Vintage Kitchen Items Mama Will Remember

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Colorful Appliances — Photo: Pinterest/Kate Beavis

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.

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Bread Boxes

Bread boxes in countless colors once adorned every countertop, and we think they should be brought back.

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Wooden Dough Bowls

Although wooden dough bowls were formerly used to let dough rise, they're now extremely popular as centerpiece containers.

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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.

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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.

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Milk Glass Everything

Milk glass has made a comeback, and we're so glad we kept all of Mama's around.

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Hand-Crank Coffee Grinders

Coffee drinkers everywhere should be happy we don't have to hand-crank our coffee grinders anymore.

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Egg Separators

You may see modern egg separators out there, but the first ones were made of tin.

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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.

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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.

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Jell-O Molds

You had a Jell-O mold for every season, occasion, and size.

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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.

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Flour Sifters

Not only were there hand-crank flour sifters like this one, there were flour sifters from a later era with handle pumps.

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Fondue Sets

Fondue sets were the grooviest way to have a night in.

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Colorful Appliances

Before the appliance world went stainless steel, kitchens featured appliances, countertops, and cabinets in many shades of pastel and bright colors.

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Potato Ricers

If you wanted the softest mashed potatoes, you'd use a potato ricer rather than a masher.

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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.

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Tomato Slicer

It seems like this vintage tomato slicer might just leave you with a mushy tomato mess.

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Egg Slicers

Because you just couldn't use your tomato slicer on your eggs.

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Colorful and Patterned Pyrex Dishes

Whose Mama didn't have some colorful or patterned Pyrex mixing bowls?

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Recipe Card Boxes

We hope the tradition recipe card boxes never dies. Even though you can save recipes online, there's nothing like a handwritten recipe card that can be passed down.

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Handmade Hot Pads

Handmade Potholders — No Derog/Getty Images

It isn't that our mothers and grandmothers had more hours in the day than we do now. They just took the time to make everything, like a mundane hot pad, a little more beautiful.

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Butter Molds

The hunt is on for vintage butter molds now that more and more cooks are making homemade butter. Sure, you can just plop your butter in a bowl, but how much prettier it will look when you use a decorative mold.

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Aluminum Ice Trays

Long before the easy twist-and-pop plastic ice trays or automatic ice dispensers, these aluminum gadgets served to keep glasses of sweet tea filled with ice.

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Cast-Iron Trivet

If you ever used one of these, you probably still have it, because it has never gone out of use or style. Before we started using pot-folders and tea towels for hot pads, these trivets stood between countertops and hot pots. They also make for pretty wall décor when not in use.

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