What did they do before ... ?

[bibliophile birds]

One item I could really make use of, is a hand crank whisk. Much better then a hand whisk, and easier then setting up either of my elecric versions.

here's a bunch you can chose from.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

One item I could really make use of, is a hand crank whisk. Much better then a hand whisk, and easier then setting up either of my elecric versions.

here's a bunch you can chose from.

Actually, I am holding out for my great grandmothers. My mom has it "stored" away

 

[bibliophile birds]

Actually, I am holding out for my great grandmothers. My mom has it "stored" away

haha! my mom is using my great-grandmother's as decoration... i'm thinking of just nicking it!

 

[i_am2bz]

Also I continually marvel at the cooking times given for vegetables. Hours and hours. Hard to imagine *eating* the result. Can't imagine why that came to be common practice at the time. Very mysterious!

Maybe because dental care was so scarce, everything had to be cooked into mush so you could eat it with no teeth...

 

[dragonlaurel]

For anyone interested in old kitchen equipment may I recommend a look into an old copy of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, first published 1859 in London, or one of the older editions of Fannie Farmer, if you can find them - very enlightening. There are pictures of all sorts of old things, and lists of things needed to outfit a kitchen.

It's a fascinating historical/cultural document as well. Very entertaining reading if you like that sort of thing.

Also I continually marvel at the cooking times given for vegetables. Hours and hours. Hard to imagine *eating* the result. Can't imagine why that came to be common practice at the time. Very mysterious!

Pat

They may have been using a cooler spot on the wood stove and letting them cook slow like crock pots do. I sure hope so. That book sounds really cool.

fixed typo

 

[ORChick]

I love all the responses; thanks everyone!
I know we all love and appreciate many of the old appliances in the kitchen, tool shed, etc., but what I was hoping to hear were the times when you suddenly realized that *whatever* was done another way rather than the way we do it now - kind of like that grating stale bread for crumbs thing. Not so much the older version of what people use now, but rather the step before. If that makes sense.
As to the crank egg-beater - no thanks! I'll keep my whisk. I grew up with one of those things, and hated it - of course it was always my job as *daughter learning to cook* to wield the thing. It pretty much requires three hands - one to hold it, one to crank it, and one to add in any additions that need to go in while the beating is going on. And sometimes a fourth to hold the bowl A nice whisk that fits the hand (I have several that don't), and a sturdy wooden spoon and I'm set

 

[ORChick]

For anyone interested in old kitchen equipment may I recommend a look into an old copy of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, first published 1859 in London, or one of the older editions of Fannie Farmer, if you can find them - very enlightening. There are pictures of all sorts of old things, and lists of things needed to outfit a kitchen.

It's a fascinating historical/cultural document as well. Very entertaining reading if you like that sort of thing.

Also I continually marvel at the cooking times given for vegetables. Hours and hours. Hard to imagine *eating* the result. Can't imagine why that came to be common practice at the time. Very mysterious!

Pat

They may have been using a cooler spot on the wood stove and letting them cook slow like crock pots do. I sure hope so. That book sounds rally cool.

I don't think so; the instructions usually seem to be to "boil". I agree, the end result must have been nasty. But the habit of having a bit of *bite* to our veggies is really quite a modern one, especially for Northern European types. Traveling in the British Isles in the mid 1960's was proof enough of their tendency to boil things to death, and my raised in Germany DH still thinks I undercook certain veggies - they aren't like his mother made them .
And yes, it is a neat book (Mrs Beeton) - All sorts of recipes, and descriptions of cooking techniques, as well as a section on home health care (a la 1859), and how much to pay the servants, and how to set the table, and so much more. There is even a notation after every recipe as to the cost per serving, which is very amusing.

 

[Wifezilla]

No, veggies used to be boiled to death. My grandma was really good at making tasty fresh vegetables in to unrecognizable mush. And she wonders why I used to hide in the garden and stuff my face with raw peas

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Also I continually marvel at the cooking times given for vegetables. Hours and hours. Hard to imagine *eating* the result. Can't imagine why that came to be common practice at the time. Very mysterious!

Maybe because dental care was so scarce, everything had to be cooked into mush so you could eat it with no teeth...

Kinda doubt that. Dentists were not even needed until after processed foods were the norm, cause cavity rates were like 1-3% until the the Industrial Age.

I'm guessing it had more to do with the fact that so many veges were thought to be toxic unless well cooked.

 

[Up-the-Creek]

I have one of those moments everytime I do laundry,..I remember how my mother washed on a wringer washer and had no dryer . I also think about having to go to the creek and beat your clothes on the rocks to get them clean,.. could you imagine??? Honestly I like doing some things the old way, but having to go back and live exactly like they HAD to do,..no thanks! I give thanks to have an automatic wash machine and running water,...and thank goodness I don't have to hang clothes outside in the cold to freeze dry them. Its one thing to do it just because you like those things, but to do it because you have no other choice,..well that is another can of worms!