‘Almost to Candy Height:’ Knowledge-Making in the Early Modern Kitchen, 1700-1850

Abstract

This essay seeks to elevate the early modern kitchen as a significant space for the production of scientific and natural knowledge. Little consideration has been given to how the tools, practices and ‘knowledge’ of the kitchen compared with those of the early modern laboratory. This essay examines the material culture of both spaces and uses the technique of historical reconstruction to help investigate the opportunities for knowledge production that occurred during everyday domestic tasks. Appreciation of this encourages us to seek a deeper understanding of ‘domestic knowledge’, providing fresh avenues of inquiry for exploring knowledge production in the domestic realm.