What could be better at this time of year than having a beautifully and efficiently shelved larder ready to pack with homemade jams and chutneys – in readiness for the dark winter months ahead and, yes, the impending Xmas season?
Luckily the larder or pantry is enjoying something of a revival as we go back to our roots and embrace the good life. As we reject the chiller cabinet for home cooked food and swap costly dining out in favour of entertaining at home we are loving the built-in (or sometimes freestanding) larder of days gone by. Where the larder was once a necessity – providing the only cool storeroom for what we now load our large fridges up with (who can’t remember their Granny’s bottle of gold top perched on the larder shelf?) – it’s now a prized addition to new kitchens providing the kind of envy factor that walk-in wardrobes generate.
The latest buzzword hitting the trend channels is ‘hygge’ (pronounced ‘hooga’) a Danish term for doing what we Brits do almost as well as our Scandinavian cousins – ‘cosy up and hunker down’ – and the larder plays a key role here by storing our homemade goodies and tasty purchases from the local Farmer’s market (for those of us not actually living the rural idyll!) which we feast on in front of the log burning stove on chilly afternoons. It has, in fact, become the ‘must-have’ asset for all the home cooks and ‘grow your own’ gardeners because who can resist the idea of a beautifully organised store room filled with home-made jams, piles of home-grown apples and tins of freshly baked cakes?
Nowadays larders can be designed for the tightest of spots – it’s simply a matter of some logical thinking and skilled craftsmanship. Or, where space is available free standing larder cupboards proudly incorporating the all-important cold shelf – slate, granite or quartz – whatever tickles your fancy!
