Meals That Scullery Maids Made

In high aristocracy homes, the scullery made was the lowliest of all the maids. They were responsible for doing all the tasks that none of the other maids wanted to do. This sometimes included cooking meals. Because there were other tasks that many other maids didn't want, the scullery maid did not do much cooking.

• Scullery maids did not actually do any cooking. Their job was to wash all the pots and pans, peel potatoes, shell peas, and husk corn. It was thought that they would sully the food that was being cooked because they were the lowliest of all the maids.


• Scullery maids were responsible for seeing that all the animals were fed. If a scullery maid prepared any meal, it was for the animals. Because traditional dog food that we use today was not invented during the time of scullery maids, they were often responsible for boiling meat off of bones and peeling carrots and apples for the dogs and horses and creating a meal for them.


• A scullery maid was often used to pick herbs, fruits and vegetables out of the garden. This was considered a dirty job that not many wanted to do. If meat were on the menu for dinner, it would be the scullery maid's job to clean the meat and pluck its feathers or skin the animal for eating.


• Taking orders was how a scullery maid spent most of the day. They would take orders from the cook and other kitchen servants, doing the tasks they didn't find meaningful or didn't have time for.