The biggest association with kitchen witchcraft, and the thing which really makes it stand out from other forms of witchcraft, is its focus on food magick. However, you don't need to be a kitchen witch to practice food magick. Food magick works in a couple of different ways; it could involve finding specific foods for a specific intent, or infusing a specific intent into foods you are making regardless of the magickal associations of the food.
I won't patronise you with a spiel about how important food is; we all know we need it to survive, and what happens if we don't have food. When it comes to kitchen witchcraft, we often think of the cutsey little woman dressed in an apron and brandishing a wooden spoon, cooking meals from scratch. If that's your thing, then go for it! But you don't need to be a good cook, or enjoy cooking, to be able to add a bit of magick into it. Likewise, not all of us have the time or the energy to spend ages slaving away over a hot stove, and sometimes just shoving a pizza in the oven is about all we can manage. That's fine! You can still make that magickal.
Infusing food with intent:
Whilst it packs more of a punch to use foods which are specific to your intent, that isn't always possible. Maybe the foods which match your intent don't exactly go well together in a meal. Or maybe you don't have them to hand and need to whip up something quick. Either way, infusing the food you are cooking with intent is a quick and simple way to add some magick to your meal.
This is usually done during the food prep stage (which isn't long if you're just taking the wrapper off of a microwavable lasagne). As you stir, beat, or even unwrap what you are cooking, keep your intent in mind. Do you want to send loving energy to the person you are cooking for, or yourself? Healing energy, maybe physical or emotional? Focus on 'pushing' that intent into the food, see it seeping out of you and into it, infusing it with your will.
How you prep your food can also play a part. For example, if you are stirring something in a pot, then stir clockwise to bring energies towards you (such as love or healing), and stir clockwise to banish (such as if you want to rid yourself of a particular emotion, a headache, etc.). If you are trying to rid yourself of something, cutting and mashing food is a good way to let out some negative emotion; if you have had a stressful day, maybe visualise you are cutting up the negativity as you chop your carrots, and then stir them clockwise in the pan and visualise more loving, comforting energies imbuing the food.
If your prep is quite short, just hold whatever food it is (not going to lie, I tend to have frozen pizza most Fridays so I'm going with that), and visualise you pouring your intent into the food (maybe put through your body, down your arms, and out through your hands).
You may even wish to say a little affirmation as you do so, such as 'this pizza brings me comfort, this pizza brings me joy. I infuse this food with the blessings of peace and harmony upon me.’
I won't patronise you with a spiel about how important food is; we all know we need it to survive, and what happens if we don't have food. When it comes to kitchen witchcraft, we often think of the cutsey little woman dressed in an apron and brandishing a wooden spoon, cooking meals from scratch. If that's your thing, then go for it! But you don't need to be a good cook, or enjoy cooking, to be able to add a bit of magick into it. Likewise, not all of us have the time or the energy to spend ages slaving away over a hot stove, and sometimes just shoving a pizza in the oven is about all we can manage. That's fine! You can still make that magickal.
Infusing food with intent:
Whilst it packs more of a punch to use foods which are specific to your intent, that isn't always possible. Maybe the foods which match your intent don't exactly go well together in a meal. Or maybe you don't have them to hand and need to whip up something quick. Either way, infusing the food you are cooking with intent is a quick and simple way to add some magick to your meal.
This is usually done during the food prep stage (which isn't long if you're just taking the wrapper off of a microwavable lasagne). As you stir, beat, or even unwrap what you are cooking, keep your intent in mind. Do you want to send loving energy to the person you are cooking for, or yourself? Healing energy, maybe physical or emotional? Focus on 'pushing' that intent into the food, see it seeping out of you and into it, infusing it with your will.
How you prep your food can also play a part. For example, if you are stirring something in a pot, then stir clockwise to bring energies towards you (such as love or healing), and stir clockwise to banish (such as if you want to rid yourself of a particular emotion, a headache, etc.). If you are trying to rid yourself of something, cutting and mashing food is a good way to let out some negative emotion; if you have had a stressful day, maybe visualise you are cutting up the negativity as you chop your carrots, and then stir them clockwise in the pan and visualise more loving, comforting energies imbuing the food.
If your prep is quite short, just hold whatever food it is (not going to lie, I tend to have frozen pizza most Fridays so I'm going with that), and visualise you pouring your intent into the food (maybe put through your body, down your arms, and out through your hands).
You may even wish to say a little affirmation as you do so, such as 'this pizza brings me comfort, this pizza brings me joy. I infuse this food with the blessings of peace and harmony upon me.’
