I live in Chile - the main difference is that most kitchens here are REALLY small!
Also, the ovens don't have a temperature marking on them - only low, med and high! (unfortunately, they also don't sell oven thermometers here...)

i think size is the biggest difference - most of the world's kitchens are far far smaller than the north american ideal and people seem to do a heck of a lot more cooking. when i see my grandma's polish postage stamp sized kitchen and see the sheer volume of canning she does, it puts me to shame.

Fascinating! Our kitchen is pretty big and open -- I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have always been fascinated with efficient use of space, and my kitchen is a bit lacking in this department. Drying racks built into the cabinets, now that sounds ingenious.

http://operagirlcooks.com

Drying racks built into the cabinets right over the sink are also very typical in Italy--much of southern Europe, in fact. They are so ingenious that I wish they would come across the pond, so to speak.

Italian kitchens are usually minuscule, compared with most American versions. I try to remember that the best meals I've ever had have come out of my family's small kitchens in Italy--granite countertops, kitchen islands, and drawer upon drawer full of gadgets do not ensure good food.

I've lived in northern Europe for 10 years, all in rental apartments.

Kitchens are small with small appliances, and a very common feature is to have an under the counter washing machine in the kitchen in place of a dishwasher.

I'm not sure if this is a "custom" but I think depending on your culture, ideas about kitchen cleanliness differ greatly. My husband and I cringe whenever my mom (Chinese) cooks at our house as she doesn't always clean up to the level of sanitation that we would like. She's a big fan of wiping dirty counters with just a damp rag and no soap or cleaning spray. She also handles raw meat in a less than sanitary way... but then I wonder if we're just germaphobes since I grew up eating my mom's cooking and didn't die from it!

I live in Estonia, well like the finns we have the drying rack inside cabinets. Like the polish we have especially in elder buildings really small kitchens (6m2 is quite average) In new apartement buildings often the open kitchen is used nowadays - meaning one wall of the livingroom has kitchen cabinets & appliances. There are no separate diningrooms in neither the older nor the new apartements. Most apartements are smaller than 60m2. Still often the bathroom is even more cramped and the washing mashine (for clothes) has to be placed into the kitchen too.

I found it interesting and just recently noticed, that whenever I go back to see relations in India, most kitchens don't come equipped with ovens. This perhaps explains all the flatbreads, use of tandoors. Cakes and baked goods are relatively recent introductions from the West, and a lot of homes celebrate birthdays with more traditional desserts like rice puddings.

I'm in the Shouf mountains of Lebanon, and my favorite thing about the Druze community is that people will install sofas and comfy chairs in their (usually very roomy) kitchens--a nice concession to the universally acknowledged truth that no matter what you do, people will always end up gathering in your kitchen. When it's time to eat, the hosts usually bring out small, low tables to place the food on. Dining room tables are reserved for fancier occasions, and in my year here I've only eaten at a proper table twice! It's a nice, flexible way to entertain.

I've not been there, but watching a House Hunters International one day in France, I saw that most kitchens were "portable"...in other words, the cabinets, appliances, etc were not build in, and most people took them with them when they moved. I thought, "huh, that's kind of weird", but if you think about it, most of the money spent on a house is for kitchen remodeling...so I guess you'd want to take that investment with you!

Yeah, no ovens really in India. And killer great food anyhow. I know some people have ovens and do western-style baking, but it is rare. Almost all stove-top cuisine, or "dum" slow cooking in a fire.

In Brazil, open kitchens are still unusual, even in tiny apartments. People say it's an "american kitchen", wich is more common in second houses, where you don't cook daily. My new apartment is going to have an open kitchen, or not, maybe I'd put a sliding door. I'm afraid because we cook every day for five and the food smell is gonna impregnate the entire house.

Close to home, let's not forget kosher kitchens: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/garden/09kosher.html

@sarahperegrina, that sounds ideal. My husband does much of the cooking, and sometimes I want to hang out with him while he does it, but there's nowhere to sit down in our kitchen. Guess it explains why love pictures of kitchens with living room type furniture in them. I just wonder how well that would gel with the industrial-style so prevalent now. It might take some creative colors to make it work here.

Clay pots.

I lived with a family in Ecuador and my "mom" was a fantastic cook. The kitchen seemed pretty similar to what I'm used to except that all of the pots and pans were made of terracotta.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but just looking at that photo, I was pretty confident I was looking at a Japanese kitchen... I can tell by the cabinetry. I was obsessed with the kitchen in the house were I was staying in Tokyo... all the drawer and cabinet fronts were white and flat and shiny, so it was one big smooth surface. And they all had these stoppers that stopped the drawers and doors from slamming... it would catch them half an inch before the backing and ease it closed. Awesome.

They had an oven, though, but it was a pretty big house for Japan.

In England: ovens that are on all the time and electric kettles. They're everywhere!

