If there’s one thing most home cooks can empathize with, it is a quest for greater efficiency in the kitchen. There’s always a tool or gadget out there that promises to speed up your workflow and give you precious minutes back in your day.
Walk into any home goods or department store and you’ll find racks and racks of specialized countertop appliances that promise to do the job. What a time to be alive!
What you might not know is that there’s nothing new under the sun in this regard: many of these so-called state-of-the-art appliances and tools have old-fashioned manual equivalents that can do the job just as well with a little elbow grease.
In this article, I’ll be telling you about some of the best and most effective non-electric tools and appliances that are must-haves for your homestead kitchen. We will get right into it below…
cast iron skillet coated with butter
When you visit a link in this article that takes you to a different website where you can purchase something, I may earn a commission. Read my full disclosure for more details.
When it comes to pure utility in the kitchen, nothing beats a cast iron skillet for any meal of the day.
Cast iron skillets offer an unbeatable combination of temperature control and durability, and with proper care, they have a natural nonstick finish that’s completely free of any poisonous chemicals like Teflon.
Cast iron cookware is an heirloom item, and if you protect it from rust, it will last for generations. I still use my great-grandma’s cast iron every day, and it’s going strong!
If you’ve got a cast iron skillet and a Dutch oven, there’s nothing you can’t do. A Dutch oven is a two-piece arrangement consisting of a large, pot-like bottom and a heavy iron lid, one that sometimes functions as a separate skillet.
With a Dutch oven, you can make bread, stew, cakes, roasts, casseroles, and nearly anything else you can think of. They’re just as useful on the stovetop as they are in the oven or even outside on the grill or over a fire.
The only downside is that these beasts are quite hefty, and it can be a bit of a workout to lift them up and move them around…
If you’ve only ever bought butter at the store, you are probably entirely unaware of how much physical labor goes into making it. Butter must be churned, over and over and over again, until it starts to solidify into that indispensable kitchen staple that we all use.
A good butter churn makes the process easy, relatively speaking, and also lets you make large quantities of butter in one go.
Many butter churns have been passed down from one family member to the next, and making the butter is often a family affair; family members typically take shifts running the churn until it’s ready!
Once the butter is done in the churn, it’s ready to eat or store, but the lumpy mass doesn’t look particularly tidy or appealing. To make it more convenient and add a touch of class to the whole affair, you can pack the butter into a butter mold.
These come in all kinds of shapes and different sizes for any required need. Some vintage molds are a hobby unto themselves thanks to their amazing craftsmanship and intricate designs.
If you are anything like me, there’s probably no appliance in the kitchen relied on more than the dishwasher. I really do love it. Scrape the food into the trash, give the dishes a quick rinse, load them, run it, and forget about it. Wonderful!
Sadly, modern dishwashers aren’t very reliable, and they are getting less reliable all the time thanks to more and more manufacturers adopting a design ethos of planned obsolescence.
If you have to hand wash your dishes, or you just want to, a drain board will make the task a whole lot easier. Clipping onto the edge of a basin, or extending over it, a drain board will improve your workflow and help you wash, rinse, and dry dishes quickly. Indispensable to have, if only as a backup!
What used to be a fixture, literally, in nearly every kitchen has been relegated to a specialty item for home chefs who are serious about barbecue and other meat-related concerns.
Whether you are raising your own meat or buy it from a local butcher, a meat grinder is indispensable for making ground beef, sausage, and a lot more.
As icky as it might sound, a vintage hand-cranked model can be entirely worth your time. With a little TLC and a thorough cleaning, and maybe a replacement part or two, these will be ready to serve your family for decades on end.
This kitchen tool is getting rarer all the time, and that was a major surprise to me! Turns out most people have no need for a meat tenderizer anymore, and I think that’s a real shame…
For making thin, crispy veal or chicken cutlets, or making the most out of a subpar cut of beef, one of these will do the trick.
There are two kinds out there: the more common and, relatively, more popular mallet style, and a rolling style that looks very much like a torture device. The latter looks a lot like a paint roller with sharp, metal teeth around the drum!
