The kitchen is such an essential component of a home that it could be regarded as its engine, a commentator has said.New York Times writer Roberta Smith noted that kitchens have been heavily symbolic sites through history - particularly with regard to the role of women in society.Commenting on the current Counter Space Design and the Modern Kitchen exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Ms Smith also suggested that the various objects and artefacts on show would evoke nostalgia and personal memories.I rediscovered the Ekco vegetable peeler, Chemex coffeemaker and copper-bottomed Revere Ware saucepan of my mothers kitchen the Terraillon plastic food scale and timer from my first New York apartment and the old domed Magnalite tea kettle that an ex-boyfriend cherished, she said.Meanwhile, Ms Smith observed that the exhibitions final section, named Kitchen Sink Dramas, focuses on the role of the room as a subject for Pop Art such as Andy Warhols Brillo boxes and paintings by James Rosenquist and Tom Wesselmann.