I can't speak to what people do in other countries, but I'm always fascinated by the way my friends cook and by what they make. I grew up using wood cutting boards and one good kitchen knife, so that's how I cook. My mom made a simple salad with every meal, and a meal just doesn't feel *right* without one. On the other hand, my boyfriend thinks it's weird that I don't make rice with every meal.

I used to date a german and when I went to visit him the first summer we were together, I was astonished by the size of his family's refrigerator - it was miniscule! Even though they had a rather large kitchen, the fridge was essentially the size of one you'd find in a dorm room.

France: for a country that lives and breathes food, they have some awful kitchen appliances - the ovens are tiny, and include pictogram knobs instead of a temperature dial. PICTOGRAMS. It makes no sense.

http://unlikelydiplomat.com/2010/01/24/i-just-cant-work-under-these-conditions/

@jarobinson1: "ovens that are on all the time" - you mean, like, Aga-style ovens, where they're the house heating as well? I wouldn't say they're all that common, probably only in big posh houses and country cottages and that, my uncle had one in his last place, but he's, like, a smallholder, so not exactly typical.

And the kettle thing is to do with our higher electricity supply voltage, apparently. Or, well, that's more a reason why the rest of the world doesn't have them than a reason why we do, but still.

In Korea they only use the stove, no oven. Like the English kettle, the rice cooker is on all the time.

My relatives also had a beverage door in their refrigerator similar to the one seen here: http://bit.ly/aFiixj

They also handwashed all their dishes. They had a small counter top sanitizer but it wasn't a dishwasher.

In Korea they would also use a portable gas grill for grilling Korean style bbq.

@gway: oh, yeah, appliance stores here (in the UK) have a 'refrigerator' section (for what I'd consider normal, the kind that fit under the counter) and then an 'american-style refrigerator' section for - I guess - what you'd consider normal!

@sarahperegrina, having "living room" furniture is also fairly common on the east coast of Canada. While I was visiting my relatives on Prince Edward Island everyone had a sofa or a good comfy chair in the kitchen. That was were we gathered and it usually ended up in a kitchen party with loads of music and good food.

The prevalence of the electric kettle is a Canadian thing too-- it was one of the little unexpected differences that surprised me when I moved from the US to Toronto.

I've been in a surprising amount of homes in Italy---well-appointed or spartan, old or new--that have a forno a legno, or wood-burning oven in them.

In Germany, ovens with a convection as well as a standard setting are pretty standard.

In Greece and Turkey I saw stoves with 4 burners, but one of those 4 was often a 3" miniburner. It was the exact size needed to fit the small pitcher used to make Greek/Turkish style coffee.

Almost everyone in the UK has an electric kettle. When I moved to the states for college, and brought an electric kettle to my shared house, my roommates (and I'm not exaggerating) gathered around it looking at it for about ten minutes... and referred to it as an "electric water heating machine" for the rest of the time we lived together, no matter how many times I tried to explain that it was just a kettle.

Actually, I believe in all of Asia there are usually no ovens built into kitchens.

However, there is always a rice cooker to be found! Yay.

I love this post and the responses!

Yes, most of Europe has built-in "dish rack" cabients - very convenient if you don't have a dishwasher and the best part is that you don't really need to put the dishes away, you can just store them there and then when you wash them put them back again. Also, regarding the "portable" kitchens, Italians will take everything, and the kitchen sink, with them when they move... you will find bare kitchen walls with water and gas attchments.

The cleaning standards in Italy are pretty high and you need to wipe down the cabinets completely (including tops), clean the grout between tiles and wipe the inside of the cabinets about twice a week (this is what Americans call "spring cleaning"). Don't even let me get started on how my mother-in-law shines the thing under the thing that makes the flame on the cooktop after each use - and insisted I do so after boiling water for tea (I was not having it after 15 hour plane ride with new baby and jet-lag).

In Italy the kitchen must not just look clean, it should shine and sparkle like the way it did when it was new - and now that I live in Italy too... it does!

But I don't polish the stupid thing under the thing on the cooktop because no one can see it .. except for my mother-in-law who checks it when she visits. Oh... she's a peach!

http://lapsushumanus.blogspot.com/

I have to laugh about the electric kettle thing. As a Canadian who now lives in the UK, I've pretty much never been into a home that didn't have one. It was only recently that I discovered they weren't common in the US, and now I'm obsessed with polling my American friends/acquaintances to see if they have one. I guess if you're not a tea-drinking nation, you just wouldn't need them.

The cleaning thing is tricky- I keep a clean kitchen but almost never use a spray. Hot water and elbow grease is good enough for me! I've never thought this was bad or dirty, but then I'm veg so I don't have to worry about the raw meat issue. In general, I think the US the most germ-phobic country. My American friends love to kill bacteria!

http://www.kitchenist.com/

No ovens in Hong Kong, either. But wok rings are standard on gas cooktops.

