From Mama's Kitchen
|
|
 |
...for those who savor the look and flavors of yesterday's kitchen... |
|
May 2006
|
|
|
|
 Having problems viewing this newsletter? Perhaps you see little red 'x's instead of pictures? If so, click here to read the newsletter online! Automatic unsubscribe link at bottom of page. Just click on it to be removed from this mailing list. If you can't get the unsub link to work, type "remove" in the subject line and send this entire newsletter back to us. |
|
|
|
Mama's Kitchen is a free newsletter about kitchen collectibles. This newsletter is designed to be entertaining and educational, but also a dialogue among those who have a fondness for kitchen items of all kinds. I hope you'll join us for a few memories, giggles, laughs and some useful information about kitchen collectibles. I am not an expert in any field, but I have been buying and selling kitchen items for over 9 years and loving them for a lifetime. Remember collecting anything should be fun. This is especially true when you can use your collection on a daily basis. Please let me know if there is a particular item you would like featured in upcoming issues. |
|
|
Just when I thought I'd seen it all, I'll come across an interesting gadget or a version of something common that I have never seen. I am fascinated by trivia that is kitchen related. I thought I would share a few of my most recently learned facts about the history of kitchenalia. “Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles”, Krause Publications, 2003, by Brian Alexander.
...that according to a 1940’s Life Magazine Article a gadget is a device for doing something that nobody knew needed doing until a gadget was invented to do it.
... the Edward Katzinger Company, otherwise known as Ekco, started in the 1880”s with it’s founder making nothing but tin pans for commercial bakeries.
...in the 1950’s Ekco created large merchandising racks and shelving units for stores to prominently display their gadgets and housewares.
...The first Foley product from the Foley Manufacturing Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota put into production in 1933 was a food mill which is still in production today.
...in the 1920’s the Washburn Company, otherwise known as Androck, adopted colorful painted wood handles on their kitchenware.
...beaters fall into three categories: fixed, mechanical, or rotary. Fixed beaters are guided by hand motion and include simple wire and coiled wire designs. Mecanical beaters involve pushing up and down on the top to create a revolving motion. rotary beaters involve a geared whell and crank mechanism where rotating blades create the mixing action.
...cake and mold pans having a figural shape or including the design of a well known, licensed character usually have increased collector value.
...the earliest cookie cutters were fashioned from small scraps of tin or metal by hand.
...The first product of the Rival Manufacturing Company of Kansas City, Missouri was the Juice-O-Mat. It had an early distinction of being available in five different colors and despite the economy of 1932 was widely accepted by consumers.
...manual juicers, a once frequently seen kitchen gadget, were made obsolete with the introduction of frozen and canned juice in the 1950’s.
...in the1860’s, a $10,000 challenge to find a substitute for ivory billiard balls led John Hyatt on a path of experimentation resulting in the discovery of celluloid.
...a more durable hard plastic was discovered by Leo Baekeland in 1907 and was quickly named Bakelite.
|
|
|
Recipe for:
|
Green Tomato Pickle |
|
|
1 peck of green tomatoes sliced
12 onions sliced; |
|
1 box of mustard (ground),
half an ounce of black pepper (ground)
1 ounce of whole cloves
1 ounce of white mustard seed |
One peck of green tomatoes sliced; one dozen onions sliced; sprinkle with salt and let them stand until the next day; then drain them. Use the following as spices: one box of mustard (ground), half an ounce of black pepper (ground), one ounce of whole cloves, and one ounce of white mustard seed. Alternate layers of tomatoes, onions, and spices. Cover with vinegar. Wet the mustard before putting it in. Boil the whole twenty minutes. |
Mrs. Hill’s New Family Recipe Book, Mrs. A. P. Hill, NY, 1870.
|
|
The Egg Alarm  The egg alarm was an aluminum device with a black plastic knob that boiled up to six eggs exactly the way you wanted them. It was made by the Tetfoam Corporation in the 1950’s in St. Louis, Missouri. The center section was marked with your selection of boiling (soft, medium or hard). You placed the eggs in the pan and filled it with water to your line of preference and boiled away. When the whistle blew your eggs were done. Book Value $18-$22.00
Do you have an odd piece of kitchenalia that you'd care to share or ask others to help you identify? Just e-mail a picture and your thoughts to mamas@tias.com and we'll post it and any responses here. |
|
The Egg And I – Egg Gadgets Eggs were an area of food with their own specialized products and gadgets made to assist you in every way of preparation and serving. Whether you wanted to shell it, cook it, separate it, slice it or even change it’s shape, there was a gadget to help you accomplish your task. Below are four examples of gadgets that are still being used today. Modern day manufacturers have started to reproduce these items because they worked very well. The first is an egg separator which was used to separate egg whites from the yolks. These were very popular as advertising premiums. The second is an egg slicer which would give you perfect slices to garnish your salads. The third is an egg snipper or cutter which cut the top off your soft boiled egg so you could get to the good part. The fourth is an aluminum egg tray which was used to lower and lift eggs from boiling water.
