Your Most Obscure Cooking Tool?

On Sat 12 Nov 2005 10:36:30a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it wff_ng_7?

Quoted message said:

I've got a few cooking tools that are rather obscure in a way and whose
function might not be obvious to the average person... or even someone
that cooks. Here are pointers to pictures of two of them:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool1.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool2.jpg

The first is for a food that although is extremely common, serving it
cooked in this way has fallen out of fashion. In any case, the tool
would still be odd to someone used to eating this food cooked this way.

The second is for another food that is extremely common, but in today's
age of "industrial" food production, this preparation step is not often
done at home.

I'll post the function of these two tools in a response.

Anyone else got odd ball cooking tools they use?

I have no idea what the first item is and without your saying it was for
serving something, I would have said it was some kind of "tamper".

I believe the second item is a fish scaler.

A tool I often use in in the following pic. Friends who have seen it in my
kitchen drawer always ask what it is.

http://tinyurl.com/bw833

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

wff_ng_7 said:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool1.jpg

This tool is for soft boiled eggs... which aren't eaten all that often these
days, for safety reasons among others. This is a very clever version of a
tool called an egg topper, used to cut off the top of a soft boiled egg. One
places the open cup shaped end (at the left) on top of the egg. One then
pulls on the ball shaped plunger handle to the right and holds it. Then
while keeping the tool on top of the egg, one release the plunger. When the
plunger hits bottom, the momentum of it propels the round cup shaped end
into the egg, fracturing the shell in a very fine line. One then cuts off
the top of the egg with a small knife. The soft boiled egg now has a very
even hole in the top for spooning out its contents.

Using this tool does take some practice... do it wrong and the egg ends up
as one smashed gooey mess!

This tool is made in France, and today goes for a pretty penny.

Quoted message said:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool2.jpg

This is an old fish scaler my father gave me. It seems most people these
days buy fish that have already been scaled and cleaned. I prefer to do that
job myself, and my local seafood market sells most fish intact.

The unusual aspect of this fish scaler is the cover over the ridged scaling
blade. It is meant to catch the scales as they come off. Invariably scales
go flying everywhere, and although they still do using this scaler, the
problem is much reduced.

I went looking for a good fish scaler several years ago, and really couldn't
find that many out there. I guess because people don't do this themselves
anymore. I remembered my father had one that we used in the mid-1960s when
we used to go fishing. I asked him if he still had it and he gave it to me.
This one says "Scale Snare - Pat Pend" on it, and has a 49 with a circle
around it in purple ink. I presume it cost 49 cents.

"wff_ng_7" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool1.jpg

This tool is for soft boiled eggs... which aren't eaten all that often
these days, for safety reasons among others.

I still eat soft boiled at east once or twice a week. I've been doing it
close to 60 years and have no plans to stop. Even when eggs had a bad rap
for cholesterol, I continued to eat them in one form or another about 5 days
a week, along with toast and real butter. This morning I had a scrambled
egg with cheese and two pieces of toast with butter.

Wayne Boatwright said:

A tool I often use in in the following pic. Friends who have seen it in
my
kitchen drawer always ask what it is.

http://tinyurl.com/bw833

I don't know for sure, but is it for decorating cakes... to put a grooved
design in the icing or something?

Edwin Pawlowski said:

I still eat soft boiled at east once or twice a week. I've been doing it
close to 60 years and have no plans to stop. Even when eggs had a bad rap
for cholesterol, I continued to eat them in one form or another about 5
days a week, along with toast and real butter. This morning I had a
scrambled egg with cheese and two pieces of toast with butter.

I don't eat soft boiled eggs that often... but I do eat some form of eggs
soft cooked in one way or another once or twice a week. Today it was soft
boiled, so I got my tool out. Last weekend was poached. Other times it's an
omelette, or fried sunny side up. They are too good a treat to pass up. My
sister, by contrast, considers eggs torture, and only uses them in baking,
etc.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sat 12 Nov 2005 10:36:30a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it wff_ng_7?