Specific Food Associations:
I have personally found that when it comes to food magick, a lot of it comes down to intuition; in fact, I'm sure a lot of the associations here won't surprise you! I have broken them down into their associations, to make it easier to coordinate meals:
Comfort: Pizza, chocolate
Love: Apple, chocolate, sugar, fish, sweet potato, rhubarb, leek, strawberry, raspberry, plum, peach, ice cream, tomato
Happiness: Oranges, jelly, honey, raspberry, peach
Protection: Rice, pretzels, onion, vinegar, soy sauce, salsa, chile, rhubarb, cabbage, leek, cauliflower, raspberry, plum
Fertility: Bananas, eggs, wheat, carrot, olives, cucumber, peach
To resolve an argument/ill will: Lentils, sugar, honey
Friendship: Bread, passionfruit, lemon, cheese
Beauty: Strawberries, avocado, honey, raspberry, peach, ice cream
Prosperity: Rice, wheat, almonds, marzipan, onion, lettuce, cabbage
Success: Meats, leek, broccoli,
Healing: Potato, yoghurt, cheese, tomato, pumpkin, watermelon, grapefruit, onion, orange
This page is currently a work in progress, but until then, there is a fantastic resource here at the link below, so for more foods and more associations, take a look here:
https://pagancottage.wordpress.com/our-craftings/homemade-kitchen/magickal-cooking/
The fun is putting it altogether to try and create a recipe! It may be simple; when a friend comes round you may want to serve some nice bread and cheese to symbolise friendship. Or if you are quarreling with a lover, bake up some honey cakes to share. Maybe you need some healing, so decide to throw together a fruit bowl of watermelon, orange, and grapefruit? Or you may want to get more complex; maybe you have an undertaking that you have been putting off, or you have a hard time ahead of you; cooking up a plate of meat and veg (obviously including broccoli and leeks) could give you the strength to succeed.
It may seem that there isn't much information out there, but a lot of foods are derived from other foods: chips and crisps are potato for example. Pizza is a combination of bread, tomato and cheese and then any other toppings you have. Foods like cake are basically a kitchen witches magick potion with all the different ingredients involved!
I have personally found that when it comes to food magick, a lot of it comes down to intuition; in fact, I'm sure a lot of the associations here won't surprise you! I have broken them down into their associations, to make it easier to coordinate meals:
Comfort: Pizza, chocolate
Love: Apple, chocolate, sugar, fish, sweet potato, rhubarb, leek, strawberry, raspberry, plum, peach, ice cream, tomato
Happiness: Oranges, jelly, honey, raspberry, peach
Protection: Rice, pretzels, onion, vinegar, soy sauce, salsa, chile, rhubarb, cabbage, leek, cauliflower, raspberry, plum
Fertility: Bananas, eggs, wheat, carrot, olives, cucumber, peach
To resolve an argument/ill will: Lentils, sugar, honey
Friendship: Bread, passionfruit, lemon, cheese
Beauty: Strawberries, avocado, honey, raspberry, peach, ice cream
Prosperity: Rice, wheat, almonds, marzipan, onion, lettuce, cabbage
Success: Meats, leek, broccoli,
Healing: Potato, yoghurt, cheese, tomato, pumpkin, watermelon, grapefruit, onion, orange
This page is currently a work in progress, but until then, there is a fantastic resource here at the link below, so for more foods and more associations, take a look here:
https://pagancottage.wordpress.com/our-craftings/homemade-kitchen/magickal-cooking/
The fun is putting it altogether to try and create a recipe! It may be simple; when a friend comes round you may want to serve some nice bread and cheese to symbolise friendship. Or if you are quarreling with a lover, bake up some honey cakes to share. Maybe you need some healing, so decide to throw together a fruit bowl of watermelon, orange, and grapefruit? Or you may want to get more complex; maybe you have an undertaking that you have been putting off, or you have a hard time ahead of you; cooking up a plate of meat and veg (obviously including broccoli and leeks) could give you the strength to succeed.
It may seem that there isn't much information out there, but a lot of foods are derived from other foods: chips and crisps are potato for example. Pizza is a combination of bread, tomato and cheese and then any other toppings you have. Foods like cake are basically a kitchen witches magick potion with all the different ingredients involved!
Nutritional Value
Whilst foods have magickals associations, you should also may attention to their nutritional value. Foods which are healthier for you are going to be better overall for your body. Pay attention to the nutritional makeup of foods - vitamin content, protein content, etc. Boiled potatoes will be better for you that crisps if you are going to use potato for healing.
Below is a link to the UK NHS website which has a page about vitamins and minerals, what our bodies need, and where we can get these from. The website is a bit dry and uninteresting, but the information is solid. If you are looking into using foods for healing, then make sure you research the nutritional value of your food, and find some that suit your purpose:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/
Being Thankful:
It is easy for a lot of us to take food for granted, especially in more developed countries where we can simply pop to the store whenever we have a hankering for something, and buy it easily. But it is important to acknowledge this blessing, and how lucky we are to have food so readily available. I tend to say a little prayer of thanks, either whilst I'm prepping or once the food is done, which goes: 'From the soil, to the grain, to my plate, I give thanks for this blessing of food upon me. May we never hunger'.
Whilst foods have magickals associations, you should also may attention to their nutritional value. Foods which are healthier for you are going to be better overall for your body. Pay attention to the nutritional makeup of foods - vitamin content, protein content, etc. Boiled potatoes will be better for you that crisps if you are going to use potato for healing.
Below is a link to the UK NHS website which has a page about vitamins and minerals, what our bodies need, and where we can get these from. The website is a bit dry and uninteresting, but the information is solid. If you are looking into using foods for healing, then make sure you research the nutritional value of your food, and find some that suit your purpose:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/
Being Thankful:
It is easy for a lot of us to take food for granted, especially in more developed countries where we can simply pop to the store whenever we have a hankering for something, and buy it easily. But it is important to acknowledge this blessing, and how lucky we are to have food so readily available. I tend to say a little prayer of thanks, either whilst I'm prepping or once the food is done, which goes: 'From the soil, to the grain, to my plate, I give thanks for this blessing of food upon me. May we never hunger'.
