Unusual & mysterious kitchen gadgets

[Alex]

Garlic clove smasher?

[liuzhou]

16 minutes ago, Alex said:

Garlic clove smasher?

 

I don't see how that would work

 

No.

[Katie Meadow]

My best guess? it's a weapon to prevent cats from jumping up on the table. My next best guess? Something used to grab corn that accidentally finds its way into the kitchen so that you don't have to touch the corn itself. In that case either you invented it or you are the only customer. 

[liuzhou]

23 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

My best guess? it's a weapon to prevent cats from jumping up on the table. My next best guess? Something used to grab corn that accidentally finds its way into the kitchen so that you don't have to touch the corn itself. In that case either you invented it or you are the only customer. 

 

Love it, but with Chinese government assistance,the People's Liberation Army, the UN and the British Embassy, a five-mile exclusion zone for cats and c⊘rn has been imposed around my offical residence, rendering invention or custom of strange object vendor's redundant.

 

I'll reveal all tomorrow if you all behave youselves!

 

 

[Laurentius]

17 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I'll reveal all tomorrow if you all behave youselves!

 

As Mark Twain wrote, secrets are either too good to keep or not good enough.  So give it up.

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, Laurentius said:

 

As Mark Twain wrote, secrets are either too good to keep or not good enough.  So give it up.

 

Where did he write that?

 

I'll "give it up" when the guesses stop.

[Duvel]

It‘s a tool for people lacking the upper body strength to cut through a chicken bone with a wimpy cleaver. Used to be a fad with HK housewifes …

[TdeV]

On 6/24/2024 at 1:46 AM, liuzhou said:

Here's a new one to me.

 

Usual rules. Image searches just spoil the fun.

 

 

 

 

For shaping some kind of pasta which will be filled (stuffed) in the space left by the green thingie. Possibly those metal prongies expand the space or something.

[liuzhou]

10 hours ago, TdeV said:

For shaping some kind of pasta

 

No.

 

In fact, as advertised, it actually has three uses, two of which are kind of related, but nothing to do with pasta or shaping.

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:24 AM by liuzhou (log)

[pastrygirl]

On 6/23/2024 at 11:46 PM, liuzhou said:

Here's a new one to me.

 

Usual rules. Image searches just spoil the fun.

 

 

 

 

herb stripper - one hand holds the green part with the metal straddling an herb stem on a cutting board, the other pulls it through

[liuzhou]

11 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

herb stripper - one hand holds the green part with the metal straddling an herb stem on a cutting board, the other pulls it through

 

❌

 

[JeanneCake]

I think Duvel is on to something, that metal part looks like it would slide over a knife or something. But what's the point of having it on the knife?  Is it for storage (but it wouldn't protect the blade, it isn't long enough.  maybe the green part is a magnet? No that doesn't make sense either.)

[Kerry Beal]

Put it on the knife blade - then you can chop with the blade between? 

[liuzhou]

OK. Time to put you out of your misery. A couple of people identified one different use each. No one got the third. Honorable mention to @Amy D. for getting the first.

 

Here are three images demonstrating each use, as mentioned in the vendors’ advertising and packaging. This is my one in white; green clashes with my eyes!

 

First up and first mentioned on the packaging is a fish scaler.

 

 

Next is what I will call a knife basher to be used mainly with a Chinese cleaver to cut through bones. I think this use is mostly for people with lightweight cleavers or blunt cleavers. Put it on the blunt end of the blade and thump the tool with your fist. Only in extremis do I have to resort to such tactics and bashing the top of the blade with my rubber mallet works better and doesn’t bruise my hand. Using my heavy duty bone cleaver renders it redundant.

 

 

The bronze medal goes to those who put the contraption on the sharp end of and use it to stand up on the counter. I never do that either. I lie it flat with the business end pointing away from me.

 

 

I really only bought it out of amusement. The equivalent of $1.50 USD

 

Unusual though, to find one of these novelty things that have more than one function.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 11:29 AM by liuzhou (log)

[TdeV]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Unusual though, to find one of these novelty things that have more than one function.

 

I think the Marketing Dept is probably responsible for that!