The Victorian Kitchen on View at SFO

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The Victorian Kitchen on View at SFO
New Exhibition Captures Advances in Victorian Era Kitchen Technology
 

SAN FRANCISCO -- They may look outmoded to modern eyes, but the more than 150 culinary objects on view in The Victorian Kitchen, a new exhibition at San Francisco International Airport, were considered revolutionary in the nineteenth century and have influenced the way we cook and eat today.

Through cooking tools and tableware, the exhibition explores the rapid modernization of the kitchen during the Victorian Era (1837-1901), a period when advances in metallurgy, steam power, the railways, and agriculture improved the ability to obtain, cook, store, and serve food. Complementing the objects on view, excerpts from Victorian household management and recipe books illustrate the culinary tastes of the day.

The Victorian Kitchen begins with the conversion from the open hearth to the cast-iron range, a development that not only made cooking less cumbersome, but also spurred new types of kitchenware.  The exhibition also explores how advances in factory-made items allowed the masses to enjoy labor saving devices and finery such as silver and china; and how advances in both transportation and food storage improved access to perishable goods. Victorian culinary tools and wares on view include pots, pans, stoneware, silver, food molds, tableware, serving utensils, and laborsaving devices such as lemon presses and can openers.

The Victorian Kitchen is located pre-security in the International Terminal Main Hall, and is on view twenty-four hours a day through May 24, 2009. There is no charge to view the exhibition.

Images from the exhibition are available at http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/about/news/pressres/exh-kitchen.html.

San Francisco Airport Museums

The San Francisco Airport Museums program was established by the Airport Commission in 1980 for the purposes of humanizing the Airport environment, providing visibility for the unique cultural life of San Francisco, and providing educational services for the traveling public. The Museum was granted initial accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1999, reaccredited in 2005, and has the distinction of being the only accredited museum in an airport. Today, the San Francisco Airport Museums features approximately twenty galleries throughout the Airport terminals displaying a rotating schedule of art, history, science, and cultural exhibitions, as well as the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, a permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial aviation.

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About San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers non-stop links with more than 30 international points on 25 international carriers. The Bay Area's largest airport connects non-stop with more than 65 cities in the U.S. on 20 domestic airlines. For up-to-the-minute departure and arrival information, airport maps and details on shopping, dining, cultural exhibitions, ground transportation and more, visit www.flysfo.com.