1. Welcome! 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.

• Two wide wooden pincers iron hinged.are CRACKLIN' SQUEEZERS that pressed drops of lard from pork scraps floating up in the renderin' kettles, the bits having been put first into cloth bags. The result was crisp cracklin's good to eat plain or baked in cornbread.
• A Cresset.is an early lighting device, a variation of a simple fire basket. It could stand or.be used as a torch or hung as a lantern..
• A Pomace Rake separated the apple pomace (cheese stage) for cider making. Long whittled pins and handle were tightly wedged into auger-drilled holes.
• An 8" long alligator-like tool known as a CORK PRESA was bolted to the counter of an Apothecary Shop. A closest-to-desired-size cork slightly dampened and laid in one of the four top and bottom matched ridged spaces was compressed to better fit
• A hollowed out log in a smokehouse set on end beams off a hard packed dirt floor. Pork, easily cured and stored, was stacked in this SALT BIN a layer at a time with salt between. When cured, the bacon, shoulders, and hams taken from the Bin were wiped clean and sprinkled with borax to discourage an invasion of "skippers" (skipping insects).
• It took about 120 ft. of rope to lace a bed. this periodically twist-tightened to keep it taut with a homemade wooden device known as a Bed Key, .
• Pioneer brides believed small grey spiders spinning cobwebs in the dim dusty corners overhead brought good luck to their cabins and did not brush the webs away.
• PAN LAMPS (Cruisies) of iron were made and used in America for over 200 years.  A forged saucer was bent to form shallow corners that held one to four twisted cotton or rag wicks, and one end in the corner, the other in the grease at center.
• APPLEBUTTER STIRRER was to blend and prevent apples sticking when cooked in a big kettle, preferably copper where the fruit would not darken.
• If soft soap was preferred over hard chunks, SOAP GOURDS could be used. With their tops sliced off and retained as lids to preserve moisture, seeds and pulp scraped out, and the shells sun-dried, these big Gourds have been so used for generations. Newly cooked soap poured in and allowed to "set" was then scooped out as needed with long wooden paddles and spoons, these latter preferably hand-cut from sassafras if available since that wood imparted a better odor to the soap.
• SOAP STICK (LYE PADDLE) combined strong-smelling cooking grease saved from fat meat scraps with lyes made from fireplace ashes. It's auger drilled holes made stirring the cooking mess easier .Cut up raw potatoes added to the saved fats helped keep them from becoming rancid.

From a periodical "The Housewife" NY: A.D. Porter Co., Aug. 1904.   

4. What is it?

This is a Daisy plate scraper. It was made of rubber and was used to scrape hard to remove food off your dinner plates. They were used a lot because in the 1940's the soaps weren't great at getting food off your plates and it required a lot of elbow grease. You don't see them too often. Daisy is the most identifiable brand although I'm sure other companies made them. The value ranges from $8.00-$15.00 depending on condition and market.

Come & Get It -- the dinner plate?

What would dinner be without the kitchen plate? I have to admit I'm nuts for old china. I love the color, patterns and variety that you just don't see in plates today. The only problem is that they all have to be hand washed. A dishwasher will eventually ruin them. If not for that I'd use them everyday. The first one pictured was made by Blue Ridge Potteries and the pattern name was Dixie Dogwood. Their plates have become very collectible and depending on the patter, sell for anywhere from $10-$18. This one is fairly common and usually can be found for $8-$10. The second was made by Royal China and was from their Currier and Ives line. This one was called "The Old Grist Mill" and has a value of $10-$15. They also made these plates in green.

The third was made by Homer Laughlin and was called "Nautilis. Homer Laughlin made hundreds of dinnerware patterns and most have a value of $6-$8. The last was made by Crooksville and was from their Gray-Lure line. It's one of my favorites and usually sells for $6-$10. Of course condition and market value influences the price.

7. Tip of the Month 

Looking for old fashion decals for your kitchen? I recommend www. Sweet Gal Decals.com

No more tears when you freeze onions for five minutes before chopping them!

Ella from Texas wrote:

Submerge lemon in hot water for 15 minutes before squeezing to yield twice the amount of juice.

Valerie from Arizona wrote:

If there is cream of tartar in your old tin -it never goes bad...It is like a salt -or an acid. I have a tin that was my mom's. It is marked 75 cents and does not have a bar code. The "S" on my tin is in calligraphy and is red and blue. I made Snickerdoodle cookies with it tonight and they are great! Cream of Tartar is a by-product of wine.

Have you got a great kitchen tip or question, please send it along to mamas@tias.com

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