Although kitchens remained much the same in rural areas those in the cities, where they were often situated in the basement of the new terraced town houses, went through various changes. Most importantly, the open hearth was replaced by a built-in cast iron open range which was introduced in 1780. As the fuel used for cooking gradually changed from wood to coal it was necessary to separate food from the gases and soot produced. Meat was now roasted in enclosed ovens rather than on spits in front of the fire and vegetables were now boiled in saucepans stood on heated ‘hobs’ on top of the ovens. Bread did not now need a separate brick oven but could be baked in the range. This new system of cooking led to the introduction of new equipment such as saucepans, made of steel and copper, and roasting trays. The pewter and wooden plates of the sixteenth and seventeenth were replaced with porcelain produced in the potteries in the Midlands.
Meals in upper and middle-class households would be served in ‘removes’ rather than courses: service à la française. A variety of dishes both savoury and sweet would be placed on the dining table at the same time and guests would serve themselves. The first ‘remove’ might include soup, fish, roast birds and a couple of desserts which although probably not eaten until the end of the meal were kept on the table for decoration. The second ‘remove’ would probably include roast meats, stews and meat puddings. Dishes of confectionary would remain on the table throughout the meal. The higher the number of elaborate dishes that could be displayed on the dining table for each ‘remove’ the better the hosts could show off their wealth. Desserts, in particular, were elaborately constructed and decorated and moulded ice-creams and sorbets were increasingly popular.
During the century sugar became ever more affordable and even the lower classes could now afford to make or buy fruit jams and conserves. It has been suggested that the availability of sugar, particularly in the form of jam, ‘fuelled’ the industrial revolution as the working classes could add many necessary calories to their diet with sugar, which would sustain them through long gruelling hours in factories, mines and fields.
Towards the end of the century the potato which had first been introduced in the sixteenth century, but used mainly for cattle fodder, began to be eaten and became, by the middle of the nineteenth century, a staple in most diets. For the wealthy, new ingredients continued to be introduced from the colonies and fruits such as the pineapple became fashionable centrepieces on elaborately set dining tables.
As well as imported ingredients from the Empire, new dishes started to be served, influenced by cooking methods in the colonies. Curries and chutneys from India began to be served and pasta, particularly macaroni, cooked with the now acceptable tomato were influences brought back by young men who had discovered the cuisine of Italy on their Grand Tours.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was possible to eat meals in city taverns and cook-shops but during the eighteenth century eating-houses in cities vastly increased. Taverns were joined by chop houses and pie shops while tea rooms were established alongside the coffee houses where the fashionable could be seen sipping tea or chocolate and nibbling on sweet buns and pastries. In London it was now also possible to sample ice-creams made with fruits, flowers and cheese in the growing number of ice-cream shops which emerged alongside confectionaries selling sweetmeats and chocolate, now being made into a solid confection. This form of chocolate could also be used as an ingredient for the making of desserts. Street food was also available and a new fast and convenient method of eating was introduced: the sandwich, named after the Earl of that Kent town.
Tea was being increasingly drunk but was still too expensive for the poor. The rich filled their cellars with French wines and Spanish sherries, as well as Port and Madeira. Spiced, fruity punches became a common drink particularly at large social gatherings and were often served heated in winter. The poor in rural areas still relied on ale and cider but in the cities, due to the government’s permission for unlicensed gin production, city shops selling this cheap, juniper flavoured, but rarely pure, spirit led to it being the drink of the poor. It had a catastrophic effect, and many sank into alcoholism and an early death. Hogarth’s painting, Beer Street and Gin Lane, shows a happy, relaxed and productive scene in Beer Street while Gin Lane reveals scenes of tragic dissolution, poverty and death. The Gin Act of 1751 went some way to reduce the levels of consumption and dependence of the poor, although Dickens was able to comment on social problems caused by the availability of gin in the first half of the nineteenth century.
