Big Things from Small Kitchens
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 12.14.08
We do a regular series on TreeHugger about almost useless kitchen appliances that just take up space, or are what the Unclutterer calls "unitaskers"- devices that do only one thing that you need rarely.
The other side of the story is that many people, including most people in big cities or small apartments, have really small kitchens and just can't accommodate much of anything besides the basic stove, sink, fridge and a few pots and pans. New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman develops and tests his recipes for his cookbooks and articles in a kitchen that is seven feet long and six feet wide, tiny by any standards. He writes in the Times about what he thinks is essential in a kitchen:
Mark Bittman in kitchen; Photo Kelly Doe
A young journalist called and asked what, after all, I considered essential in a modern kitchen? “A stove, a sink, a refrigerator, some pots and pans, a knife and some serving spoons,” I answered. “All else is optional.”
He writes that chefs, food writers, and grandmas know what counts in a kitchen:
When it comes to kitchens, size and equipment don’t count nearly as much as devotion, passion, common sense and, of course, experience. To pretend otherwise — to spend tens of thousands of dollars or more on a kitchen before learning how to cook, as is sadly common — is to fall into the same kind of silly consumerism that leads people to believe that an expensive gym membership will get them into shape or the right bed will improve their sex life. As runners run and writers write, cooks cook, under pretty much any circumstance.
More in New York Times
More Mark Bittman in TreeHugger:
Mark Bittman on the Future of Fish : TreeHugger
Mark Bittman TED Video: Link Between Food and the Environment ...
On Moving Toward Vegetarianism: Finding Some Support
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"kitchen that is seven feet long and six feet wide, tiny by any standards"
One has to wonder out loud - has Mr Alter spent ANY time on a sailboat out to sea? Say, on a Crealock 37? (search for an image, there are plenty)
Now that is a small - no, a TINY kitchen (galley).
LOL - it is nice to know that not everyone has one of those massive, 6 acre kitchens so often seen on the tube.
Thanks for posting!
LA: I grew up on an Alberg 30 sailboat and own a trailer, but for the apartment of a food writer, it is surprising and pleasing.
Uh, that's a big kitchen by my standards. Look how big his stove is! And all that counter space... I bet his kitchen even has drawers and a full-size refrigerator!
My kitchen is 5x6, at most. The sink is the size of a sheet of A4. I was asked if I could fit dinner plates in it. "Vertically" I replied. There are 3 cupboards, a small stove, and a dorm-fridge. I added a shelf between the little counter and the cupboard so I could put the microwave on top of it and the dish-drying rack below it. The thing for separating forks/knives/spoons sits on top of the microwave, and all cooking/serving spoons hang from hooks on the wall.
Nice quote- it sums up the best in enviromentalism- being pragmatic.
i live on a 44 foot sailboat and my galley is tiny in comparison to the kitchen pictured above. my husband built the refrigerator to fit into a wedge-shaped space along the hull and our stove is a little propane fired unit with two burners and an oven.
we both like to cook - well, i prefer baking, and i do a good deal of it, too. had to search out cookie sheets to fit in the oven and we own just 3 pots and one skillet.
life in a small space!