StillImage

The kitchen was a major center of activity in the household. The large coal and gas range dominates the room. It was used as a heating source as well as for cooking foods. A worktable provided space for food preparation; a cupboard stored pots, pans and dishes; an icebox kept perishable food items cold; and a sink for dishes and laundry utilized indoor plumbing, a recent innovation for working-class households.

Even with the convenience of indoor plumbing and the gas range, the kitchen was the scene to virtual non-stop labor for Maria Botto and her daughters. In addition to meals prepared for the family, the Bottos fed a noon meal to boarders. On Sundays, the Botto women prepared food for as many as 100 people who came to recreate on the property. This, of course, provided an additional income for the family.

The Botto family's food ways reflected their home region of Biella, Piedmonte, Italy. Piedmontese cooks scorned tomato sauce, preferring wine and chicken brother to accompany such staple foods as polenta (corn meal), risotto (rice), and tortellini, a pasta. Generally, rosemary and sage were used as herbs and grown outside in the garden.

Some of the artifacts placed around the kitchen are the copper pot used to cook polenta, meat grinder, fish scaler, coffee grinder, rug beater, mousetrap, and wall calendars, which were used by working people as decorations.

The Botto women were generally charged with kitchen duties. Maria Botto hired a German woman to do the laundry. One special job was reserved for Pietro-stirring the polenta and cutting it with a string.

http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.3/ALMBHNL.Photograph.8292

doi:10.7282/T37M093J

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20418048

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Photograph

High

2006-07-19

LZW

RGB

Adobe Lightroom

Windows XP Professional

Born Digital Source