Paper short abstract:

Outdoor kitchens can be the place where food that is not suitable for cooking inside is prepared. It may be odor or ooze that disturbs too much. A dish that returns in outdoor kitchen cooking is cabbage pudding. Other food that is often eaten and cooked outside is fermented herring and crayfish.

Paper long abstract:

Its in to be out – smelly food and show off at the outdoor kitchen

When I asked in a questionnaire about "garden and summer life" whether there were any projects underway, more people than I expected answered that they planned or dreamed of an outdoor kitchen, several had also built outdoor kitchens. In the gardening and interior design groups I'm part of on Facebook, outdoor kitchens are often proudly displayed.

The boundary between inside and outside is loosened. The ideal in the garden is to create different rooms and the different parts of the garden get functions similar to those found indoors. Upholstered furniture and crystal chandeliers can be found in reports from greenhouses and conservatories, and the ball grills face competition from more permanent outdoor kitchens.

Why is there such a thing about outdoor kitchens? Is it about proximity to plants and nature, the dream of natural raw materials and sustainability? Is it about male projects and the longing to cast in concrete? Is it about the kitchen being status, something to show off on social media? Maybe it is about that outdoor kitchens can be the place where food that is not suitable for cooking inside is prepared. It may be odor or ooze that disturbs too much. A dish that returns in outdoor kitchen cooking is cabbage pudding. Other food that is often eaten and cooked outside is “surströmming” (fermented herring) and crayfish.