Blog and website for William Rubel, author and cook specializing in traditional cuisines

Of course, taken from the vantage point of an anthropoligist, most home fireplaces, fire pits, and barbecues are examples of traditional hearths. I don’t mean to exclude our own culture from consideration in creating this particular classification. But what I do want to do is provide a few examples of hearths that are still used within the context of rural traditions.

Some years ago, in Eritrea, I was invited to a young man’s house for tea. We sat on his bed. Beside the bed he had a charcoal brazier. For me it was an epiphany — the kitchen is where the fire is.