Visiting friends, we discovered this item in a kitchen drawer. No one knows what it is - it kind of looks like the love child of a cheese slicer and a tweezers. It’s chrome-plated, about 6 inches long, and kind of flimsy feeling. There are no sharpened edges, and the “blade” is captive so the device can’t open any farther than shown in the pictures.
FYI, I can’t begin to answer the question because I can’t get the photo files to open. The links seem to work fine, but the photos don’t appear, just the little “waiting” graphic. I’ve been waiting for 5 minutes, I don’t know if I’m interested enough to continue waiting.
Were they very large photo files you posted? Maybe you could reduce and re-post them?
You would squeeze the tongs closed, then put the flat part under a cookie I guess, then let the tongs open and it drops it on the plate.
I’m not sure if it’s for cookies, but it was for something delicate and small. It had to be baked, otherwise it would be slotted so not boiled, or fried.
I should add that it’s possible that this device was not originally intended for kitchen use. One member of the couple who own the kitchen was a research oncologist, and the other was a biologist who studied viruses.
Clearly designed for lifting something and depositing it somewhere else, using only a single hand.
It doesn’t appear to be very high quality in construction, so not for commercial use - it has the look almost of a novelty utensil of the type that is often included in gift kits where there might be a recipe book, some actual ingredients, and a couple of higly-specialised implements.
No problem. I’ve found http://imgur.com is a good no-nonsense image host which is very usable for people with all kinds of browsers and devices. It is also easy for people uploading images.
I wonder if it’s actually meant to be used with the blade end pointing downwards (i.e. clasped in the hand with the sprung joint upwards - maybe for cutting something soft into pieces, then flipping the pieces off the blade (gnocchi or something)
My mother used to have one, I remember running across it in the kitchen as a child. This was in the 1960’s so it’s been a while. I also remember asking her what it was for. Her answer made a lot of sense, at the time. Unfortunately, I forget what she said and it’s been years since she passed, so I can’t just ask her again.
I do remember it is used in the kitchen and it was not some bizarre function. Perhaps a pastry cutter?
My suspicion is that it is for handling dough - probably cookie dough - and allowing one to scoop up a portion and then deposit onto the oven tray easily, and allow repetition without needing to clean it between portions. Ring any bells?
