The kitchen used to be the heart of hard work and tradition. Today, many of those routines have vanished, replaced by convenience. Here’s a look at nine things people used to do in the kitchen that you rarely see anymore.

1. Hand-grinding meat, coffee, and nuts
Manual grinders were once a kitchen staple. Whether it was for sausage, morning coffee, or baking, people put in the elbow grease. Today, we just plug in a machine or buy it pre-ground.

2. Manually defrosting the freezer
Frost-free technology wasn’t always around. Homeowners had to regularly empty their freezers and chip away built-up ice by hand.

3. Brewing coffee with a percolator
Before drip machines and single-serve pods, coffee was brewed slowly on the stove. The percolator filled the kitchen with rich aroma and rhythmic bubbling.

4. Cooking from handwritten recipes and old cookbooks
Recipe cards filled with family handwriting and stained from years of use were once the go-to guide. Now? Most of us just Google a recipe or scroll through Instagram.

5. Making homemade butter
Churning butter by hand was a normal part of life. A little cream, a lot of shaking, and you’d have fresh butter in no time. That’s a lost art in today’s store-bought world.

6. Using matching tins for flour, sugar, and more
Labeled metal containers kept the kitchen tidy and visually pleasing. Function met style long before Pinterest made it trendy.

7. Canning and preserving seasonal foods
From homemade jams to pickled vegetables, preserving food at home was a seasonal necessity. Now it’s more of a hobby than a routine.

8. Displaying pastel Jadeite dishes
Bright green Jadeite glassware was proudly shown off in open shelves. Today, those vintage pieces are more likely to be found in antique shops.

9. Preparing everything from scratch
There was a time when shortcuts didn’t exist. If you wanted pie, you made the crust. If you needed sauce, you cooked it down yourself. Cooking was slower—but more intentional.