In colonial homes of New England, the fireplace was used all the cooking for of food.
Ears of corn were often roasted in the hot ashes, and bread was baked in a small iron oven that was built in the wall at one side of the fireplace.
Vegetables were stewed in pots that hung over the fire from a bar made of green wood or iron.
Meat was roasted on a sharp-pointed iron stick called a spit which stuck out from one side of the fireplace.
Of course, someone had to keep the spit turning so that the meat would cook evenly all around.
How would you have liked to do that work for two hours or more at a time?