Friends, I have a burning question I am hoping one of you can help me with. What are these oddly-shaped slotted spoon thingies? Does anyone know? Have any guesses? I had just finished enjoying tea with some friends (more on that next week!) and was off antiquing with them when I spotted these, and none of us could quite figure out what they are. The antique mall owner guessed grapefruit forks (which I've never heard of), and we came up with other possibilities involving fish and butter, but I can't find that either of those is exactly right.
I hope you can tell from the photo that there are little slits or slots in the spoon. What could that possibly be for? One friend suggested it's for spreading butter, which sounds like a real possibility, but I can't find anything called "butter spoon" on the internet that looks like this. At any rate, it was just $15 for the set of four, and I was so perplexed I bought them to bring home with me and research. If one of you knows, I would be very, very grateful to find out exactly what I've bought!
I am going to guess stewed fruit.
ReplyDeleteThey are interesting. What company are they? Do they have a pattern? Maybe one of those lost china and flatware services would be of help.
The only picture I found online that was similar, described it as an asparagus server. The one I saw was more forklike though. I hope you figure it out. They are very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe oddly shaped end suggests something that has to be cut into and then the slots to drain away liquid of some sort from the food sitting there. Stew? I tried to think like a detective but not much help, am I? :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't know but will be interested to see what you find out!
ReplyDeleteI have no clue, but now I hope someone can solve the mystery.
ReplyDeleteI. have never seen anything like this so I asked several friends. So far two of my New England friends have suggested they are " fish forks", so the fish would not break. Will be interested to hear what others have to say!
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was actually that they might be Absinthe spoons? But I'm not sure that their curvature lends well to sitting on the glass properly, so that might not be quite right.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking it could be used to grate or shave cheese from a piece of hard cheese by each diner at the table. Are the slits sharp and open enough to cut? Could it be called a spoon grater.
ReplyDeleteYou said you "would be very, very GRATEful to find out exactly what I've bought" - maybe you already had an inkling (don't you just love that word?) what it was.
Other than that, maybe it is a tool of some kind.
Hope this helps! I have some inquires out to some friends who might have an Inkling.
Have a happy day, Angela.
Mary Jane
Hello Angela, what an interesting find. Some possibilities include:
ReplyDeletesoup or stew 'strainer,'
something to do with baking / piercing (like piercing a pie shell or making homemade pasta?)
Definitely intrigued with it and glad that you bought it - can't wait to hear what they are used for! Have a great weekend,
Joanie
Wow! Never seen them before! Please share when you discover what they are!
ReplyDelete~Donna~
They look very cool, not sure what the are. My grapefruit spoons look like long handled teaspoons with a serrated edge all around it. They make it very easy to get all the fruit out .
ReplyDeleteI am interested! My first thot was a corn cob butter spreader. Then when I realized the slots were twisted ti create a cutting edge I thought it was a butter curler. Another thot was the cheese grater that someone else already mentioned. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteMy very first notion_Antique Absinthe Spoons. I've seen that shape before on Ebay.The curvature would fit nicely on the special glasses for Absinthe drinking. They look like the French ones I saw on Ebay. I have some of these spoons,they're beautiful! Here's my collection..http://sagebookwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-art-of-spooning-porroningrated-g.html
ReplyDeleteI agree that it may be for absinthe. http://www.absinthespoon.com/faq_absinthe.php?section=6&rubrique=43&boxtitle=0
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I love a good mystery. I don't think they are grapefruit spoons. My mother had some, and they were like a regular spoon but with small jagged "teeth" on the spoon edges. Very unusual, and some very good guesses.
ReplyDelete