Larder

Essential Qualities:
– Cool, dry, and well-ventilated
– Usually on the shady side of the house
– No fireplaces or hot flues in any of the adjoining walls
– Might have a door to an outside yard
– Had windows with wire gauze in them instead of glass

Description:
– Larders and kitchens placed on the north or west side in the northern hemisphere
– Larders placed on the south or east sides in Australia and New Zealand
– Larders have small, unglazed windows covered in fine mesh
– Tiled or painted walls for easy cleaning
– Hooks in the ceiling to hang joints of meat in older larders

Etymology:
– Middle English origin: from Old French lardier
– Derived from medieval Latin lardarium
– Originated from laridum

History:
– In medieval households, larder referred to an office responsible for fish, jams, and meat
– The Scots term for larder was “spence”
– Larders were used by the Indus Valley civilization to store bones of animals
– Larders were subordinated to the kitchen in larger households
– Connected to other kitchen offices like the saucery and scullery

Animal Larders:
– Animals store food for later consumption in larders
– Example: squirrels hoard seeds and nuts for leaner months
– Alligators and crocodiles use underwater larders for fresh kills
– Larders are dug into land banks or wedged under logs for animals
– Larders provide a store of fresh food for animals

See Also:
– Food storage
– Root cellar

Larder (Wikipedia)

A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded: at that point, a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked meats were stored. Larders were commonplace in houses before the widespread use of the refrigerator.

Stone larders were designed to keep cold in the hottest weather. They had slate or marble shelves two or three inches thick. These shelves were wedged into thick stone walls. Fish or vegetables were laid directly onto the shelves and covered with muslin or handfuls of wet rushes were sprinkled under and around.