Earth Oven
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An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient
cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...
structures. The earliest known earth oven was discovered in Central Europe and dated to 29,000 BC. At its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food. Earth ovens have been used in many places and cultures in the past, and the presence of such cooking pits is a key sign of human settlement often sought by
archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
. Earth ovens remain a common tool for cooking large quantities of food where no equipment is available. They have been used in various civilizations around the world and are still commonly found in the
Pacific region The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
to date. To bake food, the fire is built, then allowed to burn down to a smoulder. The food is then placed in the oven and covered. This covered area can be used to bake bread or other various items. Steaming food in an earth oven covers a similar process. Fire-heated rocks are put into a pit and are covered with green vegetation to add moisture and large quantities of food. More green vegetation and sometimes water are then added, if more moisture is needed. Finally, a covering of earth is added over everything. The food in the pit can take up to several hours to a full day to cook, regardless of the dry or wet method used. Today, many communities still use cooking pits for ceremonial or celebratory occasions, including the indigenous
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
an lovo, the
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
an imu, the Māori , the Mexican
barbacoa Barbacoa or Asado en Barbacoa () in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally refers to slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a ...
, and the New England clambake. The central Asian
tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large vase-shaped oven, usually made of clay. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti (as well as leavened ones, such as naan) and to roast meat. Tandoors are predominantly use ...
use the method primarily for uncovered, live-fire baking, which is a transitional design between the earth oven and the horizontal-plan
masonry oven A masonry oven, colloquially known as a brick oven or stone oven, is an oven consisting of a baking chamber made of fireproof brick, concrete, Rock (geology), stone, clay (clay oven), or cob (material), cob (cob oven). Though traditionally wood- ...
. This method is essentially a permanent earth oven made out of clay or firebrick with a constantly burning, very hot fire in the bottom.


Americas

In many areas,
archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
recognize "pit-hearths" as being commonly used in the past. In Central
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, there are large " burned-rock middens" speculated to be used for large-scale cooking of plants of various sorts, especially the bulbs of sotol. The Mayan '' pib'' and Andean '' watia'' are other examples. In
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...
and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
nations,
barbacoa Barbacoa or Asado en Barbacoa () in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally refers to slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a ...
is a common practice. Barbacoa, originally a Taino word referring to the pit itself, consists of slow-roasted meat in a maguey-lined pit, popular in Mexico alongside birria, tortillas, and salsa. The clambake, invented by Native Americans on the Atlantic seaboard and considered a traditional element of
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
cuisine, traditionally uses a type of ad hoc earth oven (usually built on a beach). A large hole is dug into the sand and heated rocks are added to the bottom of the hole. A layer of seaweed is then laid on top to create moisture and steam, followed by the food. Finally, another layer of seaweed is added to trap in the steam and cook the food, which mainly consists of
shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...
and vegetables. The curanto of the
Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago (, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and the Gulf of Corcovado in the s ...
consists of
shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...
, meat, potatoes, milcao chapaleles, and vegetables traditionally prepared in an earth oven. It has spread to the southern areas of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. The huatia or watia and pachamanca are traditional earth ovens of the
Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
regions of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, and Chile. They are both indigenous practices that pre-date the
Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
.


Asia

In China, dishes such as beggar's chicken were originally prepared with earth ovens, where the inventor is said to have "dug a hole, lit a fire and buried the chicken." The
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...
of China that live in '' tulou'' have been known to use earth ovens to cook. In
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, earth ovens () are also a popular way to cook. In early Taiwanese agricultural society, adults would take children to build earth ovens and cook simple ingredients like sweet potatoes and taro.


Middle East and North Africa

Earth oven cooking is sometimes used for celebratory cooking in North Africa, particularly
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
: a whole lamb is cooked in an earth oven (called a ''tandir'', etymologically related to the Central- and South-Asian
tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large vase-shaped oven, usually made of clay. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti (as well as leavened ones, such as naan) and to roast meat. Tandoors are predominantly use ...
and possibly descended from an Akkadian word ''tinuru'') in a manner similar to the
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
an kālua. Among
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
and
Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...
nomads, a simple earth oven is used – often when men travel without family or kitchen equipment in the desert. The oven is mostly used to bake bread but is also used to cook
venison Venison refers primarily to the meat of deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, including the internal organs. Venison, much like beef or pork, is categorized into spe ...
and waran. When baking bread, the wheat or barley flour is mixed with water and some salt and then placed directly into the hot sands beneath the camp fire. It is then covered again by hot coal and left to bake. This kind of bread is eaten with
black tea Black tea (also literally translated as red tea from various East Asian languages) is a type of tea that is more tea processing, oxidized than oolong, yellow tea, yellow, white tea, white, and green tea, green teas. Black tea is generally st ...
(in the absence of labneh). The sand has to be knocked off carefully before consuming the bread. Sometimes this type of bread is also made when the family is together, because people like the taste of it. The bread is often mixed with molten fat (sometimes oil or butter) and labneh (goat milk yoghurt) and then formed into a dough before eating. This bread is known as Arbut but may be known under other local names.


