33 Old Kitchen Tools Cooks Still Use

Plenty of kitchen drawers hold a gadget that outlived the person who bought it. The crank still turns, the blade still bites, and nothing plugged into a wall has managed to replace it.

Some of these tools are more than a century old in design and barely changed since. Cooks keep them for a simple reason.

They work, they are easy to fix, and they never need a charger.

The Dover Egg Beater and Its Many Imitators

The Dover Stamping Company of Boston patented rotary egg beaters in the 1870s, and the design was copied so widely that “Dover” became shorthand for the entire category of crank beaters. Two nested wire dashers spin in opposite directions, which whips egg whites or thin batter faster than a fork and with more control than an electric mixer.

Antique Dover beaters with clear patent dates draw collector interest, with prices depending on condition and rust. Cooks who simply want one to use find later copies cheap and plentiful at estate sales.

Danish Dough Whisks

A Danish dough whisk looks like a wooden spoon that swallowed a coil of stiff wire. Scandinavian bakers call it a brodpisker, and it earned its reputation mixing heavy rye and wheat doughs that clog ordinary whisks.

The open loops cut through wet dough without trapping it, so the tool wipes clean in seconds. Home bread bakers picked it up during the sourdough boom, and it now sits in plenty of American kitchens.

It costs little, lasts for years, and does one job better than anything else in the drawer.

Foley Food Mills From Minneapolis

Foley Manufacturing of Minneapolis sold its hand-crank food mill to generations of cooks, and the Smithsonian holds a No. 101 Foley Food Mill in its collection. A curved blade presses cooked food through a perforated disk, leaving seeds and skins behind.

That makes it the tool for smooth tomato sauce, applesauce and baby food without peeling anything first. Old Foley mills turn up constantly at estate sales for a few dollars, and many still work perfectly.

Cooks who make sauce in bulk every summer tend to keep one within reach.

The Mouli Rotary Grater

The French Mouli grater clamps a drum of sharp teeth inside a small frame, and a hand crank turns the drum against a wedge of cheese. It became a fixture in mid-century kitchens and on restaurant tables where servers grated Parmesan to order.

The design keeps knuckles well away from the teeth, which is the main reason cooks still prefer it for hard cheese, nuts and chocolate. Vintage metal versions often outlast newer plastic ones.

Replacement drums are sold separately, so a worn grater rarely needs to be thrown away.

Tin Box Graters With Punched Faces

A four-sided box grater is so ordinary that few people think of it as old, yet punched tin graters were common in American kitchens by the nineteenth century. Each face handles a different job, from coarse shreds of cheddar to fine zest and slicing.

The standing box shape lets a cook bear down with real force without the grater skidding. Older tin models rust if left wet, so buyers check the teeth for corrosion.

Newer stainless versions keep the same layout because nobody has found a reason to change it.

Bromwell Crank Sifters

Jacob Bromwell, a Cincinnati company that dates its founding to 1819, made the crank flour sifter a standard piece of kitchen gear. The tin cup holds flour while a set of wire agitators pushes it through a mesh screen, breaking up lumps and adding air.

Older bakers insist it produces a lighter cake than whisking, and many recipes written before the 1970s assume the flour was sifted. Vintage Bromwell sifters sell for modest sums depending on condition and rust.

The company still makes them in the traditional style today.

Solid Maple Rolling Pins

Hard maple has been the favored wood for rolling pins for generations because it is dense, smooth and slow to absorb odors. The tapered French pin, with no handles at all, gives a baker direct feel for the thickness of pie dough.

Vermont woodworker J.K. Adams has turned maple rolling pins for decades, and old handmade pins from farm kitchens still appear at auctions. A good pin needs only a wipe and an occasional rub of mineral oil.

Many bakers use the same one their grandmother did.

Carved Springerle Molds

Springerle are anise cookies from southern Germany and Switzerland, and their raised pictures come from carved wooden boards or rolling pins pressed into the dough. Families pull the molds out every December to make cookies that must dry overnight before baking so the image holds.

