This … umm… “item” belonged to my grandmother, Lisa Hammer, who came to the United States from Norway in the 1950s. I suspect it had something to do with making lefse, or some other Norwegian treat, but I’m not at all certain. It’s relatively heavy, and would make a great weapon!
Has anyone seen an item like this?
It kind of reminds me of a tool used in churning butter. Here: http://www.alden.org/our_house/activities.htm is a picture of it (the middle one). There's a receptacle in which the milk goes and then you 'stomp' it until it turns to butter. I can't find a picture of the 'stomper' unfortunately, but I do know these contraptions came in all sizes, small and large. I suspect it is something like that, although I will admit to not being certain at all. Perhaps you'll have more luck finding a picture of the 'stomper' to see if it matches?
ReplyDeleteThe handle is a little large to be used in churning butter. I think Karen is close, it is most likely a masher for potatoes or turnips. They would mash them in the large pot the vegetables were boiled in. If you had a large family, plus some workers or visitors, one went through quite a large amount of potatoes/turnips!
ReplyDeleteJ.M. & Wicho - the bottom surface is smooth as a baby's bottom, forgot to throw that in there too. Maybe if nothing else I'll get better at writing descriptions! :) I googled "Norwegian Cooking Utensils", and every variation I can thing of (including "stomper"), and so far I've come up empty-handed. None of the images even looks close. Hopefully someone will know what this is.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the Pestle part of a Mortar & Pestle - to me. I remember seeing huge ones in Ivory Coast - similar to the ones in the pictures at this web site: http://www.nps.gov/history/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountryD.htm
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Angela, I hadn't thought of that! Looking at the pictures at that website also made we wonder if it might have something to do with washing laundry...
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of a manual washing machine or for making saurkrout (spelling?) but it seems too short for either. May have been for mashing corn or the like into a paste or flour.
ReplyDeleteIt has some interesting "wear marks" as well - all those darker gray areas. The top of the handle? I wouldn't have expected that. Also, along the bottom "bulb", as if a hand would have been place on both parts.
ReplyDelete