Both work great, but I’ve fallen in love with the roller style because it’s so much quieter.
crushing eggshells using mortar and pestle
I once bought a mortar and pestle as a sort of contrivance. It just looked cool on the countertop! But in time, I started reaching for it more and more. For grinding fresh spices, making pastes and sauces, and a whole lot more, this ancient tool is tops.
If you aren’t familiar, a mortar and pestle is basically a stone bowl with a rod-shaped masher. Both typically have a coarse texture, and by mashing and kneading food or herbs that you place inside, you can slowly and controllably break it down into an increasingly fine texture.
If you’ve got a blender or food processor, you might think it is impossible to get by without it if you use it all the time.
How amazing it is, then, that there’s even a manual version of these ubiquitous electric appliances. A food mill is used for making mashed, smashed, and pureed things using nothing but muscle power.
Designs vary considerably, but commonly include a rotating bowl that has one side cut out or relieved to expose the food inside to the turning grinders or blades, powered by the crank.
These work really well, and though they aren’t as quick as a food processor, they are a whole lot quieter, and that means more pleasant as far as I’m concerned!
whipped cream
A hand mixer, sometimes called an egg beater, has fallen almost entirely into obsolescence with the rise of the countertop electric mixer as typified by KitchenAid and others.
Nonetheless, a hand mixer is a handy, pun intended, and reliable option that belongs in any old-fashioned kitchen…
Although they look complicated, they are easy to operate: you hold on to the handle with one hand and turn the crank with the other, which uses a geared transmission to turn a pair of beaters—just like your electric mixer!
Practice a little with one of these, and you probably won’t miss that stand mixer one bit.
A hand chopper is a truly cool and unique old-fashioned kitchen tool…
Consisting of a series of angled, perpendicular, or parallel blades at the bottom of a vertical handle, they are designed to be rocked back and forth on a cutting board to uniformly chop or process fruits and veggies consistently. In my experience, they work wonders!
For any foods or ingredients that need a quick, rough chop during preparation, these things are aces!
Some of our older readers will know and love this one! Long before the drip coffee machine was even a twinkle in its inventor’s eye, we had the percolator.
And yes, I know we still have electric percolators today; I’m talking about the real ones you’ve actually got to set on a heat source!
Percolators make great coffee, and they are a lot simpler and easier to maintain compared to a drip coffee maker. You’ll load them with grounds as normal, but then all you have to do is sit them on a burner and wait for your brew.
Some of my very fondest memories are making homemade ice cream with my grandparents. The whole process was exciting to me as a kid, almost alchemical…
You load the machine with sugar, milk, fruit, and any other ingredients you want, fill it with ice cream salt and ice, and then crank away. In just a little while, you’ll have some of the best and creamiest authentic ice cream you’ve ever tasted.
Yet another gadget that used to be standard issue but has since faded from public consciousness except with people who are really into charcuterie.
A cheese slicer is designed to make single slices off of a block of cheese or to turn a whole block of cheese into multiple slices in one pass.
Whatever the purpose, it always consists of the same thing: high tension, thin wire strung between a rigid frame, either a box or a y-shaped fork like a slingshot.
This is one I’ve really grown to like because they’re so easy to use and keep clean. Plus, you’ll save a bundle over pre-sliced cheese.
An apple press is exactly what it sounds like: a press for apples! Operated by a screw or lever, and sometimes by a crank, an apple press gives you the mechanical advantage needed to fully mash an apple flat, providing you with maximum juice.
For making soft or hard cider, apple cider vinegar, or just apple juice, these really are indispensable. Using ours has turned into something of a fall tradition around my household.
A pickling crock, more properly called a fermenting crock, is a large jar-shaped earthenware container that facilitates the making of fermented foods like sauerkraut or other veggies.
It does this by creating an environment where the special bacteria needed for the process can thrive and work on the food. Home-fermented foods can last for months safely.
If you are big into at-home preservation like canning and pickling, consider one of these a must-have.