Antique hand-carved boards can be valuable, with prices tied to age, carving quality and condition. Reproduction molds cast in resin are sold for everyday baking.

The cookies look like tiny relief sculptures, which explains why the tradition survived when so many others faded.

Androck Pastry Blenders

Androck, the brand of Andrews Wire and Iron Works in Rockford, Illinois, made wire pastry blenders by the thousands in the middle of the twentieth century. The curved wires cut cold butter into flour quickly without warming it the way fingers do.

That matters for flaky pie crust and biscuits, where visible bits of fat create layers in the oven. Androck blenders with painted wooden handles are easy to find and cheap to buy.

Pie bakers who own a food processor still reach for one when a recipe calls for a lighter touch.

Crank Apple Parers From New Hampshire

The Goodell Company of Antrim, New Hampshire, turned out its White Mountain apple parer for decades, and the old factory building now sits on the National Register of Historic Places. An apple goes onto a fork, a crank spins it past a blade, and a long ribbon of peel falls away in seconds.

Many models also core and slice in the same motion. Antique parers draw collectors, with value depending on maker, completeness and condition.

Home bakers who process bushels of fall apples consider a working parer essential.

Universal Meat Grinders

Landers, Frary and Clark of New Britain, Connecticut, sold its Universal food chopper across the country, and those tinned iron grinders still clamp onto countertops today. A hand crank pushes meat through a spiral auger and against a cutting plate, which gives a cook control over fat content and texture.

Families use them for sausage, holiday cranberry relish and fresh ground beef. Vintage Universal grinders sell cheaply, though missing plates and heavy rust lower the price.

Replacement blades and plates are still available for common sizes.

Potato Ricers

A potato ricer looks like an oversized garlic press, and it pushes cooked potatoes through a perforated basket into fine, fluffy strands. Because the potatoes are pressed rather than beaten, the starch stays intact and the mash never turns gluey.

Old ricers made of tinned steel or enameled metal turn up at estate sales in good working order. Cooks also use them to squeeze water out of cooked spinach and to make gnocchi dough.

Once a cook tries one, going back to a hand masher rarely happens.

Basalt Molcajetes

The molcajete, a three-legged mortar carved from volcanic basalt, has been used in Mexico since long before Spanish arrival. Its rough surface crushes chiles, garlic and tomatoes into salsa with a texture no blender can match.

A new stone molcajete must be seasoned by grinding raw rice several times until the grit stops coming off. Cheaper versions made of concrete and stone dust are common, so buyers check for a porous, irregular surface.

A well-seasoned molcajete often stays in a family for generations and doubles as a serving bowl.

Zassenhaus Coffee Mills

Zassenhaus, a German maker founded in 1867, built its reputation on hand-crank coffee mills with wooden bodies and steel burrs. The burrs crush beans to an even size, and the grind can be adjusted from coarse for a French press to fine for espresso.

Hand grinding is slow, but it is quiet and produces almost no heat. Older Zassenhaus mills from Germany appear often in resale listings, with prices depending on model and condition.

Coffee drinkers who travel or camp often pack a hand mill in place of an electric one.

Why the Peugeot Pepper Mill Still Sells

Peugeot, the same family firm that later built cars, introduced its pepper mill mechanism in 1874. The steel grinding gears are case-hardened and carry a long guarantee, which is part of why old Peugeot mills keep working after decades of daily use.

A twist of the top sets the grind from coarse to fine. Vintage wooden Peugeot mills show up at estate sales, and their value depends on condition and model.

Chefs like them because the grind stays consistent and the mechanism rarely wears out.

Zyliss Garlic Presses

Zyliss was founded in Switzerland in 1951 by Karl Zysset, and its Susi garlic press became one of the brand’s best-known tools. The press crushes unpeeled cloves through a grid, then a built-in cleaner pushes the leftover skins out.

Some cooks argue that pressed garlic tastes sharper than chopped garlic, and the press delivers exactly that bite. Older Zyliss models in cast aluminum still turn up secondhand and work fine.

The Susi has been redesigned several times, yet the basic lever action has barely moved.

