Two fundamentally different fireplaces produced typical cooker and oven dishes. While eastern Austria was an oven region - i.e. dishes such as sterz, baked strudel or tommerl were cooked inside the oven - western Austria was a hearth region. The fire burned openly on a table-high hob.
The food, such as Schmarrn, Koch or dumplings, was boiled, fried or baked in hot water or fat. Between these two different cooking environments was an intermediate stage, the smokehouse, in which the central fireplace connected the cooker with the oven, which was usually located behind it. Both fireplaces could be used alternately..
