Primitive Cooking Tools

Fire was the most essential primitive cooking tool.

The most primitive cooking tools consisted of a flame and a utensil to hold food over it. In simplest forms, this method involved a fire pit and a rotisserie or skewer. As technology progressed, primitive societies began utilizing wood, clay, brass and copper to make spoons, bowls, pots, colanders and strainers. The cookware of the wealthy were commonly comprised of metal, whereas the poor often fashioned cooking tools from stones, clay and wood.

Ovens

The modern conventional oven evolved from clay ovens, tandooris and fire pits. Fire pits rely on elementary principles--heat originates from a hole in the ground that contains rocks, sediment and burning coals. Primitive cooks either buried food in the rocks, or skewered it and roasted it over the rocks. Clay ovens, referred to as hornos in South America and tandooris in India and the Middle East, have existed since 1st century C.E. Primitive cooks buried a large clay vessel in the ground, built a fire inside it and held food over it on skewers or rotisseries.

Cookware

Several materials comprised ancient cookware, including rocks, brass and iron. Primitive cooks heated a flat, nonporous rock, such as granite or slate, over coals or under direct sunlight. The rocks' surface was used similar to a griddle or flat-top grill. Romans commonly used brass for their cookware. The ancient Roman cook placed brass cauldrons over open fires for hot cooking water, he used bronze shells for pastry molds and he fashioned colanders, drip pans and gridirons from silver-plated brass. The Roman cook also used vases for cooking. Similar to the French bain marie, the cook filled a large vase partly with water, and placed a smaller vase inside it. She placed food in the smaller vase, and the water surrounding it gently heated the food.

Storage

Ancient Egyptians stored food in clay pots, bags and palm- or reed-woven baskets. Milk, water and beer often were transported to the home in goat hides, as was wine until Egypt's Late period (664 B.C.E. to 332 B.C.E). Because alcohol stored in porous material causes it to cool and evaporate, Egyptians began lining wine vessels with wax and resins to prevent excessive moisture loss. Primitive households also used salt for the preservation of meats and fish, and dedicated cellars to their storage.

Utensils

Due to the cost of metals, many cooking tools consisted of earthenware materials. However, the wealthy often used utensils and cookware comprised of copper, bronze or faience, a glazed, nonclay ceramic material. The poor, medieval households of Europe primarily used a three-legged iron kettle for in-home cooking, in addition to wooden spoons, plates and bowls. Mortar and pestles facilitated the production of ground spices and emulsified sauces, such as aioli.

References

• "The Professional Chef 8th Edition"; The Culinary Institute of America; 2006
• The Traveling Palate: Pit Cooking...Some History
• The Original Tandoori Q: History
• The New York Times: The Kitchen in All Ages:
• Resha Firm: Household Utensils and Materials
• European Cooking from Rome to the Renaissance II:A Study of Cooking Tasks, Methods and Equipment