Essential Vintage Kitchen Gadgets Our Grandmothers Loved
When it comes to basic tools, things have changed a lot in the last fifty or sixty years. This includes cooking tools. Locating items that were common in every home during your grandmother’s lifetime has become difficult. It’s really a shame, though, because some of those old machines were amazing when it came to cooking and baking. So, we put together a list of the best ones to take you back in time and make you wonder why we stopped using these old goods.
Cheese Grater Mill
It is difficult to believe that many years ago, almost everyone had one of these in their homes. From the outside, this old cooking tool looks like it would be difficult to figure out what it is. But it’s a lovely one! This is a tool for grating cheese. These days, most people buy cheese already chopped, but this wasn’t always the case.
Can you picture how delicious those fresh cheeses must have tasted? Imagine the difference between freshly ground coffee beans and those already ground.
A Comb to Cut Angel Food Cake
Right now, you may think that this one looks like a longer hair comb. But it’s not just that. Although it may not appear significantly different, it does differ. However, its intended use was in the kitchen, not the bedroom. Its sole purpose was to cut angel food cake.
It might seem silly to have a tool just for cutting angel food cake, but if you’ve ever eaten this delicious and delicate cake, you’ll know why you need a special, soft tool that won’t make the cake fall flat.
Have Room Temperature Butter Available at All Times
People now yearn for the return of this ancient cooking tool to the market. Have you ever considered the convenience of always having the perfect butter available for spreading at room temperature? You wouldn’t have to wait for it to melt a little. It was always simple to spread and ready to eat. That’s right, the French came up with a device just for that.
These machines didn’t require chilling; a straightforward system maintained the butter’s optimal temperature. A little water at the bottom of the jar helped with everything.
A Mold Just for Jell-O
When it comes to old kitchen tools, you can always be sure that they were missing something. Their tools seemed to cover almost every task, possibly more than ours. They even had molds made just for Jell-O that were shaped like flowers and leaves. Once the Jell-O was in the pan, the process was complete.
You could get these in a lot of different sizes, which may show how important Jell-O was in older homes. These days, not many people eat jelly, so it’s hard to picture.
Slice Tomatoes Easily and Quickly
There’s one old tool that wasn’t as famous back then, but most people (including us) wish it had been. That tomato can be difficult to cut. This is why many people gauge the sharpness of their knives by observing how well they cut tomatoes. The tomato cutter was invented in response to this need. This innovative device existed before electric choppers were invented.
Regrettably, it was one of the least effective devices on the list. It didn’t cut through the tomato smoothly; instead, it turned it into a big mess of mush. But if you enjoy making tomato sauce or shakshuka, this may be the right tool for you!
A Snazzy Serving Tray for Sauces
This is the best tool for people who host frequently, but it’s unclear why they aren’t used or as easy to find as they once were. The quality of their craftsmanship is evident. Consider the jar’s size compared to the spoons. Adding a dish underneath ensures simple cleanup for any spills or mistakes.
The dips and sauces will be simple for your guests to access, and they won’t have to worry about them getting all over the elegant tablecloth. Instead of carrying around a bunch of bottles, who wouldn’t want one of these?
The Genius Double-Sided Cookie Mold or Waffle-Maker
If this weren’t a list of cooking tools, you might mistake it for a fly swatter or a fireplace starter. However, you may need to adjust your perspective, as this is a list of unique kitchen items. Because of its appearance, it is unlikely that you would infer that this object is a cookie maker.
This made it simple for people to make big, tasty cookies that were also perfectly round. Even though they look pretty strange, everyone wins!
Why Stop at Cookie Molds? Your Butter Can Look Gorgeous, Too
These tiny machines may look like cookie tools due to their shapes. However, their true purpose is to be butter shapers. These days, people don’t really think about this idea much. However, it’s something they should consider bringing back! Everyone likes butter, but it tastes even better when it’s in a charming shape like this.
A lot of the time, people don’t realize how much the size or shape of something changes how it tastes. The taste of a large mug of hot cocoa surpasses that of a glass cup.
