.for those who savor the look and flavors of yesterday's kitchen.
February, 2009
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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.
In 1869 D. H. Goodell established a company bearing his name in Antrim, New Hampshire. His first product was a hand operated apple peeler. Of course these items weren't called gadgets at first but were commonly referred to as notions. It wasn't until the 1920's that the term gadget was first used for merchandise that made homemaking and cooking chores easier. Some other examples of early gadgets were a pin pick feather picker to remove stubs of feathers from poultry; a poppy seed grinder; a knife cleaner which consisted of a can filled with sand and having a slotted lid through which to slide the knives; a match striking board; an egg topper to remove the tops of hard boiled eggs; a vegetable curler for making Sarah Bernhardt potatoes; and a beer shaver of hard black rubber for scraping the foam off a mug of beer.
During the 1920s gadgets emerged not only as a trade name but as an important and thriving classification of housewares. Different marketing strategies were tried from individual printed cards to catalogues to pegboard displays in stores. The pegboard displays in stores such as Woolworth gave the gadget business a tremendous boost and it's been growing ever since. With the introduction of television, live commercials advertised gadgets that were pure entertainment (Ron Popeil was always one of my favorites). Now we have infomercials and Shopping networks that allow inventors to sell their latest gadget not only to America but the world.
In America, especially, it seems that the sales of gadgets really need no help. Americans, male as well as female, have developed an inherent fascination and fondness for gadgets. Just the idea of something working in a different and easier way excites us. We'll buy it on just the chance that it will work. Now that could certainly mean we're just lazy but I would rather think of us as forward thinking
Scald one tall can of evaporated milk and Ό cup water in a double boiler. Mix 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 3 beaten egg yolks. Add to milk and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats spoon. Remove at once, cool and add 3 tablespoons of white wine. Pour custard into sherbet glasses, add 1 canned peach half and top with meringue. Meringue is made by beating 3 egg whites, 6 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon almond extract until stiff. Serves 6. .
"American Woman's Cookbook," Ruth Berolzheimer, Garden City Publishing, 1949
Marion Flexner "Out of Kentucky Kitchens," Bramhall House, 1949..
If you have a favorite recipe to share, please send it to mamas@tias.com and we'll pass it along.
4. What is it? Sardine Tool - combination opener and server
A gadget could be defined as something invented to make a task easier. Of course we didn't know we needed the task to be easier until we saw the gadget. A case in point is this little tool made by L&L Products in England. Sardine tins came with keys that opened and rolled back the tops of the tin. This product added class to the equation by providing an attached server so your fingers never had to touch them. We didn't really need it to get to the sardines; but if we had to do it anyway, why not do it with a little pomp and circumstance. It was a huge hit. I don't really have a book value but an unused one in the original box can be found for anywhere from $8.00 to 15.00 depending on your geographic location and need to have one.
If you Build It, They Will Come -- Kitchen Gadgets
I have to admit that I am a gadget nut. One of my favorite places as a child was the local Ben Franklin and their gadget pegboard display. I would stand in awe of all these magical objects just itching to get my hands on them to see how they worked. You'll still find me in kitchen aisles trying out different things, and I rarely go home without something I'm sure will make my life 100% easier. I thought Ron Popeil was a genius and I still have to stop myself from buying everything I see on TV and infomercials. There aren't really book values on most gadgets. However, they appeal to collectors and people who just want to use them. If they come unused and in the original box, the market value increases depending on how badly someone wants it. My curiosity just won't rest until I know if it really works. The first item is a coffee dispenser made by Ammaco Products in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was a lid that screwed onto any jar with a diameter of 2.5 inches. You dispensed the coffee by moving the lever. Supposedly one flip was good for one cup of coffee. Market value is $12.00-$15.00. The second is a turkey lifter made by the W. R. Curtiss Company in Berkely, California. It is made of a pure unalloyed aluminum band that has two handles attached. You would put it under your turkey while it roasted and then use it to transfer it to your platter for carving. Market value is $18.00-$22.00.
