Bucks Gem #2

I have a gigantic Charter Oak wood cookstove in my kitchen, but I have been on the lookout for something a bit smaller that I could travel with to do demonstration cooking on. The rest of the year, it could be used in my workshop here on the farm.

 

 At a recent auction I found just the thing: an ornate Bucks Gem wood stove / box style with a flat cooktop!

 

 

 

It was made by Bucks Stove and Range Co of St Louis , MO at the turn of the century

 

 

 

This old letterhead shows the St Louis foundry in 1911

 

 

Interestingly, the storefront for the  Stove & Range Co is in Gaslight Square and  has been restored along with many of the other turn of the century buildings there. Bucks Stove & Range Co made numerous models of ornate parlor and cook stoves popular in their day and were known for their ornate casting and nickel trim.

 

My Bucks Gem #2  features the ornate casting popular in the Victorian era.   It was entirely intact, including the lifters for the cookplates; but it certainly needed some re-conditioning.  I had to go to several stores before I found stoveblack or stove polish.  Most places only sell stove paint now.... but my thought is to "feed" an old cast iron stove like you would season a cast iron pot... not just paint it. StoveBlack is basically lampblack (a very fine carbon or soot) mixed with oils and waxes.  This protects it from rust, but must be renewed each year.  I rubbed the stoveblack into every nook and cranny with an old toothbrush and that old stove just came alive!   

 

One more coat and it will be ready to install.  I will post again when it is in place and operational.

 

 

 

 

 

Ruby Flash glass

One of the fascinating rewards of going to auctions...is coming home with unexpected treasures .  You know, you had to bid on a whole box of knicknacks to get some ONE thing you wanted....so, imagine my surprise to discover this un-noticed little gem hiding in the box.

It was obviously a souvenir piece of some kind....so I did a bit of research.  To my surprise, Ruby Flash Glass souvenirs are highly collectible and there are lots of examples of them .  They were a popular souvenir item from the late 1800s through 1910... but some examples can be found that are dated as recently as 1950.

I don't know who Maymie Hilliard was (if you do, PLEASE feel free to contact me) ... but after a bit of research, found out what was going on in Buffalo NY 1901. My little piece of Ruby Flash Glass was from the Pan American Exposition!  The Exposition was open from May through November of 1901 and attracted people from all over the world. For most, it was the trip of a lifetime.  It was a very exciting time!

"The Pan" was famous for introducing Nikola Tesla's new invention of alternating current power transmission for distant transfer of electricity long before electric lights were commonplace. The fair was lavishly lit by power generated from Niagra Falls, 25 miles away.

The x-ray was also introduced for the first time at this fair, although it was widely distrusted  and thought to be dangerous.

And most of all, President William McKinley was assassinated in the Temple of Music on September 6th, 1901 .  Ironically, he was not x-rayed to find the bullet and his surgery was lit by sunlight reflectors since hospitals had no electricity yet. He died from his gunshot wounds 8 days later.

Holding this little souvenir in your hand is like connecting to a pivotal time in American history.   Visit the Pan American Exposition on this great website http://panam1901.org/

Now wasn't that fun? 

Apple Parers

VINTAGE APPLE PARERS

 

Apple trees were not native to America.  They were brought to America , along with domestic honey bees during the 17th century and it quickly became an important agricultural product. Processing the heavy harvests was an important, but time consuming job often shared by communities like wheat threshing, barn-building or quilting.  Machines made of wood and blacksmithed parts were made to make some of the jobs easier...but the 19th century industrial revolution (with ironworks) created over 100 apple parer patents between 1850 and 1890!

 

Just take a look at this great website if you want to see some of the variety

 

http://appleparermuseum.com/GalleryTurntables.htm

 

 

There are many styles of apple parers: lathe, turntable, return, and arc.  The turn-table design seems to have survived in the greatest numbers as evidenced at my local auctions and antique shops, and like many of the kitchen "appliances" produced during that era, they were made to last and are still quite functional.

 

 

 

 

The Keen Kutter Apple Parer is frequently seen in my neck of the woods and is a version of the Goodell Turntable design patented in 1898.  Keen Kutter was a brand name sold by E.C. Simmons hardware company in St Louis. It comes in two slightly different versions.

 

 

This turn of the century apple parer is the Reading #78 style and is an excellent design that works beautifully.  It was also made for the Penn Hardware Company in Reading PA and called the "Penn Perfect".  It even has a small blade called a blossom cutter.  I am not sure of the patent date, but have seen 1915 ads. My parer will take the skin off an apple perfectly in one continuous piece!

 

 

 

This can save alot of time at canning time or just preparing fresh apples for a cobbler or pie.  The grandkids love helping grandma peel apples for snack time too.

