I don’t know when it happened exactly, somewhere between downloading my third food delivery app and tossing out a dried-up Sharpie I used to label freezer bags, but kitchens changed. Like, really changed.
What used to be a place of noise and mess and elbow grease now feels… quieter. Slicker. A little too efficient, maybe? It’s like someone came in and Marie Kondo’d the whole ritual of cooking. I found myself thinking about the little things we just don’t do anymore. The routines that quietly slipped out the back door when we weren’t paying attention.
So here we go—ten kitchen habits that, let’s be honest, probably belong in a museum now.
1. Calling the Pizza Place Like It Was a Friend
There was a time—not that long ago—when ordering pizza meant actually calling someone. Like, on a phone. You’d mumble your order, hope they got your address right, maybe even ask about a coupon if you were brave. Now? Tap-tap-tap, pizza’s in the oven before you even finish your text convo. No awkward phone voice required.
2. Reading Cookbooks for Fun
I had this habit in my twenties—I’d curl up with a thick cookbook and just read it. Like a novel. Bookmark pages I’d never come back to. Imagine smells that never quite materialized. These days? I can’t remember the last time I cracked a spine. Why would I? If I want risotto, there’s a YouTube chef already halfway through a stirring montage before I finish typing “how to make…”
3. Defrosting
All right, I don’t miss this one at all. There are whole weekends addressed to the freezer, dear left-overs of my youth. You’d open it up and catch a full-face gust of frost deep enough to build a snowman. Towels all over the place, hair dryer firing like flamethrower. And for what? Just so the freezer could, you know, close all the way. Fortunately, nowadays the vast majority of fridges simply … deal with it. No towel fortresses required.
4. Fighting Over What’s for Dinner
Ah yes, the nightly game show called “What Do You Want to Eat?” It used to take longer to decide what to cook than to actually cook it. Now, between meal kits and Uber Eats, the argument has mostly shifted from “What do we have?” to “Mexican or Thai?” It’s still mildly annoying, but at least nobody has to dig through the fridge.
5. Waiting for Water to Boil Like It Was an Event
Boiling water used to be its own activity. You’d put the pot on, zone out, check the bubbles like it was a science experiment. It took forever. Now we’ve got electric kettles that blink twice and boom—tea time. I’m not mad about this one, but part of me misses the suspense. Sort of.
6. Wrestling With a Manual Can Opener
You know those ancient manual can openers that looked like medieval torture devices? Every drawer had one. You’d clamp, twist, slip, curse, repeat. Today’s electric openers do the job without making you feel like you’ve lost a thumb. It’s a small win for team efficiency—and for anyone with wrist pain.
7. Stirring Batter With a Spoon
There was a time when baking was hard. You’d stir until your arm began to ache, perhaps switching hands, maybe summoning a friend. Now? Hit a button on your stand mixer and scroll Instagram as it works. I’m not convinced it tastes better, but it sure is easier.
Oh, and remember when licking the spoon was, like, a reward for baking? Nowadays, we hear “raw eggs” and wince as though the word were “poison.” Enter eggless cookie dough. Now it’s O.K. to be indulgent again, but it’s not quite as … forbidden.
8. Sharpening Knives Like a Samurai
My dad used to get very dramatic about sharpening knives. Pulling out this heavy stone, dragging the blade across it slowly like he was prepping for a sword fight. Now I’ve got a little electric sharpener that hums for three seconds and calls it a day. Effective? Yes. Satisfying? Less so.
9. Writing Recipes on Index Cards
Maybe I’m just showing my age here, but I still have a recipe box. You know, the kind with handwritten cards, splattered with whatever sauce I was making when I wrote them. It’s got character. But truthfully, most of my go-to recipes now live in a folder on my phone or a saved post on Pinterest. Faster, but… kind of soulless.
10. Lining Up Around the Oven Like It’s a Fireplace
This one’s more of a vibe than a ritual, but there used to be something about everyone hanging around the oven, waiting. For cookies and for casseroles. For that beep that meant it was finally time. It was communal. Now I mostly set timers and forget until my watch vibrates. No crowd. No anticipation. Just—done.
Kitchens used to be messier. Louder. A little chaotic, in a way that felt alive. Now they hum. They click. They glow with LED lights and don’t ask much of us, really. That’s not a bad thing. But once in a while, I miss the clatter. The guesswork. The slow dance of making something from scratch with your hands and a little bit of noise.
And if you’ve still got that old can opener buried in a drawer somewhere? Hold onto it. It’s practically an antique now.
