some food, such as butter, eggs, milk, and such need to be kept cool. before modern refrigeration was available, there was the pantry. the pantry was a room or large cupboard made to keep cooler than the temperature in the kitchen. built on the north side of the house close to the kitchen, it had no windows, but had air ventilation. the walls were brick or wood. as the air in the pantry warmed, it rose, escaping through the upper vent. this in turn drew cooler air in from the lower vent, providing constant circulation of cooler air.