Swing-A-Way Can Openers

Swing-A-Way Manufacturing of St. Louis, Missouri, built the hand-crank can opener that sat in millions of American drawers. The design uses a cutting wheel and a gear wheel that grip the rim while a folding handle turns.

Older models made in St. Louis are prized by cooks who find newer imports flimsy. The opener needs no power, which makes it a standard item in emergency kits. It is inexpensive, and a well-made one can outlast several electric openers.

Glass Citrus Reamers

Glass juice reamers were made by the thousands during the Depression by companies such as Jeannette Glass, McKee and Hazel-Atlas. A ridged dome sits over a saucer that catches juice and traps seeds behind a small rim.

Cooks still use them for a quick squeeze of lemon or lime without dragging out a juicer. Colored glass reamers in jadeite, pink or green are collectible, and price depends on color, maker and condition.

Chips on the ridges or saucer rim lower the value quickly.

A Scottish Spurtle

The spurtle is a simple wooden rod from Scotland used to stir porridge without forming lumps. Its narrow shape moves through thick oats in a way a flat spoon cannot, and tradition says to stir clockwise with the right hand.

The World Porridge Making Championship in Carrbridge, in the Scottish Highlands, awards the Golden Spurtle as its top prize. Modern spurtles are sold in hardwoods such as beech and cherry.

Cooks use them for risotto, polenta and soups as well as oatmeal.

French Mandolines by Bron Coucke

The Bron Coucke mandoline, a heavy stainless steel slicer from France, has been a professional kitchen standard for decades. Adjustable blades produce paper-thin slices, julienne strips and waffle cuts for potatoes.

The frame folds flat and stands on its own legs, so the cook has both hands free to work. A good mandoline is fast but dangerous, and experienced cooks always use the safety carriage or a cut-resistant glove.

Used Bron mandolines sell for well under new prices, depending on blade condition and missing parts.

Hand-Crank Pasta Machines

Marcato, an Italian company in business since 1930, makes the Atlas 150 pasta machine that many home cooks own. Dough passes through smooth steel rollers set to progressively thinner settings, then through cutters for fettuccine or tagliolini.

The rollers work fresh dough evenly and give a cook fine control over thickness. Older Italian-made machines hold their value, although price depends on condition and whether the cutter head is included.

Rust on the rollers is the main thing buyers check.

Tortilla Presses

A tortilla press is two flat plates joined by a hinge and a lever, and it turns a small lump of masa into a thin, even round in one pull. Traditional versions are cast aluminum or wood, and they are common in Mexican and Central American kitchens.

Cooks line the plates with a cut plastic bag so the dough peels away cleanly. The press is far faster than patting by hand.

A sturdy press lasts for years, and fresh corn tortillas taste nothing like the store-bought kind.

Hand-Crank Ice Cream Freezers

Nancy Johnson of Philadelphia patented a hand-cranked ice cream freezer in 1843, and the basic design is still sold today. A metal canister sits in a wooden bucket packed with ice and rock salt while a crank turns a paddle inside.

The salt lowers the melting point of the ice so the cream freezes as it churns. Many families bring out an old crank freezer for summer gatherings. The work is slow, and kids usually take turns at the handle.

Plunger Cherry Pitters

A plunger cherry pitter pushes a small rod through the fruit and pops the pit out the other side. Antique versions were clamped to tables and processed fruit in bulk for canning and pies.

German maker Westmark still sells a hand pitter based on the same idea. The tool saves hours when a cook faces a bucket of sour cherries in July.

Buyers of vintage pitters check that the plunger and rubber cup are intact, since missing parts make the tool useless.

The Rocking Mezzaluna

The mezzaluna, Italian for half moon, is a curved blade with a handle on each end that is rocked back and forth over herbs. It chops parsley, basil and garlic fast without bruising the leaves the way a dull knife can.

Some versions have two parallel blades that cut twice as fast. Many cooks pair it with a shallow wooden bowl that keeps everything contained.

The design is centuries old, and a good one stays sharp for years with only occasional honing.

