Main Gallery Exhibits

The kitchen was traditionally the largest and warmest room in the house, and throughout the 18th and 19th centuries it was principally the domain of women who kept the fires burning and the family fed—the original Housewives of New Jersey! The history of the kitchen is intertwined with women’s history; leading us to ask what stories these kitchens from centuries past can reveal as we examine the evolution of cooking and household management. Using the kitchen as a focal point, we can observe and document changes in society, family life, and diet, particularly as New Jersey became more industrialized.

While food preparation areas and cooking spaces have always existed, the kitchen as we know it did not exist until the 17th century where it became not just a place to prepare food, but also a family work space in the home. Much has changed in our modern-day kitchens, including how they are used and by whom; but kitchens are still often centers of activity. And as other historians have noted, the importance of kitchens survives not so much in words but in spaces, artifacts, routines and recipes.