How I roll, Pin

Most people, at some time in their lives, own a rolling pin. Whether you cook or not, you seem to have one in your drawer. Likely made of wood, with little handles on the end, your pin languishes in that drawer until you drag it out to make a pie at Thanksgiving or sugar cookies in December. That's a lot of prime drawer real estate taken up by something not used that often. So should you ditch the pin? Nope. These babies have history and style. Put that pin to greater use.

Word around the web is that the Etruscans (those folks that were around pre-Rome in the future Italy) invented the pin. There are artifacts that show cooks proudly brandishing their pins.

Time moved on and with it, pins changed. Marble, clay, wood, glass, and porcelain were all options. Glass and porcelain had the advantage of being hollow so cold water could keep the pin cool while working with pastry. Heck, I'm going to find a porcelain one to try out on pie dough.

The trusty old wooden pin with the handles, the one your grandma probably used and you probably have in your own drawer, came about in the 19th century. The evolution of the pin hasn't changed much since then but new ideas are coming around. Chrome and silicone coatings are things that are making a showing in the world of pins.

Ok, so now you know the 2 minute history of rolling pins. And so what, you may be thinking. Well, there is no necessity for pins in this modern world - unless you count really good tasting things as a necessity. You can buy ready-made pie crusts at the store, you can buy frozen cookie dough and pre-rolled slabs of sugar cookie dough too. So, technically, no one has to have a pin to make their bread, to make their pastry, to live. But the same can be said for every appliance in your kitchen. Just because food exists in some ready-made, pre-packaged, pre-measured, pre-digested form doesn't mean it is any good or any good for you. The old pin, hopefully worn from some use, is your ticket to some tasty food and a hand held reminder of centuries of cooks.

Ok, so some of you aren't buying that argument. Well, if all else fails, you can also collect them. There are some gorgeous examples out there that make some lovely decorative objects. Painted porcelain, cherry wood, decorative handles. Much as with aprons, pins can be collected rather than used. Personally, I say collect and use them. Become the preeminent pie maker in your family. Wow the PTA with your astonishingly thin cookies. Pound those cutlets to within an inch of their meaty lives. Obliterate those crackers for that cheesecake crust. Get that pin out of the drawer and into your hands. You'll never go pre-fab again.

For advice on picking out a great pin (and yes, the kind of pin makes a difference) here is a place to start. For the expanded history of rolling pins, check out Answers.com.

Paper Dolls

Photo from Liverpool museums

My husband sent me a nifty link to vintage Consumer Report photos. From the 1930s through the 1970s, you can see such forward thinking (or "what were they thinking) products as a record player for your car, motorized scouring pads, instant button on, and radio sunglasses. But the thing that caught my attention was the photo of a Paper Dress. Yep, a garment made of paper (more like the texture of a dried out baby wipe actually) by the Scott paper company (yes, the paper towel people).

Now, believe it or not, I've actually owned a paper bathing suit. That sounds ridiculous (and it was to some degree) but it was like a waxed tablecloth - something water resistant but meant for only one wearing. I bought it on a vacation when I had forgotten my suit for the pool (or rather, my mom bought it - I think I was about 12 or so). I remember that two piece; it was blue and white houndstooth pattern and I thought it was so funny (and somewhat novel) at the time.

Apparently, novel is another term for space age. At least that is what Paper Dress makers thought in the 1960s. Shift dresses were available for a dollar from Scott Paper. Designers actually were working in paper and large department stores like Sak's, Gimble's and Lord & Taylor had Paper departments. Paper hats, dresses, slippers, earrings, wedding dresses and pillow cases...nothing was off limits.

Now, wearing paper would certainly cut down on laundry and facing a big stack of washing makes that idea seem a bit appealing, but I can't really imagine how this fad ever took off. Paper costumes are noisy, drafty and can tear so easily - not to mention the risk of fire. In the end, according to a Collector's Guide to fashions from the 50s and 60s, it was the flammability that was the demise of the paper dress - not any of the other drawbacks.

Still - I wonder how long it will be before these disposable garments resurface as the latest and greatest. They'll be made from recycled materials, no doubt, and the inks will be made from soy or something else earth-friendly. They will be sturdy, reusable and cheap - the perfect outfit for the common (wo)man - or so the advertisers will say.

Actually, this probably already exists. I'm probably just behind the times.

Salt of the Earth (or Sea)

Vinegar gets all the press for those interested in natural cleaning products. I myself have touted its use, primarily in its usefulness in cleaning carpet stains. Vinegar aside, there are other common ingredients that can be put to work for green cleaning; baking soda does a great job, as does salt.

Yep, common salt can clean up messes, even get that red wine out of your carpet. The SaltInstitute (not surprisingly) has many unusual uses for salt in the home. Cleaning up burned food in the oven, freshening thermoses, cleaning out stained coffee cups, freshening coffee makers, getting rid of mildew, even removing water rings on furniture are all within this mineral's power, so they say. I haven't tried all these methods (yet) but I can certainly vouch for salt's ability to clean cast iron pans. Supposedly, you can also get rid of your pet's fleas by cleaning her bed with salt water; salt repels those nasty bugs. (I find a bowl of water under a night light really does the trick.)

