Building an outdoor kitchen!

First time trying to build!

Summer in Penedès is a season of abundance. The garden overflows with tomatoes, peppers, melons, figs, and grapes—all begging to be preserved before the next harvest comes rolling in. But as anyone who has spent an August afternoon stirring jam or boiling jars indoors knows, canning in the summer heat can be overwhelming. The solution? A rustic outdoor kitchen designed for both cooking and celebrating the harvest.

An outdoor kitchen here doesn’t need to be fancy. A stone counter, a sturdy wooden table, and a gas burner or fire ring are enough to get started. Add shelves for jars, a basin with running water (or a simple hose setup), and hooks for hanging utensils, and you’ll have a space ready for both serious preserving and leisurely cooking.

The beauty of an outdoor kitchen is more than just practicality:

• You keep the house cool during long canning sessions.

• You work with the rhythm of the farm, surrounded by the vines, orchards, and fields that produced the harvest.

• You create a gathering place where family and friends can share in the work, taste the season’s first jams, or enjoy a rustic meal under the evening sky.

To make it truly Penedès, think natural stone, reclaimed wood, and perhaps a pergola draped with grapevines for shade. A few clay pots of rosemary or thyme nearby complete the picture—fresh herbs within arm’s reach for both preserves and suppers.

This summer, bring your canning outside. On a Spanish farm, an outdoor kitchen isn’t just about cooking—it’s about turning the harvest into a celebration of life, land, and community.