A pitter is another tool that tells you everything you need to know about it. This specialty gadget is designed to quickly, easily, and painlessly remove the pit from stone fruits like cherries, peaches, and more.
There are many types out there, with some accepting different attachments for different fruit while others are intended to work just on one type of fruit.
The one electric appliance I would be most pained to part with, after my dishwasher, is my bread machine. I just love the thing!
But despite what the designers of these machines would have you believe, there is almost always a manual version. If hand-kneading bread dough just isn’t your forte, you should check out a manual dough mixer.
Powered by a crank or, more rarely, a foot treadle, this does the same job that the electric one does, only using muscle power.
You’re already familiar with colanders, strainers, sieves, and the like. But have you ever heard of a crank strainer? This is one tool that truly deserves to make a comeback as far as I’m concerned!
Basically, it takes all the pain and fuss out of seeding fruits or veggies for making preserves, sauces, juice, and the like.
All you have to do is cut the produce into halves or quarters and throw them into the strainer. As you crank, the food will be pureed, but it will separate the large solids that you don’t want going into the finished product, like skin, seeds, and more. Totally awesome!
Last but certainly not least, I think the classic mechanical kitchen timer needs to make a comeback. I know I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I whip out my phone and hit that timer app whenever I need it.
But if we want to go back to a simpler time that’s not so dependent on electricity, or if you want to live completely off-grid, you’ve got to have one of these.
Plus, there’s something about that constant, simple ticking and that cheerful ding that will just take you back in time… It really is a better way to do things!
Tim Makay
Tim is a farm boy with vast experience on homesteads, and with survival and prepping. He lives a self-reliant lifestyle along with his aging mother in a quiet and very conservative little town in Ohio. He teaches folks about security, prepping and self-sufficiency not just through his witty writing, but also in person.
Find out more about Tim and the rest of the crew here.
The post Top 20 Old-Fashioned Non-Electric Kitchen Tools and Appliances appeared first on The Homesteading Hippy.
Walk into any home goods or department store and you’ll find racks and racks of specialized countertop appliances that promise to do the job. What a time to be alive!
What you might not know is that there’s nothing new under the sun in this regard: many of these so-called state-of-the-art appliances and tools have old-fashioned manual equivalents that can do the job just as well with a little elbow grease.
In this article, I’ll be telling you about some of the best and most effective non-electric tools and appliances that are must-haves for your homestead kitchen. We will get right into it below…
cast iron skillet coated with butter
When you visit a link in this article that takes you to a different website where you can purchase something, I may earn a commission. Read my full disclosure for more details.
Cast Iron Skillet
When it comes to pure utility in the kitchen, nothing beats a cast iron skillet for any meal of the day.
Cast iron skillets offer an unbeatable combination of temperature control and durability, and with proper care, they have a natural nonstick finish that’s completely free of any poisonous chemicals like Teflon.
Cast iron cookware is an heirloom item, and if you protect it from rust, it will last for generations. I still use my great-grandma’s cast iron every day, and it’s going strong!
Cast Iron Dutch Oven
If you’ve got a cast iron skillet and a Dutch oven, there’s nothing you can’t do. A Dutch oven is a two-piece arrangement consisting of a large, pot-like bottom and a heavy iron lid, one that sometimes functions as a separate skillet.
With a Dutch oven, you can make bread, stew, cakes, roasts, casseroles, and nearly anything else you can think of. They’re just as useful on the stovetop as they are in the oven or even outside on the grill or over a fire.
The only downside is that these beasts are quite hefty, and it can be a bit of a workout to lift them up and move them around…
Butter Churn
If you’ve only ever bought butter at the store, you are probably entirely unaware of how much physical labor goes into making it. Butter must be churned, over and over and over again, until it starts to solidify into that indispensable kitchen staple that we all use.
A good butter churn makes the process easy, relatively speaking, and also lets you make large quantities of butter in one go.
Many butter churns have been passed down from one family member to the next, and making the butter is often a family affair; family members typically take shifts running the churn until it’s ready!