A tool I often use in in the following pic. Friends who have seen it in my
kitchen drawer always ask what it is.

http://tinyurl.com/bw833

That's for decorative icing, isn't it?

wff_ng_7 said:

This tool is for soft boiled eggs... which aren't eaten all that often these
days, for safety reasons among others. This is a very clever version of a
tool called an egg topper, used to cut off the top of a soft boiled egg. [snip]

Using this tool does take some practice... do it wrong and the egg ends up
as one smashed gooey mess!
[snip]

I remember it was sort of fun to eat a soft boiled egg out of its
shell. But my usual way with them is to tear up a piece of buttered
untoasted bread into a bowl. Then crack the top off the eggs with a
knife and scoop the egg out with a spoon onto the bread, mix it all
together. Plenty of salt and pepper. Comfort, sloppy food. Don't
think I've ever done it that way out at a restaurant.... -aem

wff_ng_7 said:

The unusual aspect of this fish scaler is the cover over the ridged scaling
blade. It is meant to catch the scales as they come off. Invariably scales
go flying everywhere, and although they still do using this scaler, the
problem is much reduced.

Call me backward, but I thought knives made perfectly good fish
scalers.

sf said:

Call me backward, but I thought knives made perfectly good fish
scalers.

They do particularly if the fish scaler isn't too great. I was using a knife
before I got this fish scaler from my father. This one's an improvement over
a knife, but not necessarily because of the cover to catch scales. I guess
the pointy teeth in a good configuration do a better job than a knife.

I wonder if this "Pat Pend" device ever got a patent. Often I will look up a
patent number I see on a device to see what its claim to fame is. It's
pretty easy if you have the number, but on really old devices that just have
a patent date, it's a bit more work. The patent office (USA) web site is at:

http://www.uspto.gov/

Two antique devices that I have that I looked up their patents are an
odorless skillet (1893) and a pressure cooker (1832). Some of the patents
make entertaining reading, as it is clear now the patentable feature is
absolutely worthless... as in my odorless skillet.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

aem said:

I remember it was sort of fun to eat a soft boiled egg out of its
shell.

For me, removing the soft boiled egg from the shell whole is more fun.
I like my yolk runny and the white set.

Quoted message said:

But my usual way with them is to tear up a piece of buttered
untoasted bread into a bowl. Then crack the top off the eggs with a
knife and scoop the egg out with a spoon onto the bread, mix it all
together. Plenty of salt and pepper. Comfort, sloppy food. Don't
think I've ever done it that way out at a restaurant.... -aem

Try your soft boiled egg on taost with some cottage cheese... that's
comfort food for me - (layer) toast > cottage cheese > soft boiled
egg. Smush the egg into the cottage cheese, cut and eat.

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Sat 12 Nov 2005 10:36:30a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it wff_ng_7?

Quoted message said:

I've got a few cooking tools that are rather obscure in a way and whose
function might not be obvious to the average person... or even someone
that cooks. Here are pointers to pictures of two of them:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool1.jpg
http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool2.jpg

The first is for a food that although is extremely common, serving it
cooked in this way has fallen out of fashion. In any case, the tool
would still be odd to someone used to eating this food cooked this way.

The second is for another food that is extremely common, but in today's
age of "industrial" food production, this preparation step is not often
done at home.

I'll post the function of these two tools in a response.

Anyone else got odd ball cooking tools they use?

I have no idea what the first item is and without your saying it was for
serving something, I would have said it was some kind of "tamper".

I believe the second item is a fish scaler.

That's what I thought it was too. We have a fish scaler but not quite
as fancy.

Quoted message said:

A tool I often use in in the following pic. Friends who have seen it in my
kitchen drawer always ask what it is.

http://tinyurl.com/bw833

That's an easy one Wayne. It's a comb for those fancy paint finishes
they show on the home improvement shows 🙂

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright said:

I believe the second item is a fish scaler.

I was thinking it was something Margaret used for stringing - or is it
de-stringing - celery.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-9-05 finishing in four
parts the trip report from our vacation time in San Francisco
for Nephew Pat's wedding last weekend.

wff_ng_7 said:

wff_ng_7 said:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool1.jpg

This tool is for soft boiled eggs... which aren't eaten all that often these
days, for safety reasons among others. This is a very clever version of a
tool called an egg topper, used to cut off the top of a soft boiled egg. One
places the open cup shaped end (at the left) on top of the egg. One then
pulls on the ball shaped plunger handle to the right and holds it. Then
while keeping the tool on top of the egg, one release the plunger. When the
plunger hits bottom, the momentum of it propels the round cup shaped end
into the egg, fracturing the shell in a very fine line. One then cuts off
the top of the egg with a small knife. The soft boiled egg now has a very
even hole in the top for spooning out its contents.

Using this tool does take some practice... do it wrong and the egg ends up
as one smashed gooey mess!

This tool is made in France, and today goes for a pretty penny.

