Why Americans are Using the Kitchen Less, but Spending More on Them

The author, Elyssa Goldberg, takes a look into the new trend in American households, why americans are spending more on thier kitchen and then not using them. It goes through the periods of minimalistic, to just counter space, to a doubling of the square feet of kitchens. She explains that kitchens have moved away from the “hot, smelly, dangerous place” into a staple of luxury. She highlights that we are spending less time in our kitchens because of gadgets, but that we are buying gadgets because we are using them less. She also touches on the stereotypes inside the kitchen, one where woman make the unfaltering pie crust and the men are all “fire, blood, and knives.”

 

It is interesting to see how much Americans have changed when it comes to cooking and the kitchen. It used to be the staple of an American home, but now it is place were few venture. Americans are becoming reliant on others to do the cooking for them, weather it is a fancy restaurant, drive thru, or prepackaged. This is why we have such a misconception with food in America. People will go to McDonald and get a salad not realizing that a salad there has over 700 calories, and their Big Mac that many people think as a calorie bomb have 50 LESS calories than the previous salad. When it comes to home cooking a burger at home would have far more calories than one made at home.

 

The true potential of a kitchen is often never found. It is because we have started to rely more on other things to. We are using gadgets to stir a pot when we don’t want to, machines to mix, kneed, and bake our “homemade” bread, and even blenders that cook soup for you. We need to move away from the Mr. Gadget, marble, 300 square foot, fume hood, trash compactor, all gas kitchen to more practical ones for the type of cooking that is going to be done. If you are a Michelin Star or a James Bear Award chef then by all means have everything known to man in the kitchen, but if you’re just cooking for your family or a few friends you probably don’t need the 350-dollar rice cooker you just bought.

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