Age-old gadgets

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I still can't see that gadget of anything else other than a masher

That's what I saw too.

[jeral Profile]

If the wiggly lines are sharp edges, it might be a herb chopper.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Herb choppers are a bit different I think
And the drawing resembles those I have seen in real life, which definitely had a solid wooden roller
I suppose it could be for mashing something, but both mashers and ricers were around at the time, so this seems unlikely

eta: anyone got an old domestic science book with lists of utensils?

[Joanbunting Profile]

Good thinking Sue. I haven't got time right now but I will commence research this evening.

[Lusciouslush Profile]

It looks like something to do with pastry to me - a pie edge roller - or a roller to get in the edges of dishes..

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I've asked on the old Beeb Archers site. Let's see if they can come up with an answer to this curiosity.

[patpoyntz Profile]

Could it be used to roll over cooked vegetables and thus push them through a drum sieve, to make a purée. I think nowadays I’ve seen chefs using a plastic scraper to do the job.

[Binky Profile]

sakkarin, if you are cooking 'golabki' (Polish stuffed cabbage leaves), I think the classic method is to get a whole head of white cabbage (no curly bits, smooth leaves required) and cut out the central stalk. Then place the head of cabbage in a pot of boiling water and steam away.

When the cabbage is cooked, you use two forks to pull it apart slightly in order to cool. You make the filling whilst this is happening.

(that's what my dad did anyway).

[Sakkarin Profile]

I'll do that next time, it was what the recipe said, but it seemed a bit of a waste cooking the whole cabbage when I was only going to use half of it!

However the other half of the cabbage is still sitting in the fridge unused. Maybe I need to make some Cole's law.

[Binky Profile]

Have a look at a website Jenny Can Cook. She's a Polish American and makes videos of her favourite foods. Golabki is in there somewhere (although for her US audience she calls them cabbage rolls).

[Joanbunting Profile]

I spent some time ploughing through my old cookery books and kitchen guides but can't even find a vegetable roller in the indexes let along an illustration,

[jeral Profile]

patpoyntz's suggestion could be it as, if passing veg through a half moon mesh sieve, it would explain the shape of the roller being fatter in the middle which would allow for the curvature of the sieve. My money's on that

[scullion Profile]

i think that's the best bet so far - this is the nearest i could find on the web.

[Binky Profile]

I agree it's the best guess so far, bit couldn't you also make a veg puree using a large spoon with the sieve? Pressing the veg through the mesh?

On second thoughts, that would work in a small domestic kitchen but if you were working in one of those country houses where loads of food was prepared, you might need a roller to save your energy.

[patpoyntz Profile]

I thought about it when I made, for the first time in about 20 years, John Toveys recipe for tomato, celery and apple soup. It took ages to rub a double quantity through a sieve, using a wooden spoon.
The soup was just as nice as I remembered, by the way, and I might not wait another 20 years to make it. Our guests loved it.

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/col ... cream-soup

[Sakkarin Profile]

I wouldn't have thought that was it, but I agree the roller in the piccy does look very similar, but what's the advantage over the back of a ladle to push stuff through?

And it sounds like you might need three hands to use it (that's why I gave up on the crab apple toffee)...

Off to make some chicken stew, parsnips bought in specially.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I never did get a decent answer from the other site.
Except the suggestion it was for terrine work, where you line and layer a terrine.

[Sakkarin Profile]

But then wouldn't the best for that job be like a lino-cut roller, flat, with no space at the ends?

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

My thoughts exactly, the shape/ shaping isn't quite right.