What To Know For Your Cottagecore Kitchen: 

Want to know if a Cottagecore Kitchen is for you? I saved the Kitchen for last because we have to have a place to use all those homegrown goodies we talked about in the Cottagecore Garden section!

But remember, no worries if you are still getting ready for a garden! You can still start a Cottagecore Kitchen, as it's all about the aesthetics and the food! 

First, we must cover some background history to understand the 18th-century kitchen.

History of Cottage Kitchens in the 18th century:

It took a lot of looking and searching to find the history of the 18th-century cottage kitchen! There were many images and ideas for modern cottage decor, but I was looking for something on a real working cottage kitchen. Here are some interesting finds from my research.

• Stone floors or wide floorboards for easier cleaning.
• Open fireplaces were the main focus of the kitchen. 
• Kitchens were kept separate from the main home for fear of fire. 
• And, cooper pots and pans started showing up at the end of the 18th century and became a must-have during the Victorian period. 

Cottagecore kitchens mainly focus on an English-style cottages. But, at the end of the Revolutionary War in North America, Americans also used their knowledge of English Cottage Kitchens in their homes.

North America's Cottagecore: 

One of North America's historical sights, Mount Vernon, has been maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858. 

You can visit Mount Vernon and see the 18th century frozen in time or take a virtual tour of the kitchen and grounds. Get ready to spend the afternoon hooked, exploring, and gathering inspiration from this beautiful estate.

 Mount Vernon Tour of a 18th Century Kitchen 

As you can see, we have romanticized the physical look of a cottagecore kitchen from reality during those times. Not to mention the technological advances and convenience of today's kitchen gadgets that most of us don't want to live without.

Most people's house layouts follow those modern conveniences, and the likelihood of you adding an open fireplace to your kitchen is slim. If I were building a new home, I would add that in, but I have to deal with what I have. So what is a Cottagecore girl to do? 

The easiest way to look at it is to split it into two categories: 

1. Cottage Kitchen Aesthetics 
2. Cottage Cooking 

 

Let's start with the aesthetics.

 

Kitchen Aesthetics: 

Because, there is such a shift in historical periods, we have much more freedom to create the aesthetic cottage kitchen we desire. Just as we covered in Cottagecore Home, there are several different styles you can mix or focus on one. 

Here are some that are popular for kitchens:

•  Farmcore
• Countrycore
• Woodlandcore
• Prariecore
• Teacore

Remember, it is your kitchen. Do what you are comfortable with and what you think looks good! So, the following are general suggestions that will work across all the cores mentioned above.  

Cottagecore Kitchens follow a lot of the same elements as Cottagecore Home:

• Add patterns and textures with tea-towels, curtains, and baskets. 
• Bring in Fresh Flowers and Plants
• 
• Bring plants, like fresh herbs, that you can use for cooking in the kitchen. 
• Hanging coffee mugs and creating a coffee nook. 
• Display your homegrown eggs.
• 
• Add a hutch or cupboard to help display your dishes, cookware, or vintage finds.
• Baskets full of fresh veggies. 
• Displaying jars of your canned food. 
• 
• Use shabby chic pieces. Are family members getting rid of a buffet? Can you paint it to look like Cottagecore?
• You can go neutral or can go entirely pastel. 
• Also, display your cooking essentials like wooden spoons and bowls.
• Drying racks for your herbs. 
• 

• Display your handmade baked treats! 
• 

 

I would wait to buy utensils and cookware right away! I have added a tip at the end of Cooking in the Kitchen that will make more sense once you've completed that section! 

Cottage Cooking: The cottage kitchen is about quality ingredients as close to their natural form as possible and how you use them. Displaying fresh veggies, fruit, and eggs on the counter will allow easy access to ingredients. And, you will also want bread and pastries easily accessible.

• Making fresh sourdough bread.
• Pickled foods. 
• Cooking with chicken broth and bone broth. 
• Making jellies, jams, and marmalades.
• 
• Learning to can fruits and veggies.
• 
• Baking pies and pastries with canned fruit. 
• Cooking with fresh herbs. 
• 
• Creating fresh fruit-infused waters.
• Cooking with honey.
• 
• Homemade muffins, pancakes, and tarts.
• Cooking fresh vegetables 
• 
• Creating fermented foods. 
• Cooking with whole foods. 
• Rich stews and soups.
• Banana and carrot cakes.

 

The list could go on and on with different foods within each category! 

Preparing: 

While you wait for your herbs and vegetables to produce, start practicing your cooking skills. Purchasing the veggies and fruits from your local farmers market you are interested in growing or trying.

 

This is a great way to see if you will like that vegetable or fruit before incorporating it into your garden. It is the same step I suggest before starting any food gardens. You don't want to grow something you or your family will not eat.

Your cottage kitchen is one of the three main areas I would slowly develop over time. Remember you want your kitchen to be functional as well as pleasing. Here are my suggested two tips to help create a Cottagecore Kitchen. 

 

Tip 1: 

Introduce new food slowly. Try one fresh food a week. If you overwhelm your body with too much at once, your stomach may not react well to it. Especially if you are not used to eating whole foods that are not heavily processed. You also want to avoid gorging on them, even if they taste amazing! 

 

The reason is that you may have an allergic reaction to a new food you are unaware. Introducing small amounts will make it easier to see if that particular food is the cause. Also, any food you pigout on will make you ill afterward, and you don't want to make your experience negative. 

 

Tip 2: 

You might need certain cooking utensils and cookware as you introduce new foods and learn how to cook them. So, waiting to find/purchase these as you cook will save you time, money, and space. Even though layer and layers of dishes is eye candy for the Cottagecore lover, it also needs to be layers of functional items. 

 

 

-You can find some of our handmade wooden spoons in our shop HERE

 

I don't know about you, but I am craving homemade blueberry muffins covered in cinnamon brown sugar syrup! That's the beautiful thing about a Cottagecore Kitchen; you will have everything ready for all your food-craving desires at your fingertips. So, I'm going to grab some of our homegrown blueberries out of the freezer and leave you with our favorite blueberry muffin recipe! 

Click the Image below-

 

Thanks for stopping by the W.W. Cottagecore Homestead!