Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Low-tech wish-list

By Tracy

I’m not one to covet objects, but there are a few useful items that seem to have disappeared, or are at least quite hard to get now.

These are things I’ve had in the past (or my parents had) that I’d love to get hold of again – not for nostalgia’s sake, but because you can use them unplugged, and they work so well...

1. Mouli-grater, hand-operated.

2. Jaffle iron, the sort you can use in a woodstove. No Teflon lining (Teflon is ubiquitous these days, and nobody seems to care whether it’s good for you).

3. Bread crock. In the hot weather our bread (because low on additives) goes mouldy quickly; if I put it in the fridge, it goes stale. It can be composted, of course, but better to avoid waste altogether... (I don't want a crock with lead anywhere in its glaze or paint, so this makes it harder.)

4. Wooden hand-held coffee grinder*, the sort you place between your knees, that has a little drawer. Ditto for nut and/or spice grinder. In the back of my mind I know I must one day give up drinking coffee. But while I do, I’d rather have this low-tech device than an electric one.

5. Soap dish that drains; also soap cage, for not wasting little pieces of soap (strictly speaking it was my grandmother who had this, much further back).

6. Washboard. Very useful for what must be handwashed, at the very least.

7. Ordinary stainless steel cookware. Here in the wheatbelt, it's very hard to find. Teflon is everywhere...



*Image of coffee grinder is File:Mlynek.jpg, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Source: en:Mlynek.jpg Originally uploaded to en-wiki by en:User:Mohylek, GFDL
(Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tracy - For Love of the Earth Gallery here in Esperance sell handmade washboard/seats. Saw them on the weekend.

Mutually Said: Poets Vegan Anarchist Pacifist said...

Thanks -- that's very helpful!

ramsnake said...

We have a Brevete SGOG grater, which is similar to a mouli but bigger, and a damn fine and useful bit of kit it is too!
You can still get Mouli graters here is one of a few on ebay you can purchase.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-MOULI-GRATER-grinder-Made-in-FRANCE-aluminum_W0QQitemZ330302169096QQcmdZViewItem

Dr Mad Fish said...

Yes, I sympathise. Often when I find a product that I really like, they change it or it is replaced by something else more complicated and less efficient that breaks very quickly.
I picked up a small set of stainless pots, not top of the range but very good, for $10 at the local Op Shop. You CAN get lucky.

Amanda Joy said...

I have cast iron jaffle irons from the army surplus store.
Great wish-list!