Unusual & mysterious kitchen gadgets

[andiesenji]

I would never have guessed. 

I took a screenshot and emailed it to my friend of 40 some years, Fumiko Ito, who has even more kitchen gadgets, both antique and modern, than I do, many hauled home from Japan where she visits often to see her daughter and grandchildren.

She just phoned and says she has a metal one with balls of wires on each end, large and small.  She says she has never used it, only the bamboo ones that are sort of like the chansens (matcha tea whisks) only longer handle and shorter, thicker "bristles" 

I have seen her use them, just never though to ask what they were called.  

It's kind of a dual-purpose tool because she uses the slightly rounded end of the handle to crush stuff in a suribachi bowl.

[liuzhou]

19 minutes ago, andiesenji said:

she has a metal one with balls of wires on each end, large and small.

 

Yes, that is the most common design. Like this.

Edited December 19, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

20 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Yes, that is the most common design. Like this.

 

 I think it’s really quite ingenious. I don’t make a lot of miso soup but if I did it would be on my wish.  Thanks for sharing. 

[AlaMoi]

I feel like it wants to mash or break up something.
Nope
You stick the business end into the miso paste and twist it.
=============
epic fail
=============

 

As I said in my opening post, it is not primarily a whisk, although it could be used as such. It has a very specific function.
And does that function include stirring or mixing in some way?
I would say stirring is the secondary function.

Put this into boiling water and stir, so that the paste dissolves.

===================
so, it appears putting it into boiling water is its primary purpose?

[Anna N]

I would suggest that its primary purpose is to measure the correct amount of miso for one serving of miso soup.

Edited December 19, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[andiesenji]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

 I think it’s really quite ingenious. I don’t make a lot of miso soup but if I did it would be on my wish.  Thanks for sharing. 

They even have adjustable ones there is a channel in the handle that has a button that moves the plate up and down on the wires.

Pretty clever.  Instead of having different sized portion control on both ends, this is much neater.

 

I can think of some other applications where a gadget like this might come in handy.  

Edited December 19, 2017 by andiesenji (log)

[liuzhou]

7 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

so, it appears putting it into boiling water is its primary purpose?

 

No. As Anna says.

Edited December 20, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Marmish]

Does this knife have a specific purpose? 

[andiesenji]

Frozen food knife.  Sold to cut boxes of frozen stuff in half or in sections.  I have a couple in my "odd gadgets stuff"

 

[Alex]

Hi, Marmish. Glad to know you're still around.

[Marmish]

Thanks Andiesenji!  My guess was right. 

 

Thanks Alex. I pop in every once in awhile. 

[liuzhou]

Here's one for you, which I bought today. It is designed for a very specific gastronomic (dual) function, but on the table rather than in the kitchen.

 

 

It's approximately 8 inches in diameter and 4½ in height.

[rotuts]

do you put a very small candle or heat source in the ' mouth ?'

[BonVivant]

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, rotuts said:

do you put a very small candle or heat source in the ' mouth ?'

 

You can if you insist. I wouldn't recommend it, though!

 

[liuzhou]

@BonVivant

 

$5!

 

I paid the equivalent of $1.23.

 

I guess I'm in the wrong line of business!

[BonVivant]

Must be sold online and not in China.

 

I would probably use this:

 

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, BonVivant said:

Must be sold online and not in China.

 

I would probably use this:

 

 

 

 I think I've met her!

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Here's one for you, which I bought today

I'm sorry, my first thought was that it looks like a hospital bedpan. The actual use is even stranger.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Tropicalsenior
Grammatical error (log)

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I'm sorry, my first thought was that it looks like a hospital bedpan. The actual use is even stranger.

 

 

No need for sorry. The bed pan idea also crossed my mind. The actual use is not strange at all here in China. Well, it is slightly strange.

People eat melon and sunflower seeds etc all the time. There are shelves of the things in every store. But they usually just drop the shells on the floor. Here we have a dispenser and receptacle for waste. And it props your cell phone. What more could you need?

About 20 years ago I was on  a train somewhere in China and opposite me was a family which ate non-stop for about 16 hours. Seeds, fruit, snack foods etc. They very carefully put all the shells, paper, garbage etc into plastic bags. I was impressed. Most unusual.

Then when the garbage bag was full, they tipped it out onto the floor and proceeded to eat enough to refill it, while the carriage attendant swept up their debris and tossed it out the train window!

I am happy to say that standards have improved since then.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

12 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

No need for sorry. The bed pan idea also crossed my mind. The actual use is not strange at all here in China. Well, it is slightly strange.

Now I'm curious. Did you buy it for this purpose or strictly as a curiosity and to perplex the rest of us? I am very impressed with the design of this. they have even taken into consideration it's use for left-handers, although, didn't you say at one time that left-handers are rare in China?

Edited January 19, 2018 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Now I'm curious. Did you buy it for this purpose or strictly as a curiosity and to perplex the rest of us?

 

A bit of both, I suppose.

I am not a big melon seed eater, but many of my friends are so it will probably be useful. I can also see some alternative kitchen uses which the manufacturer possibly never imagined.

 

And if all else fails, I may use it as a bed pan in my looming dotage.

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

And if all else fails, I may use it as a bed pan in my looming dotage.

 I hope you never have to use it for that, that's an awfully small bedpan.

[Kerry Beal]

Need one of those for hubbies pistachio eating.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, BonVivant said:

 

Snacking while eGulleting.