I am looking for those who are building or have built a canning kitchen away from the house? What is yours like? What things would you do different? Is there anything you would like to add?

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), July 26, 2000

Answers

I have given this some thought .You could use a screened in carport or porch .Keep an eye out for old kerosine stoves , the Amish use these alot .You could make due with a utility sink ,a garden hose for clean water and plastic flexable pipe for draining the sink .Kinda crude but it would work i think.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), July 26, 2000.

A house came up for auction here a few months ago, and I went to look at it as it was a neat ol' house! And it had a seperate canning / summer kitchen that had many of the auctionee's ooh-ing.

It was brick, attached to the kitchen door via a breezeway, and at least 20 X 20 in size. 4 eye gas stove in the middle of the wall opposite the door. Double sink a few feet down and to the right. Right wall had a fireplace. Left wall had a 1950's era fridge, and a window air conditioner. Work island in the middle, and shelves everywhere. It was a wonderful work space. Unfortunately it was bid up to some ridculous price by a "professional" couple who thought they could turn around and sell it a tidy profit - last I heard, they were still trying to sell it for what they paid for it!

Right now I'm lucky to have the one kitchen, but if I get to build a screened in porch on the end of the house someday, we'll be putting a gas stove and a sink out there.

-- Eric in TN (ems@nac.net), July 26, 2000.

I noticed that one response suggested using a garden hose for a water source. I recently shopped for a new hose for the yard and some had a conspicuous label stating that they weren't for use for drinking water. The hose had been manufactured with recycled plastics that were contaminated and could cause birth defects. I've seen special hoses for RV's and such but they were pretty expensive for even very short lengths. I looked at another store and found a 100'section that was labeled safe for drinking water. Of course, you would want to keep that hose for just your canning kitchen. At least around here it would be necessary to mark and store it separately because I think dilute manure tea is terrific for the garden.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), July 26, 2000.

I think this was on another thread. Yes we built a summer kitchen for Y2K. It is connected to the main house through the laundry room. We used slinding glass windows (free) which were set in length wise as windows, big beautiful and free! We left only a one window screened and the door is also screened, so we would get cross ventilation. We put our washer and dryer out there during this time of year. We also plumbed in a commercial 2 compartment deep sink with a drain board, all in stainless, another find. It is great for canning, butchering, I also use it to put the crock pot, bread machine, deydrater etc. to get the heat out of the house. A bonus is that I have a dry, easily acessed room to keep newborns, extra feed etc. in. Don't want them in the heated house. We have a small gas stove, an extra oven, husband put shelves everywhere. Though our whole house is done in asphalt tile, like you see in hospitals, we have left the floor plywood right now, I am probably just going to paint it. Husband built a 12 foot platform (looks like a hanging gallows, course anyone who knows John, it could hang a whale) above the well, and put our holding tanks up in the air, (we have many dress rehersals for Y2K, living in the national forest where you loose your power frequently) the gravity flow was great to the sink. The hand pump (mounted up on the platform) is a work-out but it works great, no more worries about hauling water to the stock when we are out of electricity. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 26, 2000.

we are building a summer kitchen shortly... our plans include a rather small enclosed area, about 8x8, that will house the stove, a small fridge and sink, and a bigger roofed area, 10x16,that will be a shelter with a built in grill in the summer, and an area to store firewood in the cold months. i will be happy to get the canning process out of the house in the summer. cooking in general heats up the house too much for me. we will collect rainwater and store that in a large drumm above the sink. trying to keep it simple....john

-- john houser (farmjon@juno.com), July 27, 2000.

When we bought our place a couple of years ago it had an enclosed back porch with screens. I insulated the floor and added 12 sliding double glazed windows. Our water heater, washer/dryer aqre out there as well as a second refrigerator. The room is 8x32' we had a 12' long cupboard built, with counter and and many doors & drawers, room for all the canning equipment, large stock pots etc. There is a small wood cook stove at one end and we have a propane 2-burner camp stove,( COSTCO $99.)with heavy cast iron burners,(not a Coleman style) it is large enough to put two hot pack canners on or canner & pressure canner, it really kicks out the heat, there is running water but I have yet to put the sink in, the kitchen is just through the door. There is room on the counter for our 2 dehydraters, bread maker, and other gadgets.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), July 27, 2000.

The Mrs and I looked at a large number of old farms in our area before we wound up where we are now. What struck me as odd about the "summer kitchens" that these places had is that they were all made from hand laid stone slabs even on properties where none of the other buildings built during the same period were made of stone. The walls were usually 18-24" thick. Im sure that that must have been considered significant in some way but I dont know what it was supposed to achieve. It seems to me to be counter productive to have a building that would hold so much heat as a summer kitchen. Almost all of them actually appeared to me to be laid out for a smithy operation rather than a kitchen but everyone insists that they are kitchens and get almost insulted if you suggest otherwise. I dont know what that means but thats what I know.

-- William in WI (thetoebes@webtv.net), July 27, 2000.

When I was still at home with my parents, my mother came up with a nice "canning kitchen". We put her pressure canners and propane powered burners under a mesh net canopy tent that was 15 x 15. We had a nice breeze and no bugs. You can buy one at Wal Mart or Kmart for under $100 and it will last for years. When not being used for canning they're great to put around the picnic table or outside lounge.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 31, 2000.

Not a lot of houses get built with basements these days, but I know a lot of summer kitchens were in them. They normally stayed cool and the canned goods pantry and root cellar were down there anyway. Sometimes during the summer meals were eaten there as well since it was cooler than the house. People would also sleep out on porches and in the basement. My dad told me when he lived in Milwaukee it got so hot in the summer people would drive down to the lake and sleep there.

-- Ken S. (scharabo@aol.com), August 01, 2000.