Butter Mold
Once the butter is done in the churn, it’s ready to eat or store, but the lumpy mass doesn’t look particularly tidy or appealing. To make it more convenient and add a touch of class to the whole affair, you can pack the butter into a butter mold.
These come in all kinds of shapes and different sizes for any required need. Some vintage molds are a hobby unto themselves thanks to their amazing craftsmanship and intricate designs.
Drain Board
If you are anything like me, there’s probably no appliance in the kitchen relied on more than the dishwasher. I really do love it. Scrape the food into the trash, give the dishes a quick rinse, load them, run it, and forget about it. Wonderful!
Sadly, modern dishwashers aren’t very reliable, and they are getting less reliable all the time thanks to more and more manufacturers adopting a design ethos of planned obsolescence.
If you have to hand wash your dishes, or you just want to, a drain board will make the task a whole lot easier. Clipping onto the edge of a basin, or extending over it, a drain board will improve your workflow and help you wash, rinse, and dry dishes quickly. Indispensable to have, if only as a backup!
Meat Grinder
What used to be a fixture, literally, in nearly every kitchen has been relegated to a specialty item for home chefs who are serious about barbecue and other meat-related concerns.
Whether you are raising your own meat or buy it from a local butcher, a meat grinder is indispensable for making ground beef, sausage, and a lot more.
As icky as it might sound, a vintage hand-cranked model can be entirely worth your time. With a little TLC and a thorough cleaning, and maybe a replacement part or two, these will be ready to serve your family for decades on end.
Meat Tenderizer
This kitchen tool is getting rarer all the time, and that was a major surprise to me! Turns out most people have no need for a meat tenderizer anymore, and I think that’s a real shame…
For making thin, crispy veal or chicken cutlets, or making the most out of a subpar cut of beef, one of these will do the trick.
There are two kinds out there: the more common and, relatively, more popular mallet style, and a rolling style that looks very much like a torture device. The latter looks a lot like a paint roller with sharp, metal teeth around the drum!
Both work great, but I’ve fallen in love with the roller style because it’s so much quieter.
crushing eggshells using mortar and pestle
Mortar and Pestle
I once bought a mortar and pestle as a sort of contrivance. It just looked cool on the countertop! But in time, I started reaching for it more and more. For grinding fresh spices, making pastes and sauces, and a whole lot more, this ancient tool is tops.
If you aren’t familiar, a mortar and pestle is basically a stone bowl with a rod-shaped masher. Both typically have a coarse texture, and by mashing and kneading food or herbs that you place inside, you can slowly and controllably break it down into an increasingly fine texture.
Food Mill
If you’ve got a blender or food processor, you might think it is impossible to get by without it if you use it all the time.
How amazing it is, then, that there’s even a manual version of these ubiquitous electric appliances. A food mill is used for making mashed, smashed, and pureed things using nothing but muscle power.
Designs vary considerably, but commonly include a rotating bowl that has one side cut out or relieved to expose the food inside to the turning grinders or blades, powered by the crank.
These work really well, and though they aren’t as quick as a food processor, they are a whole lot quieter, and that means more pleasant as far as I’m concerned!
whipped cream
Hand Mixer
A hand mixer, sometimes called an egg beater, has fallen almost entirely into obsolescence with the rise of the countertop electric mixer as typified by KitchenAid and others.
Nonetheless, a hand mixer is a handy, pun intended, and reliable option that belongs in any old-fashioned kitchen…
Although they look complicated, they are easy to operate: you hold on to the handle with one hand and turn the crank with the other, which uses a geared transmission to turn a pair of beaters—just like your electric mixer!
Practice a little with one of these, and you probably won’t miss that stand mixer one bit.
Hand Chopper
A hand chopper is a truly cool and unique old-fashioned kitchen tool…
Consisting of a series of angled, perpendicular, or parallel blades at the bottom of a vertical handle, they are designed to be rocked back and forth on a cutting board to uniformly chop or process fruits and veggies consistently. In my experience, they work wonders!
For any foods or ingredients that need a quick, rough chop during preparation, these things are aces!
