Do you remember what kinds of things were in your grandmother’s kitchen? Your mother’s kitchen? Your very first kitchen? What did that well-stocked kitchen from the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s or even later? Well, it was likely full of all sorts of “time saving” kitchen gadgets—meant to make things easier for the cook in the family.
The Meekins librarians have searched those forgotten trunks in their attics, dug deep into the back of their hard-to-reach kitchen cabinets, and even raided the drawers full of the tools they use every day. The entire Cabinet of Curiosities is full of some practical, and some rather odd gadgets that have survived over the years.
Perhaps the oldest tools used by even ancient cooks was the mortar and pestle and some version of a wooden stick or spoon to stir the clay or other pots—tools that endured the test of time. Before Cuisinart processors and KitchenAid mixers, there were kitchen knives and whisks and eggbeaters you turned by hand. Coffee was ground in a mechanical grinder and made on the stovetop. How did you actually open the glass bottles of root beer soda? Then there are the specialty gadgets—did your mother have a nutcracker, or butter mold? And the list could continue on and on … Cookbooks of the time shared all kinds of “kitchen hacks” for the modern cooks of their day.
Stop by Meekins to see the display of quirky kitchen gadgets. Can you identify the vintage kitchen tools that come from the families of the Meekins librarians? Do you know what they are used for? Meekins is open Tuesday 10-6; Wednesday 1-7; Thursday 3-6; and Saturday 9-2. Come test your kitchen gadget expertise. Daria D’Arienzo, Meekins Archivist and photographer. #throwbackthursday;#tbt.
Posted to Facebook 10/24/2024