An Egg White and Yolk Seperator
This tool would have come in handy if you ever had to make an angel food cake, a quiche, or a souffle. Despite its resemblance to a saucer, your grandmother would likely be able to explain the purpose of this unusual kitchen tool. It’s an egg splitter that makes it simple to get the whites and yolks apart.
You must agree that this technique separates eggs better than hands or eggshells.
The Tool to Make Perfect Escargot
When you first see this object, its purpose may be unclear. Is it intended to ensure that those small candies are perfectly consistent? Does it cook more than one egg at the same time? It appears that none of the answers are correct, until you discover that it’s an escargot pan. Designed specifically for escargot, it allows you to thoroughly cook six at once.
This pan may not seem important, especially if you’re not from France, but this dish is famous worldwide.
A Massive Slicer For Herbs
If you found this intimidating-looking blade lying around in someone’s kitchen, you’d almost certainly not believe them. The blade appears excessively large for its intended use. However, they could be extremely useful for quickly and easily cutting a bunch of herbs at once.
They probably came in a lot of different sizes and styles. However, this was one of the most common sizes and shapes available.
Iron Trivets for Your Hot Pans
Probably not many people have iron trivets lying around their homes these days, but most kitchens have them. Most people keep at least one or two of these around to keep their attractive tables and desks in excellent shape. These days, people often make trivets out of clay, ceramics, or just plain cloth. You might find an iron somewhere, but it’s probably only in your grandparents’ kitchen.
Iron doesn’t seem like a suitable choice for these trivets. These things are pretty heavy to move around, but they would cover the table and surface.
Medieval Torture Device? No, Just a Useful Meat Tenderizer
You might be a little worried about your safety if you saw this thing sitting alone in someone’s house. After all, most people would think it looks like something from a book about torture in the Middle Ages. On the other hand, it serves a much less dangerous purpose. Its purpose is to soften meat, ensure uniform cooking, and enhance the absorption of sauces and marinades.
Be like your grandparents and keep one in the kitchen, but out of sight.
Have You Ever Heard of a Potato Ricer?
This tool is perfect for people who love mashed potatoes, especially ones that are very thick and tasty. Don’t waste time and energy mixing potatoes with a potato masher. Just run a boiled and cooked potato through one of these, and the mashed potatoes will be the smoothest and lump-free you’ve ever had. It’s also very quick and simple.
Now that everyone has electric hand mixers and food machines, this was the best way to make mashed potatoes back in the day.
Everyone Needs a French Fry Potato Cutter in the House
If you make your own french fries at least twice a year, it might be worth your time to look for one of these old French fry makers. While they don’t sell them in most shops, they should make them again. Who doesn’t enjoy the taste of perfectly cut French fries?
This saves you a lot of time and energy. You don’t have to line up your potatoes; this machine does it for you.
Make Juice Without an Electric Juicer
It’s amusing to think that people didn’t have fancy electric juicers back then. Making a glass of juice or mash was difficult. The process was lengthy and required a tool similar to this one. Without explanation, you probably wouldn’t have understood the purpose of this tool. I used to think it was important, though.
There was a sieve that caught the large chunks of pulp and seeds, but let the juice pass through easily. But it took a lot more work than the juicers that are now on the market.
For Straining Pots While Cooking Alone
This is a tool that would still be useful today. It’s awful to be cooking and then discover you can’t strain your food. No one is around to help, so you do everything yourself. This is difficult to do because the strainer and heavy pot are too big and heavy to hold by the hot handles.
With this cool tool, people who cook by themselves can get some help. It’s a way to add weight to the food while still letting the water drain out.
A Hand Grinder for a Nut Chopper
You might find it difficult to believe that some people ate so many nuts that they bought a nut chopper and grinder for their home. You might think that a knife and a cutting board would be enough to chop the nuts, but for some people, that wasn’t enough. They needed a whole different tool for the job.
In any case, this item existed in the past and could be found in homes all over the world. This tool did make it easy to chop nuts, so people who like certifiable will find it useful!
Never Underestimate the Power of a Bread Box
You may think the breadbox isn’t necessary for cooking and that people worldwide shouldn’t use it regularly. However, it’s disheartening to note that people have stopped using these breadboxes, and it’s even more disheartening to realize how much they miss them. If you store your bread in these boxes, it will last longer, taste better, and not go bad.