Salt started out as such a precious commodity; heck, Roman soldiers may have been paid in the stuff. (The word "salary" comes from the Latin salarium, paid in salt. Thank you wikipedia.) Now, we can get a carton at the dollar store and use it for all sorts of purposes. So give old salt a try and see if it can do the job for you. It might give Vinegar a run for its money.

Palmolive Detergent

Ever soak your hands in detergent for your manicure? If not, you didn't hang out with Madge the manicurist. Remember those ads? They started in the 1960s. Here's one from the 70s for a little vintage thrill:


Palmolive started in the 1890s as an olive oil and palm oil based soap. Folks liked it and a few years later, Colgate acquired it. Not sure when it changed to its trademark green liquid but its claim to fame is the mild formula that is gentle on hands.

Fans of Palmolive swear by its grease cutting ability. It has a loyal following even outside of the kitchen. A motorcycle website reviewed it as a good cleaner for motorcycle parts. Wonder if any salons are using it?

Mrs. Stewarts' Bluing

Ever seen little old ladies with snow white hair? Not just grey hair - white, technicolor white. Ever wonder how they get that kind of color? They add a blue rinse. The blue enhances the white, making it appear even brighter. I'm not a scientist and I don't play one on tv, but there is something about the blue color spectrum that makes the eye see white more vibrantly. Well, what works for little old ladies and their hair also works for their laundry.

Mrs. Stewarts' Bluing has been around for 120 years; the formula virtually unchanged. Its purpose is to redeposit tiny particles of blue to white laundry, freshening up the color. It doesn't clean or remove stains; its job is just to brighten up whites. Now according to the manufacturer, there are other things this non-toxic and environmentally friendly product can do. Check out Mrs Stewart.com for more info on how it can help relieve insect bites, create a salt crystal garden, find plumbing leaks, mark ski racecourses and color flowers.

Cream of Tartar - what the heck is it?

Cream of Tartar pops up in recipes and I don't always have it on hand. Sometimes I leave it out, which is probably not a good idea because it does have a purpose. To answer my burning question of what exactly is this stuff, I did a little research and present my findings to you. Sleep easy now that this important question has been answered for us all.

Cream of Tartar actually comes from the inside of wine barrels. No fooling. The sediment from inside the casks is scraped out and then pulverized into powder. Why exactly anyone thought to do this is beyond me, but there you go. Traces of the sediment have been found in 7,000 year old pottery. No idea if it was actually used by the ancients, but you never know. If folks could build the pyramids, a little ground up sediment is surely possible.

At some point, an enterprising winemaker must have figured out that the powder helps stabilize egg whites when making a meringue. Some other clever person figured out that if you add it to baking soda, you get baking powder. I raise a biscuit to that swell chemist.

Cream of Tartar goes beyond eggs; it also makes frostings creamier. Durkee (the makers of many spices) claims that it makes foods more tender and that it improves the texture of cakes.

If you still aren't convinced that Cream of Tartar is worthy of space in your pantry, you can also clean with it. Recipes abound on the internets for cleaning stainless steel sinks, removing rust stains from fabric, getting rid of tough bathtub stains, cleaning copper - all kinds of tough jobs. Just google "cleaning cream of tartar" and you'll find them.


For those who don't have it on hand, GourmetSleuth claims that you can substitute lemon or vinegar in its place (at a ratio of 3x the substitute to 1 cream of tartar). I would fear that the flavor of lemon or vinegar would linger in your food, but I suppose it is worth a try. Easier to just pick up a little can of CoT for those meringue/frosting/baking emergencies.

Home product o' the week: Bon Ami

When I was a kid, my mom always used Bon Ami for cleaning. This was the stuff that we used to scrub the bathtub. It was abrasive enough to get rid of soap gunk but it didn't scratch the porcelain. There was always a can of it under the sink. My grandma used it too and probably her mother before her. It's been around since 1886, so I think that qualifies it as a Nostalgic Homemaking product, don't you think? Turns out this oldie but goodie is also a "green" product, which is nice. We could all do with a little less bleach and dye - well, except for my hair, which always needs those things.

Apparently, we were limiting ourselves by just using it for the bathtub. The folks at Bon Ami have plenty of uses listed on their website that go beyond the scrubbing of the tub. How about fiberglass boats and swimming pools? Grout, shoes and crystal candle holders? Plastic cutting boards and wooden decks? Yep, that too. All the uses are at the Bon Ami website, should you get your kicks reading websites for cleaning products. Hey, who doesn't?

Note:
This post sounds like a plug for the product, and I guess it is in a way. I thought it might be interesting to start a weekly post on common products that have been around awhile.