Carbon Steel Kitchen Knives

Carbon steel knives take a sharper edge than most stainless blades and are easier to sharpen at home. The Sabatier name, tied to the cutlery town of Thiers in France, is used by several unrelated companies, so buyers look for the maker behind the mark.

In New York, the Ontario Knife Company still sells its Old Hickory line with wooden handles and carbon steel blades. The steel darkens with use and rusts if left wet.

Cooks who own old carbon knives consider the patina part of the character.

Hanson Spring Scales

Hanson Scale Company, founded in Chicago in 1888, made spring kitchen scales that sat on countertops for decades. A platform presses down on a spring and a dial shows the weight, with no batteries involved.

Bakers who weigh flour and sugar like the fact that the scale works during a power outage. Vintage Hanson scales often need only a zero adjustment to be accurate again.

Collectors pay more for colorful enameled models, with value depending on condition and dial clarity.

Taylor Candy Thermometers

Taylor, a thermometer maker with roots in Rochester, New York, in the 1800s, made the clip-on candy thermometer a kitchen staple. The glass tube is marked with candy stages such as thread and hard crack, which tell a cook when sugar syrup has reached the right point for fudge or brittle.

Digital thermometers are faster, yet many candy makers trust the old glass model. Vintage Taylor thermometers with readable markings sell cheaply.

Cooks check them in boiling water before use to confirm they are still accurate.

The Norwegian Cheese Plane

A Norwegian carpenter patented the modern cheese slicer in 1925 after growing tired of uneven slices cut with a knife. The flat blade with a slot shaves thin, even pieces from a block of cheese.

A company carrying his family name and the 1925 date still makes the slicers in Norway. The design is so common in Scandinavian homes that few people realize it has a known inventor.

Old slicers with wooden handles turn up in estate sales and still cut as well as new ones.

Boston-Pattern Oyster Knives

Dexter-Russell, a cutlery company that traces its roots to 1818 in Southbridge, Massachusetts, still sells oyster knives in the Boston pattern. The short, stiff blade pries open shells without bending, and a guard protects the hand if the knife slips.

Old wooden-handled oyster knives appear at estate sales and still work well. Shucking takes practice, and experienced cooks wear a thick glove or hold the oyster in a folded towel.

A good knife lasts for decades with only a cleaning after each use.

Pie Crimpers and Jagging Wheels

A jagging wheel is a small toothed wheel on a handle that cuts and crimps pastry in one motion. Sailors on whaling ships carved them from bone and ivory in the 1800s, and those scrimshaw pieces now sell for serious money, depending on condition and provenance.

Everyday versions in brass or wood are cheap and useful. Bakers use them to cut lattice strips and seal the edges of hand pies. The fluted edge looks decorative, but it also helps the crust hold together in the oven.

Spaetzle Makers

A spaetzle maker is a flat grater with a sliding hopper that pushes soft batter through round openings into boiling water. The little dumplings come out uniform and cook in about a minute.

Southern German and Austrian families have made spaetzle for generations, and some still scrape the batter off a wooden board with a knife. The tool is inexpensive and easy to clean.

Cooks also use it for other soft doughs, such as Hungarian nokedli.

French Drum Sieves

A tamis, or drum sieve, is a flat screen stretched across a wooden or metal hoop. Pastry chefs use it to sift flour and almond meal, and cooks push purees through it for a silky finish. The flat design lets a scraper work across the screen evenly, which a round strainer cannot do.

French kitchens have used the tamis for centuries, and professional cooks still keep one on hand. Old wooden-rimmed sieves appear at estate sales, and value depends on the condition of the screen.

What the Old Tools Know

Most of these tools survived because they solve a problem with the fewest moving parts. A crank, a spring, a blade or a sheet of punched metal does not fail in ways that require a repair technician.

When something does wear out, a replacement part or a secondhand copy is usually easy to find. That kind of reliability is hard to build into anything with a motor.

There is also the matter of control. A hand tool lets a cook feel the food change under pressure, whether that is dough stiffening or garlic giving way.

Newer gadgets may be faster, but speed is not always the goal. The drawer full of old tools is a record of what cooks decided was worth keeping.

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