Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

Recipe Search

Antiques in Judy's Kitchen

As I cleaned out my pantry and kitchen cupboards recently, I found a few old things that I'm just not ready to part with yet. In fact, I have kept them long enough that they are now collector items. And the thing is, I still use them!


These Pyrex nesting bowls and storage containers were wedding gifts in 1971, are still intact after all these years...and get used regularly. They get a little warm in the microwave, so I'm not sure they should go there. Vintage Pyrex sets are actually collector items...but mine wouldn't be in high demand, since they have been in and out of the dishwasher on a regular basis and are looking somewhat faded. They work for me.


My favorite little hand mixer was another wedding gift...a Hamilton Beach model that I love. It is still stored in the original box...which is looking very ratty! I use my Bosch machine for all the big jobs, but this little mixer still gets used.  I'm sure they don't make appliances to last that long anymore!


This Pyrex coffee perculator was my go-to coffee maker for many years.  Now it gets little use and would fetch a good price as a collectable...but it still makes a good cup of coffee when the power goes out!


My original electric kettle is also still alive and well...although I have replaced it with one that has an auto shut-off switch for everyday use.  I am still hanging on to the old kettle...since it is much better looking than my new one!

All that to say that old things have value.  I have to keep telling myself that these days...since I had another birthday this past week. It was a milestone birthday...one which confirms that I am a very old thing.

Do you have some favorite 'old things' in your kitchen. Tell us about them in the comments!


22 comments:

  1. All of those are definitely collector items and I also have them and use them on a regular basis, especially my pyrex bowls. And my Pyrex coffee percolator, is one I would never get rid of, in fact picked up a second one at an estate sale for a really good price. My husband and I both feel they make a great cup of coffee and when the power goes out, we are always happy to be able still have our coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kitchen items are shown your thinking in your life. Impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Almost all my cooking is done in Pyrex - some of which came from my grandmother's house, some from my parents' house, and some of which I even bought for myself about 40 years ago. I still pick up Pyrex pots when I see them at thrift and charity shops, and I especially love my big amber soup pot, which is getting quite a workout this winter. Probably the oldest Pyrex I have is a set of the smallish blue saucepans and frying pans with removable handles - the little frying pans are perfect for frying an egg or making a grilled cheese sandwich :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. My mom had Pyrex bowls from the 50s that I won't let her part with. I too have much of the items that I received as bridal shower gifts in the 80s. They still work, so why part with them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pretty sure there are plenty of old antiques from the 70's in my kitchen as well (if only I would get around to cleaning my pantry and cupboards, I could list them? - lol). I guess I'm one of those antiques too - eek. Happy Birthday and welcome to the club.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have a mixer I learned to bake with 45 years ago, and it wasn't new then. I'm guessing it was a wedding present for my mom in 1958. The handle is broken, it never gets up to a very high speed and there is a spot that you get a jolt of electricity if you touch when it is running. It isn't my "go to" mixer but if the other one is in use, or the beaters are in the dishwasher ....

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your coffee pot and it's a good match for my tea pot. I inherited it from either my mom or grandmother, not sure which as everyone had one back then. Something about the sound of replacing the lid after filling the pot with boiling water takes me back to my childhood and finishing dinner with the family all around the table.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What treasures!! It's like that old saying: Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold! They truly don't make things like they used to! I'm getting a new dishwasher delivered today since my old one - which is only a dozen years old! - passed away! I like all your vintage kitchen things! I have some of my own!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love your vintage Pyrex nesting bowl and the squares too. I've never seen the bowls in that pattern and colour before. I had them in the green and white which was popular in 1977 when we got married. We also got the round set in both green and gold but I got rid of them all as I didn't have room to store them. Wish I'd known they'd be collectible one day! I still have the medium gold bowl though. I agree that they don't make appliances of any kind to last today. They have a short lifespan which is so wasteful. When we were on our honeymoon we bought 2 sets of Butterfly Gold Corelle dishes which we still use every day of life. We've only broken a few pieces so that stuff is made to last. Great post Judy! And Happy Birthday to you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love all your things. Old is gold...

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't have the mixing bowls but I still have some Pyrex and Corning Ware from 1971.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love all those originals. I love how your kettle is still so shiny, how you still have the box for your mixer, your coffee pot still in pristine shape and I really love those rectangle pyrex dishes.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy belated birthday, Judy. I also had a birthday this month - and am getting "older". One of our granddaughter told her Grandpa that "when people get white hair, they are ready to die." He showed her his white hair & asked if she thought he was ready to die, & she did not know what to say! Suffice it to say that we are becoming like vintage wine.... Marivene

    ReplyDelete
  14. My Aunt always had that coffee maker on the stove. They drank a lot of coffee, lol! Good memories

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think I am the only old thing left in my kitchen. I had much of the above, but have gradually given them away. I still have the old Medalta mixing bowl, so huge you cradle it in your arms to lift. Now in a one-room apartment, I take photos of things before I give them away. I remember an aunt who painstakingly saved for a set of China, bought one piece at a time over decades. Royal Albert endures, but not in any of her daughter's homes. They had other ideas of how their tables would be decorated, or not. It all went to thrift stores upon aunt's death. I've remembered that whenever I think I just can't get rid of something. Yes, I can.

    ReplyDelete
  16. i still use my hand mixer from wedding in 1956 , and a blender both are dark green olive color .

    ReplyDelete
  17. I still have my nesting set of pyrex bowls received as a shower gift 45 years ago. Mine haven't been used for a long time but I can't seem to give them up. I remember having a kettle like yours, much nicer than the plastic ones they sell today. There are other items from the 70s in my kitchen too, the same things I've been seeing in the antique stores. lol

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have the same Pyrex bowl set and use it all the time, as well as the portable mixer - from 1970!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Judy...I also had the mixing bowls, containers with the lids & the coffee pot. What memories they bring back. My bowls were blue & white....containers were red. I got married in the late 50's. I still have 1 bowl & one container left. Still use them a lot. Judy from Ohio

    ReplyDelete
  20. I so enjoyed seeing your very collectible kitchen items. I have many also and love to use
    them and see them in my kitchen. Thanks !

    ReplyDelete
  21. Judy, I love how the reflection looks in your very shiny kettle! Dairymary

    ReplyDelete
  22. You sure have some treasures to use. Thanks for sharing.
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.