Kitchens are generally designed for easy maintenance and to use space efficiently. However, the addition of a few self-sufficiency items can make them more enjoyable.
- Sprouting sets: Trays, jars and organic seeds are available from health food stores around the country. They can generally be stored on windowsills.
- Juicers: The average juicer fits into a cupboard easily. Good juicers don't. They become part of the furniture. Later in the series we'll discuss which ones to use and why.
- Home mills: Yes, milling your own grains. They're not widely available but they're fun. It's possible also to buy home grain silos so you can store your own bulk grains in the kitchen ready for milling.
- Flakers: Home production of porridge and muesli flakes. I recommend them highly.
- Dehydrators: An alternative to baking and a different way of preserving, dehydrators extract the water content of food, allowing you to make biscuits and snacks without using high temperature baking.
- Water distilling or purifying: We use neither water distillers nor water purifiers. Both reduce the pH of water rendering it more acidic by filtering out the mineral content. We want high alkaline rather than acidic waters.
- Preserving: Home preserving seems to be more fashionable in the United States than on this side of the Atlantic. The US Government has set up an advice centre on the web to help people preserve food safely.
There is an excellent information service at this address: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/