Old Tomato/Berry Strainer

[baymule]

I hauled out my old tomato/berry strainer yesterday to remove seeds from some roma tomatoes I was given. I cooked them on low heat for a bit, along with some cherry tomatoes I grew, then poured them in the strainer. I froze the juice for now, until I get the 2nd round of squash to go in soup along with butterbeans, potatoes and green beans.

I got to thinking about this old strainer and the history behind it. I got it out of a house I rented when I was 20 years old.....loooooong time ago. wink The house belonged to an elderly lady whose family had to place her in a nursing home and none of them wanted the old strainer. I was delighted to have it and made many jars of jelly and canned tomatoes using the strainer. Curious, I looked them up on ebay. You can find "vintage aluminum colander juicer strainer wooden masher pestle" for $15 to $30 dollars. I can't believe they are so cheap, I wouldn't take anything for mine. love But I guess in today's electronic push-button, whirrrrrrr-it's-done, kitchen gadget world, nobody wants to use a manual kitchen gadget. Yes, I have electronic gadgets and I love them dearly, but sometimes it is just as nice to get out the old strainer and wooden pestle and mash some tomatoes or berries.

 

[ORChick]

I tend to agree. I find, the older I get, the less tolerance I have for noise. Yes, I have a mixer, and a blender, and I broke down and bought a food processor a few years ago - and they do what they do very well. But as often as not I will pull out a whisk, or a wooden spoon, or my old Sqeezo strainer, because for small jobs it is just as quick or quicker, and the noise factor isn't an issue. And, in some cases (your old strainer, and mine ), they do a better job. Sure, the processor will grind everything up, but there are still bits of seed that might need to be strained (depending on what one is making). I like the feel of the old gadgets as well.
(I think what you have is a Chinoise; if I didn't have the Squeezo I would want one of those. Good for you to have rescued it )

 

[Hinotori]

I like those. Good for doing lots of stuff.

 

[Cindlady2]

I wish I still had mine. It got ruined in a fire. :/

 

[Britesea]

I found mine at a yard sale, but it didn't have the wooden pestle so my DH whittled one for me out of an old baseball bat. Works just fine

 

[Marianne]

This is crazy funny. I remember my mother using one of those when I was a kid. She still makes homemade grape juice with her concord grapes, so I bet it's still in use! She's 89 now.

 

[k15n1]

I tend to agree. I find, the older I get, the less tolerance I have for noise. Yes, I have a mixer, and a blender, and I broke down and bought a food processor a few years ago - and they do what they do very well. But as often as not I will pull out a whisk, or a wooden spoon, or my old Sqeezo strainer, because for small jobs it is just as quick or quicker, and the noise factor isn't an issue. And, in some cases (your old strainer, and mine ), they do a better job. Sure, the processor will grind everything up, but there are still bits of seed that might need to be strained (depending on what one is making). I like the feel of the old gadgets as well.
(I think what you have is a Chinoise; if I didn't have the Squeezo I would want one of those. Good for you to have rescued it )

The problem with kitchen gadgets is that they make everything seem too hard to do by hand. And using the gadget is often inconvenient (find it, plug it in, washing it, etc). Those two factors lead people to watch a cooking show instead of cooking

Incidently, I just learned how to use a whisk without making a racket. Turns out you can make whipped cream or a souffle almost without hitting the whisk against the bowl!

 

[~gd]

I tend to agree. I find, the older I get, the less tolerance I have for noise. Yes, I have a mixer, and a blender, and I broke down and bought a food processor a few years ago - and they do what they do very well. But as often as not I will pull out a whisk, or a wooden spoon, or my old Sqeezo strainer, because for small jobs it is just as quick or quicker, and the noise factor isn't an issue. And, in some cases (your old strainer, and mine ), they do a better job. Sure, the processor will grind everything up, but there are still bits of seed that might need to be strained (depending on what one is making). I like the feel of the old gadgets as well.
(I think what you have is a Chinoise; if I didn't have the Squeezo I would want one of those. Good for you to have rescued it )

A chinois is a conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh. It is used to strain custards, purees, soups, and sauces, producing a very smooth texture. It can also be used to dust pastry with a fine layer of powdered sugar. -wikipedia perforated metal make the pictured item a China hat ~gd

 

[Cindlady2]

I love the old gadgets I grew up with. I learned to cook before all this electric, fancy stuff came along so I found it harder to adapt to the "new" stuff. It's often quicker and easier to get out a small gadget than a processor. I love some of my little gadgets so much that when they finally gave out I searched ebay's "antiques" for replacements !!!

 

[Denim Deb]

I tend to agree. I find, the older I get, the less tolerance I have for noise. Yes, I have a mixer, and a blender, and I broke down and bought a food processor a few years ago - and they do what they do very well. But as often as not I will pull out a whisk, or a wooden spoon, or my old Sqeezo strainer, because for small jobs it is just as quick or quicker, and the noise factor isn't an issue. And, in some cases (your old strainer, and mine ), they do a better job. Sure, the processor will grind everything up, but there are still bits of seed that might need to be strained (depending on what one is making). I like the feel of the old gadgets as well.
(I think what you have is a Chinoise; if I didn't have the Squeezo I would want one of those. Good for you to have rescued it )

The problem with kitchen gadgets is that they make everything seem too hard to do by hand. And using the gadget is often inconvenient (find it, plug it in, washing it, etc). Those two factors lead people to watch a cooking show instead of cooking

Incidently, I just learned how to use a whisk without making a racket. Turns out you can make whipped cream or a souffle almost without hitting the whisk against the bowl!

That's why, unless I'm doing a ton of something where doing it by hand is not easy, I won't haul out the fancy gadgets for it.