When you can stand the heat

‘The Warmest Room in the House’ honors the kitchen

BOOK. The kitchen truly has become the focal point of today’s home. Whether you enjoy cooking or not, the room has shaped our lives and culinary preferences. While it once isolated the chef, the kitchen is now the bustling hub for many families; it’s where we cook on our designer stovetops and trade stories of the day’s activities. 

This social and gastronomic evolution of the room is the focus of Steven Gdula’s new book, “The Warmest Room in the House: How the Kitchen Became the Heart of the Twentieth-Century American Home” (Bloomsbury, $25). The project began as a casual magazine assignment and grew into a century-long look at the politics, economics and cultural trends that changed the kitchen.

Gdula’s passion for culinary history is strong: Growing up in Pennsylvania, both of Steven’s parents taught him about contribution, communication and family heritage through the food they put on the table. “The distinct cuisines from each of my family’s neighbors made us aware that food defined their background and that food defined the family,” says Gdula. His favorite recipes include Kifli, a Hungarian cookie traditionally filled with apricot or raspberry, and pan-fried new potatoes loaded with paprikash.

The dish represents how America’s melting pot of immigrant cultures has changed the recipes and spices that today’s average cook prepares. But the food itself isn’t the only thing that’s evolved over the years: Innovative appliances and hectic schedules have pulled the family from waiting at the table for dinner to being active participants.

For Gdula, memory is tied up in the routines of the kitchen, even if they’re hard to recreate. “As hard as I try, however, I still can’t make potatoes like my father could,” he says with a laugh, “perfectly crispy on the outside and softly steamed on the inside.”

But in the warmest room in the house, even trying to replicate past favorites becomes part of the room’s history.