In today’s kitchens, refrigerators have touch screens and ovens can be turned on with an app. Modern kitchen gadgets simplify everyday tasks, but some of us miss the old classics. And while some of these vintage finds are now obsolete, looking back on these antiques makes us feel nostalgic for microwaves without Bluetooth. You might recognize these vintage kitchen tools, and you probably have some of these tucked away in a kitchen cabinet, such as those old Pyrex dishes from Mama. Thanks to rustic, shabby chic, and retro trends, some of these vintage kitchen accessories are coming back in style. Etsy is filled with shops that sell vintage kitchen gadgets and retro appliances, so there are plenty of people out there who want to keep things old-school like us. And while some of these retro kitchen accessories aren’t around anymore, you might get some stylish vintage kitchen ideas from the throwbacks. Take a stroll down memory lane to find the best vintage kitchen items, and you might realize what that weird-looking tool sitting on Mama’s counter is actually supposed to do.
Bread Boxes
Bread boxes in countless colors once adorned every countertop, and we think they should be brought back.
Wooden Dough Bowls
Although wooden dough bowls were formerly used to let dough rise, they’re now extremely popular as centerpiece containers.
Labeled Tins
Mama had her flour, sugar, coffee, and more in matching labeled tins. With rustic and retro looks on the rise, labeled kitchen tins are coming back in style.
Punch Bowls
If you didn’t have a punch bowl with matching glasses at your party, was it really a party? Bonus points if you had a Tom and Jerry Christmas set.
Milk Glass Everything
Milk glass has made a comeback, and we’re so glad we kept all of Mama’s around.
Hand-Crank Coffee Grinders
Coffee drinkers everywhere should be happy we don’t have to hand-crank our coffee grinders anymore.
Cake Breaker
This tool was widely used for cutting angel food cakes and other soft cakes, as the delicate tines wouldn’t crush or compress the cake under pressure. Cake breakers were so popular that you could even find one in your silver pattern.
Herb Cutters
Herb cutters came in different styles than this one. For example, some herb cutters had a handle on both sides of the blade for each hand.
Hand Mixers
Next time you walk away from your standing mixer as it's beating eggs, remember how hard these vintage hand mixers were to use.
Flour Sifters
Not only were there hand-crank flour sifters like this one, there were flour sifters from a later era with handle pumps.
Colorful Appliances
Before the appliance world went stainless steel, kitchens featured appliances, countertops and cabinets in many shades of pastel and bright colors.
Potato Ricers
If you wanted the softest mashed potatoes, you’d use a potato ricer rather than a masher.
Butter Dishes
Some butter dishes like these were shaped to fit a stick of butter and others were round for tub butter. Another vintage butter tool was a butter mold, used to press beautiful patterns in the butter for table presentation.
Tomato Slicer
It seems like this vintage tomato slicer might just leave you with a mushy tomato mess.
Colorful and Patterned Pyrex Dishes
Whose Mama didn’t have some colorful or patterned Pyrex mixing bowls?