 

Universal Food Chopper

The Universal Food Chopper

 The 'Journal of Domestic Appliances' declared in 1882, 'Year by year domestic inventions of every kind are increasing; and no matter whether we desire to clean knives, or make stockings, peel potatoes, black shoes, make butter, wash clothes, stitch dresses, shell peas, or even bake our bread, all we have to do now is turn a handle…'.

How times have changed.  Now all we have to do is "plug it in".  But what other appliance has stood the test of time like these grinders? U.S. made of cast iron and wood over 100 years ago and still in working order!  They don't make anything like this anymore.  When is the last time you bought a kitchen appliance expected to last for a century? 



The #00, #0 and #1 are most useful for making your own breading, grinding herbs and spices (even coffee!).   The #2 is the workhorse .  I use mine alot during canning season and it works perfectly for grinding vegetables into salsas, relishes , chutneys and more.  It is also powerful enough for grinding meats and nuts.

A fine/breadcrumber, medium and coarse blade were standard with each UFC; but a nutbutter attachment is occasionally seen and they work great!  The grandkids love making peanut butter and it is delicious. Just start with a can of salted peanuts (or other mixed nuts).  Add a tiny bit of honey or peanut oil to get it to the consistency you wish. 

A restaurant size UFC (#3) makes short work of meat for sausage .  I also use my #3 for grinding the Fels Naptha when I  make detergent.  (another story for another day)

Many of us inherited our Universal Food Chopper from our grandmother or our great aunt. Theywere an essential part of every Victorian era kitchen.   Then t

hey sat forgotten in a corner of the cabinet while we flirted with the modern day food processor; but its time to take that vintage gem out and dust it off!  The slower speed of the handcranked grinder is ideal for chopping vegetables without turning them into mush.   Its sturdy and simple parts are practically indestructible.  It's "green", consuming no energy but your own ... and we all know we can afford to burn a few calories now and then. And since they were so well made, they are still readily available and rarely cost more than $10-20.

note there are four essential parts which are quickly and easily taken apart to clean.  Always take it apart and rinse it immediately after use and set out to dry.



How to cleanThe original instructions that came with the UFC recommended running stale bread through the grinder to clean it; but you may wish to clean it a bit better.  If you take it apart and rinse the pieces right after use, it is quite easy to clean.  Do not put it back together until it is dry.

To restore an old UFC, treat it like a cast iron pan. After cleaning the parts and allowing them to dry, take a clean dishrag dipped in a bit of cooking oil and wipe all metal parts applying an extremely light coat of oil. It doesn’t take much. Then set in a warm place ( a sunny window or sunporch, an oven on a “keep warm” setting for an hour or so).

If you find one with a little bit of rust or corrosion it is not a big problem as long as the rust had not caused severe damage to metal parts . Wash and brush them for any loose bits of dirt or rust, then season and use. I store my collection of grinders in the Hoosier cabinet and yes, I use them all!

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Welcome to Kathy's Vintage Kitchen!

It was love at first sight when I found my 1850s era farmhouse. Everything about it was practical and comforting, even though it was not much more than a drafty abandoned shell when we moved in.  I could stand on the front porch and know that I was not the first woman to call her family in for supper from that very spot.  The creaky wooden floor held the memory of a million footsteps from pantry to stove, spilled milk and wood-ash.  The walls contained the music and laughter of many generations.  It is a house that is alive with it's own history. 

While the original homestead had a separate building for cooking (a summer-kitchen), a more "modern" kitchen was added onto the house around 1940 , coinciding with rural electrification.  Two outlets was all they expected to need; one for the icebox and one for the stove. While I did add a power strip for a few modern appliances, I find that I have never needed more than that.

I have a passion for non-electrical, turn-of-the-century kitchen appliances which I use almost exclusively instead of food processors and blenders.  Cast iron is my cookware of choice. The table is set with 80 year old china...somehow food just tastes better on it and it seems only right in this old kitchen.

My pantry and basement is filled with last years garden harvest... in mason jars that have been used over and over for 50-100 years. An herb garden and greenhouse is just outside the kitchen door.... and the vegetable garden a few steps further on the other side of the old summer kitchen.  On any day you may find fresh milk filtering on the sideboard, cheese draining at the sink, a basket of freshly gathered eggs, or soup on the stove.  My kitchen is the heart and soul of this home.

I love finding 1920-1940s era items at local farm auctions. Researching their history, restoring them and making them useful again is a great deal of fun for me and I look forward to sharing them with you here on this blog.  Some of these items find their way to my ebay store at http://stores.ebay.com/herbal-maid-gallery and others live here with me .

Journaling my living history kitchen will be fun and perhaps someday my own grandchildren will keep it alive into the next generation.