To save money on bread, get a bread box. This way, you can always have fresh, tasty bread in your home. It’s worth giving up counter space for!
Hand Crank Flour Sifter
If you’ve ever cooked, you know that many recipes say to sift the flour before adding it to the other ingredients. Most people are too lazy to perform this step and rely solely on luck, but those in the past would have considered it a risk. They didn’t just use a normal fine sieve to sift the flour; they had a whole machine for it because it was so important.
The side had a hand crank, and the bottom had a hole for the flour to fall into the bowl. The best part was that they frequently featured attractive patterns!
Portable Fondue Sets
Fondue is a wonderful treat for everyone. You can make everyone pleased with a little chocolate or cheese and some things to dip it in. If you enjoy fondue, you will love these adorable little movable fondue makers. They can go camping or to a friend’s house for a fun little party.
It comes with plates to serve on, as well as little sticks so you can dip bread or fruit in the melted cheese.
The Simple Green Bean Slicer
However, most people probably don’t eat enough green beans every day for this kind of tool to be considered necessary. If you eat green beans often, you might wish this gadget was still available. It is common for individuals to dislike the task of chopping green beans; therefore, it would be advantageous to have a straightforward instrument that can accomplish this task in a matter of seconds.
You could give this tool to someone whose favorite food is green beans. They will definitely be thankful.
The Pretty Vintage Version of Pyrex
When you think of Pyrex, you usually think of glass cases that you stack to store things in the kitchen. You’d be right, but you’d also be missing something important. The 1960s saw the creation and fame of the first Pyrex, which bore no resemblance to the contemporary Pyrex. Often adorned with adorable little flowers and patterns, it had a significantly improved appearance.
It is truly disheartening that plain, boring glass cases with a single color lid have replaced these. There is nothing better than the adorable old ones!
Aluminum Ice Makers
It might be clear to you why ice trays have pretty much gone out of style. Most fridges have automatic ice makers that let you make ice whenever you want. With that kind of technology, making your own ice cubes wouldn’t be worth the work. However, these are pretty cool because they have a button that makes it simple to remove the ice.
Items such as aluminum, metal, and more expensive materials quickly lost popularity in favor of plastic. However, this is one of the main ones that should have stayed metal, because the ice freezes much faster than with plastic!
Decorated Butter Dishes
Not the first time butter has been on this list. After all, butter was a big part of old-fashioned cooking, and it still is. However, people no longer place as much emphasis on making things look attractive as they once did. For example, these lovely butter dishes. These days, most people just leave their butter in the jars.
Leave these butter dishes around the house to impress guests. It makes people even more fond of butter.
The Original Food Processor
Almost every kitchen has a food processor, which has been around for a while. However, you used to have to work on a food processor by hand. In the past, an individual labored diligently in the kitchen, wielding a tool similar to this one. Put the food you wanted to grind into this machine, then turn it on and off until it finished.
This process could take a considerable amount of time, particularly if the material was difficult to grind. You should be grateful for the invention of food processors!
It’s Not a Party Without a Punch Bowl
Those were the days when almost no one could even think about having a party without one of these fancy and beautiful punch bowls. The arrival of the punch bowls marked the beginning of the party. It also couldn’t be any old punch bowl. It had to be a punch bowl with a spoon and cups that went with it.
No drink could ever taste better than this punch. You will never understand unless you try it.
Make Your Own Snow Cones All Year Round
A delicious snow cone is something everyone loves. Shaved ice with syrup on top is so popular because it is so tasty and attractive. Many people make homemade snow cones with real snow in the winter, then add grenadine or other syrups to make them taste great. But in the 1960s, it was also possible (and popular) to make these at home in the summer!
With this handy ice cutter, making shaved ice snow cones was easy. That easy-to-use tool was very helpful for the whole family.
When the Hand Mixer Was Actually by Hand
Even today, some still refer to this device as a hand mixer, while others believe an electric mixer is a more accurate term. But back then, it was really just a hand mixer. To whip or mix the items, you turned a crank. Making mashed potatoes or whipped cream with one of these was a lot of work.
Before electric versions came out, this old cooking tool was useful, but the electric versions are much better and easier to use, though you won’t get the same wrist muscles.
