12 Forgotten Kitchen Gadgets That Were in Every Home

Step back in time with these 12 forgotten kitchen gadgets. Once essential for every home cook, they are now nostalgic relics of a bygone culinary era.

Alyana Aguja
April 10, 2025
4 min read

12 Forgotten Kitchen Gadgets That Were in Every Home — Jason Briscoe from Unsplash

Go back in time to a charming age of creativity and craftsmanship with these 12 retro kitchen gadgets that were the hub of every kitchen at one point or another. From hand-crank egg beaters to the ubiquitous butter churn, each appliance saw its time in the limelight before making way for modern convenience. Stored in a dusty drawer or prominently placed as retro finds, each one of these antiquated treasures is a lovely testament to what transformed our kitchens.

1. Butter Churn

Image from Lee Valley Tools

Prior to the advent of store-bought butter, families churned their own using a butter churn—usually a wooden barrel with a plunger or crank. This converted cream into butter with much elbow grease and patience. Some models, such as tabletop glass churns with hand cranks, were cherished heirlooms.

2. Hand-Crank Egg Beater

Image from eBay.ph

Before electric mixers, this hand tool beat eggs and cream with spinning beaters driven by a side crank. It was a necessity for cakes to meringues. Although still available, it’s largely relegated to drawers today.

3. Mouli Grater

Image from Wikipedia

This small rotary grater was employed to grate fine cheese, nuts, or vegetables—perfect for Parmesan on pasta. You’d put your food in the drum and turn the handle to grind it against a blade. It was before food processors came along and was loved for its ease.

4. Jell-O Molds

Image from The Pioneer Woman

In the mid-20th century, dessert and salad jellies in gelatin form were the cooking elite, and intricate aluminum or copper Jell-O molds ruled. These molded everything from shrimp-laced aspics to fruit-studded desserts. Today, they’re retro decorations or secondhand curiosities.

5. Potato Ricer

Image from Shopee Philippines

Employed to make additional fluffy mashed potatoes, the ricer forces cooked potatoes through tiny holes like a huge garlic press. It produced a more refined texture than an old-fashioned masher. Though chefs continue to swear by it, most home cooks have outgrown it.

6. Meat Grinder (Manual)

Image from Eco Prima Home and Commercial Kitchen

Before pre-ground meat was the norm, homes had hand-cranked meat grinders clamped to countertops. You’d feed in chunks of meat and turn the handle to make burgers or sausages. This gave full control over the cut-and-fat ratio—something most modern cooks now outsource to the butcher.

7. Flour Sifter

Image from Eco Prima Home and Commercial Kitchen

This device sifted and aerated flour with a squeeze handle or crank and fine mesh to eliminate lumps and provide uniform mixing. It was particularly common before pre-sifted flour became the norm. Today, a whisk or mesh strainer usually substitutes for it.

8. Ice Pick

Image from KLG Foodservice

Before automatic ice makers and plastic trays, ice arrived in big blocks that needed to be chipped with an ice pick. Such tools were indispensable for home bars and daily life. They’re now a specialty item, primarily for cocktail elitists or antique collectors.

9. Bread Box

Image from Food & Wine

The bread box stored loaves fresh before plastic bags and preservatives. Typically metal or wood, it provided airflow without allowing mold. Now, it’s more of a farmhouse-style tip than a necessity.

10. Melon Baller

Image from Eco Prima Home and Commercial Kitchen

This little scoop made beautiful balls of melon, commonly for fruit salad or 1960s-style canapés. It also served as a corer for apples and other small fruits. Although sweet, it’s largely forgotten nowadays in the era of pre-cut fruit.

11. Toast Tongs

Image from Crate and Barrel Philippines

Made of wood or bamboo, these were employed to retrieve hot toast from deep toasters safely without exposure to shocks or burns. They were found in kitchens when toasters wouldn’t pop up as well as their newer counterparts. Nowadays, everybody just uses a fork—hazardous but ubiquitous.

12. Canister Vacuum Coffee Maker (Siphon Brewer)

Image from CoffeeNow.ph

This refined stovetop brewing device employed vapor pressure and vacuum suction to extract coffee in a dramatic two-chambered glass apparatus. Popular from the 1930s through the ’50s, it produced full-bodied, nuanced cups. It’s now largely displaced by drip, pod, or espresso devices, though still admired by coffee aficionados.