I assumed the UK electric kettles are for the volume of tea drinking...we drank so much tea when I lived in the UK. Three meals a day, no coffee.

My friends I lived with had an Aga, it heated the large country kitchen and that's where we hung out in the winter. The rest of the house was very cold. The Aga was old. They do cost a lot, but they last forever and I think are next to maintenance-free. They also had a small water tank over the kitchen sink that we switched on like an electric kettle to heat up the water for washing dishes. The bathroom had its own water tank, just for the tub (this was an old house, no showers).

I have an electric kettle here in the US. They are readily available and are great for boiling water **fast**. I use mine to preheat water for pasta cooking, etc. It's one of the very few small appliances I wouldn't like to do without.

My Dutch friends who are apartment dwellers don't have ovens, and don't expect to bake. If they want a pie or cake, etc., they get it at a bakery.

As an American who recently moved to Paris, the first thing that shocked me when apartment hunting was the lack of cabinets (and closets and lighting for that matter) in apartments. Plus, as mentioned above, kitchens are very small by American standards and often have exposed water heaters and/or electrical boxes.

However, this initial shock turned into excitement when I realized as a renter I could be creative when planning my kitchen, especially when trying to figure out how fit all my American "stuff" into such a small space.

@willson, I had to laugh at your comment. I live in the south of France in a small flat and until last Christmas had no oven. The first time I cooked in a full-size model here was rather bewildering... Let's see, do I want that tart icon, the brioche, or the turkey leg???

I'm not very familiar with kitchens outside of the U.S. However, I am amazed by the American ideal of monstrous kitchens, stuffed with cabinets, ample counter space and gadgets. I rent have a mini sized kitchen that hasn't been touched since the 50's except for a new stove and refrigerator. There's just enough space for one person comfortably and two people stepping on each others toes. I cook daily for my partner and myself, I've hosted Thanksgiving for 8 the past 3 years, and held multiple dinner parties out of my pint sized kitchen. My kitchen isn't perfect, and if I had the choice I'd certainly extend it a few feet and add a dishwasher. However, I rarely struggle with the size and I have certainly made a number of beautiful, delicious meals in here. I am simply dumbfounded by cooks who move into suburban McMansions and have those hideous "gourmet" kitchens installed with SubZeros, double ovens, and granite counters, expecting this is what one needs to be able to prepare food; Only to never regularly cook real meals in the kitchen. Just like a lot of other ideas in home design, I think ideal size, equipment, etc only plays a very small amount in the quality, frequency and enjoyment of meals cooked within.

bowlofjesslove: right! we still giggle every time we have to decide between "steak with lightning bolts shooting at it" or "hollow brioche"

Wait, what? Electric kettles are not commonplace? I feel like you're having me on here...Really?

When I was staying in Amsterdam for a few months and subletting an apartment from a couple I was completely obsessed with their electric kettle. I bought a very small cheap one from an Asian market here, but it is nowhere near the quality of the one I used in Amsterdam. I still have yet to get the one I want. One of my good friends came back with one from Ireland, and I was very jealous. They're so much faster! And no, Estelle, they're not common at all here unfortunately.

Just moved to Australia from the US. Everyone has an electric kettle. I had never seen one, it still seems like the ultimate in unnecessary appliance (you can't put a kettle on the stove?) but it does heat water quickly.

English kitchens often include the laundry appliances- washer and dryer in the cabinets.

When I had small babies I wondered how they get the mucky baby soaking done in the kitchen!

We tend to have separate laundries here in Australia.

I'm from Bombay and here, just like Japan, ovens are not a part of the traditional setup. My parents got me an oven when I was 17 because I was curious about baking. Tandoor oven made food is one defining factor in Indian cuisine, yet this isn't something found in households. It's more like restaurant food. One day, i hope to build myself a tandoor oven.

I'm an american in Paris. Kitchens tend to be small. But numerous apartments are converting the standard kitchen to "American" kitchens. Basically combining the living room, dining, and kitchen into one big room. We recently did this by knocking down a wall, transforming a narrow kitchen and small bedroom into big common room (380sf). With an island.

Since Paris apartments don't normally come with closets or any type of storage the cabinets serve double duty storing food, plates, medicine, toys, CDs and DVDs. When we moved in we had 1 cabinet with a sink and 1 electrical outlet. We were lucky because other places didn't even have a sink.

Me being from the caribbean, I prefer to cook outside if the weather permits.

I remember moving to the U.S. and wondering how people functioned without kettles! Oh, the tyranny of the stove-top kettle whistle! Not nearly as quaint as I imagined.

I wondered what the purpose of the miniature ovens on the countertops were (still not sure), and discovered the American obsession with ice!

Now that I'm back home, I miss garbage disposals. Genius.

I always wondered where granny kept her other kitchen, as she'd often talk about heading off into her "working kitchen", as though there was a choice (Belfast, N Ireland). What was with that? lol.