Pacific and Madagascar

Earth oven cooking was very common in the past and continues into the present – particularly for special occasions, since the earth oven process is very labor-intensive. It is the main traditional method of cooking for
Polynesians Polynesians are an ethnolinguistic group comprising closely related ethnic groups native to Polynesia, which encompasses the islands within the Polynesian Triangle in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sout ...
in pre-contact times which is advantageous to tuber corps like taro that could be cooked in bulk and shared communally, displacing the need for earthen pottery developed in
Lapita culture The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian peoples, Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed t ...
necessary to process cereal crops standard to cultures in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. In some part- Melanesian, Polynesian, and other closely related languages, the general term is "umu," from the
Proto-Oceanic Proto-Oceanic (abbreviated as POc) is a proto-language that comparative linguistics, historical linguists since Otto Dempwolff have reconstructed as the hypothetical common ancestor of the Oceanic languages, Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian ...
root *qumun (e.g. Tongan , Māori or , Hawaiian imu, Samoan , Cook Island Māori ). In some non-Polynesian, part-Polynesian, and Micronesian parts of the Pacific, which some islands use the similar word umu, but not all Micronesian islands having many different languages use that base word umu, however, other words are used instead of umu - in
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
it is a , in Rotuman it is a ''koua'' and in
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
, it is a . In
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, "mumu" is used by
Tok Pisin Tok Pisin ( ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh ; ), often referred to by English speakers as New Guinea Pidgin or simply Pidgin, is an English-based creole languages, English creole language spoken throughou ...
and English speakers, but each of the other hundreds of local languages has its own word. In the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
the word in Pidgin is Motu. Despite the similarities, there are many differences in the details of preparation, their cultural significance, and current usage. Earth ovens are said to have originated in Papua New Guinea and have been adopted by the later arriving Polynesians.


Samoan umu

The Samoan ''umu'' uses the same method of cooking as many other earth ovens and is closely related to the Hawaiian earth oven, the ''imu'', which is made underground by digging a pit (although generally the ''umu'' is done above ground rather than in a pit). It is a common day-to-day method of preparing roasted foods, with modern ovens being restricted to western-style houses. In the traditional village house, gas burners will be used inside the house to cook some food in pots. The ''umu'' is sheltered by a roof in case of rain, and it is separate from the house. There are no walls, which allows the smoke from the ''umu'' to escape. The Samoan ''umu'' starts with a fire to heat rocks which have been tested by fire as to whether they will explode upon heating. These rocks are used repeatedly but eventually are discarded and replaced when it is felt that they no longer hold enough heat. Once the rocks are hot enough, they are stacked around the parcels of food which are wrapped in banana leaves or aluminium foil. Leaves are then placed over the assembly and the food is left to cook for a few hours until it is fully cooked.


Hawaiian imu

The Hawaiian ''imu'' was the easiest way to cook large quantities of food quickly and efficiently for the
Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesians ...
. Because their creation was so labor-intensive, ''imu''s were only created for special events or ceremonies where it would be worth the time and hard work. An ''imu'' is created by first digging a 2- to 4-foot hole in the ground. Porous rocks are heated for a while and subsequently added to the bottom of the pit; next, a layer of banana stumps is added on top of them along with banana leaves. After the vegetation is laid down, the meat, fish, and any other foods are placed on top and covered once again with more vegetation. Wet cocoa sacks are also sometimes added on top to add even more moisture and trap in more heat.


Europe

In Europe, earth ovens were used from the Neolithic period onward, with examples from this period found at the sites of Rinyo and Links of Notland on
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
, but are more commonly known in the
Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
and
Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
Ages from sites such as Trethellan Farm,
Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...
and
Maiden Castle, Dorset Maiden Castle is an British Iron Age, Iron Age hillfort southwest of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements Hillforts in Britain, constructed across Britain during the I ...
, and in Scandinavia. Many pot boilers from British prehistoric sites are now considered to be the by-product of cooking with stones, in something similar to a Polynesian oven. Examples from the European prehistoric vary in form but are generally bowl-shaped and shallow in depth (30–45 cm), with diameters between 0.5 and 2 metres. Exceptions do exist, such as the Irish
Fulacht fiadh A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon ...
, in common use up to the Middle Ages. In Greek cuisine, there is also a tradition of '' kleftiko'' ("thief style") dishes, ascribed to anti-Turkish partisans during the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
, which involve wrapping the food in clay and cooking it in a covered pit, allegedly at first to avoid detection by Turkish forces.


See also

* Hāngī * Kālua *
List of ovens This is a list of oven types. An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance, and most times used for cooking or for industrial processes (industrial oven). Kilns and Furnace (disambiguation)#Applia ...
* Pit barbecue


Notes


References

* * * * * * *


External links


The Samoan
{{cooking techniques Ovens Cooking techniques Oceanian cuisine Melanesian cuisine Micronesian cuisine Polynesian cuisine Malagasy cuisine