Editing Kitchen (section)

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Medieval kitchen.jpg|thumb|The roasting spit in this [[Europe]]an Renaissance kitchen was driven automatically by a propeller—the black cloverleaf-like structure in the upper left]]

Early medieval European [[longhouse]]s had an open fire under the highest point of the building. The "kitchen area" was between the entrance and the fireplace. In wealthy homes, there was typically more than one kitchen. In some homes, there were upwards of three kitchens. The kitchens were divided based on the types of food prepared in them.<ref>Thompson, Theodor (1992) ''Medieval Homes'', Sampson Lowel House</ref>

The kitchen might be separate from the great hall due to the smoke from cooking fires and the chance the fires may get out of control.<ref>{{citation |first1=Neil |last1=Christie |first2=Oliver |last2=Creighton |first3=Matt |last3=Edgeworth|first4=Helena |last4=Hamerow |author-link1=Neil Christie |author-link4=Helena Hamerow |title=Transforming Townscapes: From burgh to borough: the archaeology of Wallingford, AD 800–1400 |series=The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph Series |number=35 |isbn=978-1-909662-09-4 |location=Oxford |year=2013 |publisher=Society for Medieval Archaeology|page=201}}</ref> Few medieval kitchens survive as they were "notoriously ephemeral structures".<ref>{{citation |first1=Oliver |last1=Creighton |first2=Neil |last2=Christie |contribution=The Archaeology of Wallingford Castle: a summary of the current state of knowledge |title=Wallingford: The Castle and the Town in Context |editor-first1=K. S. B. |editor-last1=Keats-Rohan |editor-first2=Neil |editor-last2=Christie |editor-link2=Neil Christie |editor-first3=David |editor-last3=Roffe |series=BAR British Series |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-1418-1 |location=Oxford |year=2015|page=13}}</ref>

[[File:Måleri, genrebild. Köksinteriör - Skoklosters slott - 88962.tif|thumb|Kitchen interior, {{circa|1565}}]]