Percolator
Some of our older readers will know and love this one! Long before the drip coffee machine was even a twinkle in its inventor’s eye, we had the percolator.
And yes, I know we still have electric percolators today; I’m talking about the real ones you’ve actually got to set on a heat source!
Percolators make great coffee, and they are a lot simpler and easier to maintain compared to a drip coffee maker. You’ll load them with grounds as normal, but then all you have to do is sit them on a burner and wait for your brew.
Ice Cream Maker
Some of my very fondest memories are making homemade ice cream with my grandparents. The whole process was exciting to me as a kid, almost alchemical…
You load the machine with sugar, milk, fruit, and any other ingredients you want, fill it with ice cream salt and ice, and then crank away. In just a little while, you’ll have some of the best and creamiest authentic ice cream you’ve ever tasted.
Cheese Slicer
Yet another gadget that used to be standard issue but has since faded from public consciousness except with people who are really into charcuterie.
A cheese slicer is designed to make single slices off of a block of cheese or to turn a whole block of cheese into multiple slices in one pass.
Whatever the purpose, it always consists of the same thing: high tension, thin wire strung between a rigid frame, either a box or a y-shaped fork like a slingshot.
This is one I’ve really grown to like because they’re so easy to use and keep clean. Plus, you’ll save a bundle over pre-sliced cheese.
Apple Press
An apple press is exactly what it sounds like: a press for apples! Operated by a screw or lever, and sometimes by a crank, an apple press gives you the mechanical advantage needed to fully mash an apple flat, providing you with maximum juice.
For making soft or hard cider, apple cider vinegar, or just apple juice, these really are indispensable. Using ours has turned into something of a fall tradition around my household.
Pickling Crock
A pickling crock, more properly called a fermenting crock, is a large jar-shaped earthenware container that facilitates the making of fermented foods like sauerkraut or other veggies.
It does this by creating an environment where the special bacteria needed for the process can thrive and work on the food. Home-fermented foods can last for months safely.
If you are big into at-home preservation like canning and pickling, consider one of these a must-have.
Pitter
A pitter is another tool that tells you everything you need to know about it. This specialty gadget is designed to quickly, easily, and painlessly remove the pit from stone fruits like cherries, peaches, and more.
There are many types out there, with some accepting different attachments for different fruit while others are intended to work just on one type of fruit.
Manual Dough Mixer
The one electric appliance I would be most pained to part with, after my dishwasher, is my bread machine. I just love the thing!
But despite what the designers of these machines would have you believe, there is almost always a manual version. If hand-kneading bread dough just isn’t your forte, you should check out a manual dough mixer.
Powered by a crank or, more rarely, a foot treadle, this does the same job that the electric one does, only using muscle power.
Crank Strainer
You’re already familiar with colanders, strainers, sieves, and the like. But have you ever heard of a crank strainer? This is one tool that truly deserves to make a comeback as far as I’m concerned!
Basically, it takes all the pain and fuss out of seeding fruits or veggies for making preserves, sauces, juice, and the like.
All you have to do is cut the produce into halves or quarters and throw them into the strainer. As you crank, the food will be pureed, but it will separate the large solids that you don’t want going into the finished product, like skin, seeds, and more. Totally awesome!
Mechanical Timer
Last but certainly not least, I think the classic mechanical kitchen timer needs to make a comeback. I know I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I whip out my phone and hit that timer app whenever I need it.
But if we want to go back to a simpler time that’s not so dependent on electricity, or if you want to live completely off-grid, you’ve got to have one of these.
Plus, there’s something about that constant, simple ticking and that cheerful ding that will just take you back in time… It really is a better way to do things!
Tim Makay
Tim is a farm boy with vast experience on homesteads, and with survival and prepping. He lives a self-reliant lifestyle along with his aging mother in a quiet and very conservative little town in Ohio. He teaches folks about security, prepping and self-sufficiency not just through his witty writing, but also in person.
Find out more about Tim and the rest of the crew here.
The post Top 20 Old-Fashioned Non-Electric Kitchen Tools and Appliances appeared first on The Homesteading Hippy.