Quoted message said:

http://mysite.verizon.net/bcp_public/tool2.jpg

This is an old fish scaler my father gave me. It seems most people these
days buy fish that have already been scaled and cleaned. I prefer to do that
job myself, and my local seafood market sells most fish intact.

The unusual aspect of this fish scaler is the cover over the ridged scaling
blade. It is meant to catch the scales as they come off. Invariably scales
go flying everywhere, and although they still do using this scaler, the
problem is much reduced.

I went looking for a good fish scaler several years ago, and really couldn't
find that many out there. I guess because people don't do this themselves
anymore. I remembered my father had one that we used in the mid-1960s when
we used to go fishing. I asked him if he still had it and he gave it to me.
This one says "Scale Snare - Pat Pend" on it, and has a 49 with a circle
around it in purple ink. I presume it cost 49 cents.

You can still find fish scalers wherever fishing is big business. They
are fairly common here because a good portion of the population fishes.
Pat Pend means the patten on the design was pending so using the
*Scale Snare* you might be able to find out if the patten was granted.
The 49 inside the circle could be the price, the year made, or number of
the item. You would need to do further research to find out which it
is. Nice find!

Quoted message said:

aem said:

wff_ng_7 said:

This tool is for soft boiled eggs... which aren't eaten all that often these
days, for safety reasons among others. This is a very clever version of a
tool called an egg topper, used to cut off the top of a soft boiled egg. [snip]

Using this tool does take some practice... do it wrong and the egg ends up
as one smashed gooey mess!
[snip]

I remember it was sort of fun to eat a soft boiled egg out of its
shell. But my usual way with them is to tear up a piece of buttered
untoasted bread into a bowl. Then crack the top off the eggs with a
knife and scoop the egg out with a spoon onto the bread, mix it all
together. Plenty of salt and pepper. Comfort, sloppy food. Don't
think I've ever done it that way out at a restaurant.... -aem

We still eat them once in awhile. We have a couple sets of antique egg
cups to hold the eggs.

sf said:

wff_ng_7 said:

The unusual aspect of this fish scaler is the cover over the ridged scaling
blade. It is meant to catch the scales as they come off. Invariably scales
go flying everywhere, and although they still do using this scaler, the
problem is much reduced.

Call me backward, but I thought knives made perfectly good fish
scalers.

If you don't want to scale the fish, filet it by holding your knife at
an angle to and just under the flesh then careful cut the flesh away
from the skin. No skin and no scaling 🙂 This is from years of fishing
experience and the way I taught my kids to clean fish. This is only
good for those fish big enough to filet and those where you don't want
the skin on.

wff_ng_7 said:

Anyone else got odd ball cooking tools they use?

Here's a tool that I don't know what it's for. I've used it to break bags
of ice cubes apart.

I posted this to a.b.f but it "stumped the band."

http://tinypic.com/fm6irp.jpg

Andy

Andy said:

Here's a tool that I don't know what it's for. I've used it to break
bags of ice cubes apart.

I posted this to a.b.f but it "stumped the band."

http://tinypic.com/fm6irp.jpg

Andy

What are the words on the handle in the lower picture.

Is the oblong hole large enough to be a bottle opener?
If so, unless the intended use also requires something
from a bottle, this must be some sort of all-purpose
tool for camping or something. Like a bottle-opener/
chisel/hatchet/carrot grater/fish scaler/tent peg puller.

In article <[email hidden]>, Andy <q>

Quoted message said:

wff_ng_7 said:

Anyone else got odd ball cooking tools they use?

Here's a tool that I don't know what it's for. I've used it to break bags
of ice cubes apart.

I posted this to a.b.f but it "stumped the band."

http://tinypic.com/fm6irp.jpg

Andy

Looks like a meat tenderizer to me.....
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

Mark Thorson said:

Andy said:

Here's a tool that I don't know what it's for. I've used it to break
bags of ice cubes apart.

I posted this to a.b.f but it "stumped the band."

http://tinypic.com/fm6irp.jpg

Andy

What are the words on the handle in the lower picture.

Capri ITALY
Stainless

Quoted message said:

Is the oblong hole large enough to be a bottle opener?

No, I tried. The oblong hole "bevels" from both sides into the center of
the metal.

Quoted message said:

If so, unless the intended use also requires something
from a bottle, this must be some sort of all-purpose
tool for camping or something. Like a bottle-opener/
chisel/hatchet/carrot grater/fish scaler/tent peg puller.