There is usually a lot of open space in kitchens. Sometimes there is a table, but often you can find an empty area in the middle of the room that is five feet square or larger. This is so a lot of women can work together for parties and also because some cooking is done on the floor. For example, large pots of meat are sometimes cooked on gas rings set on the floor because it is easier to stir from a standing position than trying to reach into a pot set on the stovetop. Some kinds of bread are cooked using small gas burners set on the floor.
Kitchens are utilitarian; pretty trays might be leaned against the back-splash or there might be a pretty vase to hold wooden spoons, etc., but kitchens are seldom decorated or set up as welcoming/ comforting spaces. As soon as you walk in, it’s easy to visually orient yourself; often the cupboards have glass fronts so you can see inside them.
Most families will have items for hosting in sight and easy-reach: several sets of teacups and saucers, tea and coffee pots, carafes, glass bowls or plates. There are usually several trays as almost all food and eating utensils, plates, cups, etc. are moved on trays. A platter of rice and meat might be carried by itself after having been prepped in the kitchen, but just as one always gives foodstuffs in a bag, one carries everything connected to eating on a tray – rarely by hand. Dishes for everyday use are usually Melamine or brands such as Luminarc or Corelle.
Stoves run on gas bought in heavy cylinders and placed (sometimes in little locked huts) outside the kitchen; a small hole is drilled through the wall for the pipe which connects the canister to the stove
Clean-up is done while cooking or as soon as the meal is finished. Dirty dishes and food are never left sitting on the counter for long. All dishes are cleaned and put away, the counter-top wiped down and floor swept; the garbage bin is usually covered and if mostly full might be put outside on the steps up to the kitchen.
Thus, for most of the time, the kitchen is empty and very clean. Dhofaris normally only go in the kitchen to supervise or cook before meals or to prepare dishes ahead of time for Ramadan/ Eids and to clean up afterwards.
As most houses have over 20 occupants from several generations, larger and newer houses may have small suites for each married son. This will usually consist of a bedroom with attached bathroom and a sitting room which might have a galley kitchen with a small sink and microwave so they can make tea and simple meals for themselves. Thus there will be one large kitchen for the house, with perhaps a few smaller kitchens for couples.
The smell of cooking food is not regarded as pleasing. The kitchen door is closed while cooking and the extractor fan is usually on full time. After eating in the salle/ majlis/ kitchen one must nullify the effect of food – dishes, kitchen, face, and hands washed, scent reapplied through air fresheners, incense, and/ or perfume.
A few changes in kitchens are that in the past the under-counter area was open, it is now always covered with doors. Also, the above-counter space is now usually filled with additional cupboards. Some newer kitchens have the stove integrated with the counters, not as a separate unit and/ or part of the counter projecting out into the middle of the room with stools on either side for casual dining.
Some features that have not changed are that drawers are not common and the counter (even in custom-designed kitchens) is placed much higher than waist-level. One explanation for the oddly high counters is that previously the cupboards underneath had doors made out of aluminum window frames with plastic (not glass) inserts so the counter had to be high enough to have the frames fit. Another is that with high counters, younger kids can’t reach anything on the counter. There are usually small plastic step stools around to help people work at the counters easily and reach the upper shelves, which can be open or closed cupboards with doors.
Foodways – Images of Galley Kitchens
Foodways – Where to Eat: Kitchen, Salle, Majlis
Example of Kitchen – 1990s/ early 2000s
Reflections on Ethnographic Research: Deciding to Hire Expat Workers (part 1 of 4), repost
(first published October 29, 2020)
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