 |
 |
| Rotary beaters involve a geared wheel and crank mechanism where rotating blades create the mixing action. Rotary whippers usually have a faster motion that adds additional aeration to the mixture. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
I remember my Mama every time I see a chicken strutting across the yard. As a child I hated chickens. Oh, I loved eating them but I hated being around them. Chickens are mean critters! I can’t begin to count the times I was pecked and gouged when I was collecting eggs. It wasn’t any better when I was feeding them either. However the worst thing was plucking them! Every Sunday my mother would take to the chicken yard and make her choice for Sunday dinner. She would casually stroll among the hens until she made her choice. She always told me she wanted the old tough birds because they were right for Chicken N Dumplings and not much use for anything else. She didn’t need fancy chicken catchers. In a blink of an eye, she’d reach out among the throng of hens and roosters and come up with one either by the neck or legs. I thought she was the bravest woman alive. Next she’d wring and snap the neck and throw it in a pot of boiling water she had cooking outside. Once the bird was scalded sufficiently and fairly cool, it was my job to pluck the feathers. Let me tell you there is nothing worse than trying to get pinfeathers out of a chicken. I always wished some good fairy would bring me some invisible lotion or tool that would just make them disappear. My mother could pluck a chicken faster than anyone alive or at least in the state of Missouri. She made it look so easy and I just couldn’t get the hang of it. I once asked her how she knew which chickens were the old hens. She said you just had to look for the one giving the roosters a hard time. As for her secret to the plucking, she always said you just needed the right motivation. I asked her to explain and she laughed and said, “Honey, just imagine yourself as mad as you’ve ever been at some old rooster and then let him have it.” After that, every time I plucked I just imagined it was one of my five brothers during the latest teasing session or dirty trick. She was right, it did get easier and I loved the Chicken N Dumplings even more.
|
|
|
|
The best way I know to get ballpoint ink out of clothes is good old fashion hairspray. It doesn’t matter what kind you use. Just saturate the area and the gently scrape with your fingernail or use an old toothbrush. For really bad areas you might have to do it two or three times. Afterwards just wash like you would normally. It’s never failed to work for me. Have you got a great kitchen tip or question, please send it along to mamas@tias.com |
|
|
|
The home page of Mama's Treasures has been revamped to make it easier for you to find your favorite collectibles. I've also added a new category called the "Half Price Table." Any item ordered from this category will be discounted 50% after the order is placed. Joining my mailing list also makes you eligible for promotional coupons and advance notice of sales. 15% Off Sale. Sale does not include Gift Certificates or Half Price table Items. Every order enters you in a drawing for a $25.00 gift certificate. The winner will be announced on May 31st. New items added include a Kromex Pink Spice Set, Kromex Aluminum Range and Spice Sets, Federal Dot Bowls, Libby Orange Juice Glasses, Ransburg Recipe Box, Tomato Juice Glasses, Texasware and Brookpark Bowls, Vintage Aprons, Cookbooks & Potholders, Pyrex Primary Color and Pink Bowls, Wesson Oil Mayonnaise Beater Jar, Pyrex Flameware Teapots, Coffeepots, & Double Boilers, Vintage Sewing & Hankies, Primitives and much more. Drop by and visit at www.tias.com/stores/mamas I love to chat, answer questions and we always consider reasonable offers. |
|
|
|
- What's it worth? Try Kovels' free online price guide to over 300,000 antiques and collectibles. It can be found online at http://www.kovels.com
- Looking for an expert to help you with repairs, or an appraisal? Or just some help finding an auction house or a collectors club? Try this free service at http://www.tias.com/stores/kovelsyellow/
- Looking for prices for antiques and collectibles?
PriceMiner.com has millions of them. Most items listed include color photos as well. Sign up today at: http://tinyurl.com/c6oqc (Not affiliated with Kovels.com) - Get an online appraisal for just $9.95 from “What's It Worth To You?” http://whatsitworthtoyou.com/tias.htm (Not affiliated with Kovels.com)
- The Latest News regarding Antiques & Collectibles Take a look at http://www.new-antique.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you for reading! Thanks for reading! Feel free to forward this to a friend. |
|
| | | | | | | |
|
|