The third is a plastic lattice pie cutter. It was made by Clough Products in Prairie Village, Kansas. Instead of weaving those strips of dough across your pies, this would cut holes in your pie dough in one easy step. Market value is $12.00-$15.00. The last is food glamorizer made by the Popeil Brothers in Chicago, Illinois. It is supposed to have components that will strip, cut, peel, shred, scrape, and grate your vegetables. I don't know how well it works, but it looked great when Ron did it on TV. Market Value is $6.00-$8.00.
6. Mama's Kitchen Stories
My mama was not a gadget person. When I think of her in the kitchen, I remember an old paring knife, a spatula, and a meat grinder. The knife had a wood handle and had been used so much that the blade had worn away at the top making a distinctive curve like a Bowie knife. The spatula never left the cast iron skillet on the stove. The handle was covered with melt marks. The meat grinder was my favorite thing. It was always a special day when I saw the grinder come out of the cabinet.
My mama was a true champion when it came to getting everything out of a piece of meat. When she cooked a ham nothing went to waste. She would carve every piece of meat off of it to reuse. The bone would get thrown into a big pot with Great Northern Beans which would become supper. I would spoon the beans over a piece of cornbread and cover it with ketchup. I know it sounds disgusting but I loved it. I've tried to reproduce those beans but have never been able to get them to taste like hers on a cold winter day.
She'd take the meat, put back some for lunches, and then start feeding the grinder. She'd put in ham, bologna, eggs, sweet pickle and I would sit transfixed watching it come out of the grinder. Sometimes she would have me turn the handle. I was convinced the thing was magical and I wanted to know the secret of turning a bunch of meat into the best ham salad in the world. I loved that grinder and I think that's when my fascination with gadgets was born.
Do you have a kitchen memory to share. Please send it to Mama at mamas@tias.com
7. Kitchen Tips
Need lemon juice? Heat your lemons in the oven before squeezing. They will yield twice as much juice.
Jean from Utah wrote:
When decorating a cake sketch your design in the icing with a toothpick lightly. Use a child's paint brush and food colors to paint your cake. You can mix the four primary shades to make different colors.
Have you got a great kitchen tip or question, please send it along to mamas@tias.com
8. What's New at Mama's Treasures
Joining my mailing list at Mama's Treasures makes you eligible for promotional coupons and advance notice of sales. Over 600 items have recently been reduced 15%-40%. New items coming to Mama's Treasures include: Dallas Plastics Bowls, Feemster Peeler, Boxed Hankie Sets, Pyrex Friendship, Gooseberry, Autumn Wheat and Butterprint Refrigerator Dishes, Aluminum Sieves, Molly Goldberg, Granddaughter's Inglenook, Modern Family, and American Woman Cookbooks, Hazel Atlas Red Stripe Salt and Pepper Range Shakers, Stop Ice Drink Aid, Mirro Cookie Cutters in Package, Aluminum Pie, Loaf, and Muffin Pans, Grease Cans, Advertising Jars, Butch Hair Wax, Mentholatum Jar, Flower Frogs, Insect Sprayers, Kodak Cameras and Flash Holder, Griswold Patty Mold Set, Mirro Cookie Presses, Foley Choppers, Nativity Figures, Swanky Swigs, Pincushions, Darners, Tap Icer, Rare West Bend Anodized Copper Tobacco Canister, Punch N Covers, Durham Duplex Razor Set, Wearever and Frigidaire Aluminum Refrigerator Boxes, Wood Bowls, Wearever Juicers, Aluminum Soap Dishes, George Briard Enamel Cups, Kilgore Plastic Picnic Set in Box, Commodore Elves, Corning Blue Cornflower Teapot and Casserole, Swans Down Measuring Cup and Muffin Pan, Aluminum Egg Cups, Fire King Modern Tulip 4 Qt. Splash Bowl, Springerle Rolling Pins, Aprons, Utensil Lots, Texasware Mixing Bowls, Pyrex Double Boilers and Teapots, Bakelite Utensils, Foley Forks, and so much more!!!!! Drop by and visit me at www.tias.com/stores/mamas I love to chat, answer questions and I always consider reasonable offers.
Drop by and visit me at www.tias.com/stores/mamas I love to chat, answer questions and I always consider reasonable offers.
9. Helpful Resources
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