The Original Version of a Toaster
It’s likely that you never really thought about how the toaster might have changed over time. Here’s an image of a toaster during its initial production and public sale. As you can see, there are numerous items scattered around, making it difficult to understand how this device could be used safely. It looks like a risk.
You can be thankful that this has improved over time. Fortunately, you no longer have to worry about being shocked every time you want toast.
In-House Coffee Bean Grinder
Now everyone knows that freshly ground coffee is much better than coffee that comes in a bag. Even if it’s hassle, grinding coffee beans daily may be worth it. But back in the day, there weren’t many choices for grinding coffee. A simple coffee grinder was all they had; they didn’t have any fancy ones.
It was challenging to move these things around, and using them could get a little tiring. To grind the beans, the machine had a blade and a sieve that you had to turn by hand.
Funky and Swirly Potato Mashers
You probably already know what a potato masher is and how to use it. You’ve probably seen one of these fun, swirly things at someone else’s house before, even if it wasn’t your grandparents’. Of course, not everyone has an electric mixer, and some people still do their work with old-fashioned tools. Its usefulness is between a fork and an electric mixer.
Having said that, these amusing tools would bring a smile to anyone’s face. For fun, everyone should have them around the house.
The Perfectly Sliced Egg
Have you noticed that many of the items on this list are there to ensure that people are able to do things perfectly? For example, this little gadget with weird grooves was created to help people slice their eggs perfectly. Although you might think that this is sort of useless, who doesn’t love thin slices that are all even and perfect? It’s something that is loved by just about everyone.
This makes making egg sandwiches easy, and the same-sized and-shaped slices make everything taste better. It’s beneficial for everyone, even if it means you have to clean one more dish.
Hand Crocheted Hot Pads
A long time ago, a lot of people in the family knew how to knit or crochet different things. In many homes, you could see the grandmothers sitting in their rocking chairs knitting new socks or sweaters for their grandkids. But she also made cooking items, like these hot pads. They were really cute and helped keep the counters from getting dirty with hot pans and plates.
Each person made these separately, adapting them to fit various kitchens and styles.
Good Old Fashion Balance
Think about the times when you were trying to figure out how much of an item you needed for a recipe and realized you needed an electric scale like this one instead. You could measure things with this, but it is much harder to get an exact reading.
You must always use an accurate gauge and measure accurately.
Every Shape of Cookie Cutter
Why bake cookies in rounds when you can make them any shape? It looks like Grandma knew what she was doing. There were always lots of cookie forms lying around the house, which was great for when the kids wanted to help shape the cookies into fun shapes. Having kids presents a variety of options!
Also, there were never just two or three types of cookie cutters. You could always pick from at least four or five.
Milk Glass Is High Fashion
Some people think of clear, shiny glass when they hear the word “glass.” However, there is another type of glass that was very popular in the 1950s and is even more popular today. Many old homes used milk glass, a unique material, to make bowls, cookware, and other items. The white was soft and pretty, with different textures.
If you really wanted to, you could find every cooking tool you could imagine in a milk glass. There was no cap. They made everything out of milk glass, like cups, bowls, flowers, and even cutlery.
Matching Sets of Labeled Containers
What happened to the days when you could see everything clearly when you walked into your grandmother’s kitchen? Everything had clear labels on it, so it was always simple to find what you were looking for. People used to purchase sets of similar storage containers, each clearly labeled with their most frequently used items. It is simple to find the tea; you don’t have to open five jars to get to it.
These days, it’s almost hard to find sets that match like this. You’re unlikely to find anything else. Perhaps a set of coffee, tea, and sugar could be discovered. You won’t be able to find a set of ten pieces that all match and are labeled like you could in the past.
Portal Into Grandma’s Recipes
People today save all of their favorite recipes as bookmarks or pictures on their phones. But in the past, beautiful recipe boxes like these housed grandma’s famous recipes. Almost everyone who has opened one of these boxes can smell the wood and paper together, which brings back wonderful memories. The box contains scrumptious memories that have been documented.
Some families made food boxes their most valuable and well-kept possessions. People were protective of their secrets and didn’t want anyone else to get them.
