Go Go Gadget
Hello Friends.
I am joining Lynn at Happier Than a Pig in Mud for her fun kitchen gadget party. Stop over and see what your friends are using in their kitchens. Lynn is also drawing one linking blog to win a fabulous kitchen gadget, a cupcake corer.
What would we do without our kitchen gadgets? Can you imagine life before food processors, Kitchenaid mixers, and dishwashers? I thought it would be fun to visit our great-grandmothers' kitchens.
One of the modern gadgets we may find is a Raisin Seeder. Can you imagine if a recipe called for a cup of raisins and you had to painstakingly seed each raisin? Maybe that's why so many old recipes read "raisins (optional)."
This ominous looking gadget looks like it is better suited for the dentist office than the kitchen. Do you know what it is? These are Sugar Nippers. According to The Historic American Cookbook Project, during the 18th and early 19th centuries, sugar came in a dense cone wrapped in blue paper. The sugar nippers were used to break off a piece of sugar for use in coffee and tea. I'll bet more than one tooth was pulled by these bad boys.
You may actually have one of these meat grinders in your kitchen. I have one and I use it to make ham salad. You simply put the meat or vegetable in the top, turn the handle and the ground meat/vegetable comes out the front.
Do you know what this is? It's an ice cream freezer. When I was a kid, we had a hand crank ice cream maker. It was more modern than this one from the 1850's...I'm not THAT old! All I have to say about a hand crank ice cream freezer is...THANK HEAVENS FOR ELECTRICITY! The closer the ice cream is to being done the harder it is to turn and by the time it gets to that point, you are already tired because you have been churning it for a very long time.
Do you have one of these old egg beaters? I do and it wasn't too long ago that I used it. My mixer broke in the middle of a recipe and I used one of these to finish mixing the batter. I wasn't without a mixer for long. They are very awkward to use...or is it me that is awkward. No need to answer that question.
I love this food chopper from the late 1800's. It has a fabulous design and I like the way it is bell-shaped. This chopper would be welcome in my kitchen.
How fortunate are we that we live in an age where we can fix dinner with little effort thanks to the innovative minds of cooks before us? I wonder if our great grandchildren will look back at our favorite gadgets and muse about how primitive they were?
MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!
I'm not sure my grandchildren will even be cooking at home when they are adults. Loved looking at all these vintage utensils but sure like my electric ones. Cute post.
ReplyDeleteFood chopper my favorite too!
ReplyDeleteNow you have me all hungry for ham salad! I have an egg beater. Used it to mix something not too long ago and about sprained my wrist. I'll take the new fangled devices. Cute post.
ReplyDeleteGreat gadget post! I have an old fashioned egg beater and a grinder and use them both, but some of the other gadgets were downright scary!
ReplyDeleteHey, my mom has the beater on the bottom! I used to play with it when I was a kid! Needless to say she hasn't used it as long as I can remember. She also has an old Sieve that was her grandmothers I believe. She uses it for making applesauce.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I don't have any old appliances like that. They're neat to look at though! My mother in law has a heated ice cream scoop and it always makes me laugh every time she uses it.
Hi La,
ReplyDeleteAren't these gadgets amazing? I love how they look, but I'm glad I can use the microwave...lol
I hope you are feeling better...it's no fun to be sick, so I am sending "get well" wishes your way.
Happy Valentine's Day--I hope it is wonderful!!!
XO
Hi La! What a fun post! A raisin seeder... never once in my life did I stop to think about that, I have a new appreciation for raisins! Also, thanks for pic #2, all of the sudden my toothache is gone:@)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you joined the Gadget Party, Happy V-Day!
I love all these old gadgets! I never even stopped to consider that raisins needed to be seeded--now do they use seedless grapes, I wonder? You are right about those hand mixers. I have some old ones and they are very difficult to use! I make such a mess--but I do like whisks. If you go to colonial williamsburg you will see the sugar wrapped in blue paper cones. It is extremely hard, and I thought they just hammered it, but that tool would be much more helpful! Great post! Linda
ReplyDeleteLoving all your old gadgets...most I have seen before except the raisin seeder -- great post :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Gail
Never even knew raisins HAD seeds!! :)
ReplyDeleteCute post.
Yep! I have the meat grinder and I HAD the egg beater, but ditched it long ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post. I love the final picture. I don't think I've ever seen one of those choppers. They actually look pretty efficient.
Very cool looking gadgets! A raisin seeder? Who knew?
ReplyDeleteFun post :)
LA -- loved the raisins optional post! These were all so fun to look at. Joni
ReplyDeleteThat was fun to see the gadgets of yesteryear. My mother had a meat grinder like the one shown and we made our own minced beef with it.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who had that meatgrinder has strong memories attached. I know ours is still around and functional. And we had a similar device to make a cranberry and orange salad every Thanksgiving. I think I was threatened with that tooth-puller as well. Fun and educational post that should make us all grateful for modern conveniences.
ReplyDeleteLori,
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen a raisin seeder or a sugar nipper. That is interesting. Always love old gadgets like this. Fun post!
Sherry
Your header BTW is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSherry
OH, this was just fabulous! My mother had the hand beater and the meat grinder and she made ham and bologna sandwiches with it too. I have never seen the sugar nippers or the chopper before. Thanks for a trip back in time to see their gadgets - they wouldn't even believe ours would they?
ReplyDeleteLa,
ReplyDeleteI still use my grandmother's meat grinder to make green tomato relish. Very nice post.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Carol
Hi La,
ReplyDeleteThese old fashioned gadgets are amazing but I'm glad we don't need to use them nowadays.
I love your header image, it's delightful.
Very cool post! I loved looking at gadgets of old. I remember those egg beaters, my mom still has one and I always thought they were kinda fun as a child. As for those sugar snippers, I bet they were a hit back in the day as they must have served dual purpose for pulling those rotten teeth when you had too much sugar! LOL!
ReplyDelete