfaces have now been replaced with softer, more rustic façades. But behind these carefully contrived nostalgic exteriors, the modern kitchen is still unhealthy and overconsuming; it is sometimes dangerous and it is always polluting.

The modern kitchen is wasteful of energy and water and fails to recycle valuable waste materials. The continuing problems of condensation, fumes, and gases from stoves and cookers still make the air unhealthy. Worse still are the new dangers from the chemical kitchen — formaldehyde in particle board units, toxic vapours from adhesives and paints, and offgassing from plastics and synthetic materials. Food stored, prepared, and consumed in a chemical atmosphere may absorb the harmful substances and itself become polluted. Hazardous detergents and strong, non-biodegradable chemicals pollute the waste water from washing machines and dishwashers and this in turn pollutes the environment. But most wasteful and most damaging are the mountains of throwaway cans, bottles, plastic packaging, paper, card, and food garbage.

More and more people are changing to a healthier lifestyle and becoming increasingly aware of their responsibilities for the environment. What we need now is a new type of kitchen, a new focus for our daily life that is not intended for surface show but stands for the sounder principles of personal health and universal ecology. A kitchen where we can enjoy the pleasures of healthy food without it costing, literally, the earth.

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2 Responses to “Kitchen Spaces”

  1. # Sauce Panson 28 Jul 2008 at 6:33 am

    Safety interlocking switch to prevent the juicer from working if not correctly locked in 53cm x 28cm (with blender), 45cm x 28cm (with juice extractor)… … Sauce Pans

  2. # Brand Name Cookwareon 09 Aug 2008 at 8:18 pm

    Unlike other cookware pieces, cast iron is prized for its ability to heat evenly and retain the heat so your food browns perfectly. … Brand Name Cookware

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