An Austro-Hungarian field kitchen — German: Feldküche, often popularly called a Gulaschkanone (“goulash cannon”) in the details
An Austro-Hungarian Feldküche, popularly called Gulaschkanone — “goulash cannon” because of the long chimney that looks like a cannon barrel.
a mobile military cooking system used to prepare and transport hot meals for troops.
The name Gulaschkanone refers to the kitchen’s cannon-like appearance: a large cooking boiler mounted on a two-wheeled carriage, often with a chimney and towing shafts. Despite the nickname, it was not specifically limited to goulash. Typical meals included:
Goulash and other stews
Bean or pea soup
Potatoes and vegetables
Coffee or tea
Occasionally meat or sausage dishes
In the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I, field kitchens were generally horse-drawn and operated behind or near the front lines. They allowed cooks to prepare food away from the immediate battlefield and deliver it in insulated containers or cooking vessels to companies and battalions. Conditions varied greatly: transport problems, fuel shortages, weather, and disrupted supply lines could leave soldiers with reduced or delayed rations.
The term Gulaschkanone continued in German military usage after the Habsburg era and became especially associated with later German field kitchens. For a strictly Austro-Hungarian World War I description, Feldküche or mobile field kitchen is usually the more precise term; Gulaschkanone is the familiar colloquial name.
Technical & Historical details:
This is the late model small Feldküche, k.u.k. M.09 / M.15 type, built with a double-wall boiler filled with glycerin. System invented by Karl Fissot in the 1890s and adopted by all Central Powers.
Why glycerin? Direct fire burned the food. The glycerin bath works as a water-bath (bain-marie) — indirect heating up to ∼150L soup, goulash, coffee. Food stays warm for hours without burning. That's exactly what the plate on your museum photos says: check glycerin level with the dipstick on the cap.
Construction: Sheet steel, riveted. Two kettles — large main boiler (125-175 litres) for soup/goulash and small front boiler (60 litres) for coffee/tea. Wood-fired firebox underneath, tall demountable chimney. Two large wooden spoked wheels with iron rims. Weight about 400-500 kg empty. Drawn by 2 horses, or by hand with shafts.
Use: Every infantry company had one. It followed as close as possible to the trenches — on the Isonzo Front, on the Carso, often up to 500m behind the first line at night. In the Dolomites and Carnia they were carried up in parts.
Manufacturers: Mostly Warchalowski, Eissler & Co. in Vienna, and factories in Budapest.
The photo is part of my collection and was probably taken on the eastern front,
The unfortunately rusty field kitchen belonged to the Diego de Henriquez museum in Trieste n