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Post by nana on May 1, 2016 19:25:16 GMT -5
It is the little things that make me happy. My favorite old muffin tin, with the wonderful name "muffinaire", by United Aircraft Products somehow hit the road with my son and his many moves and was lost to me. Now it (or its twin) has found its way back to me, via the Dorset church sale this weekend. A little bit of elbow grease and steel wool and it shined right back up and made some zucchini muffins like it was never gone. Welcome home, Muffinaire!!
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Post by chipperhiker on May 2, 2016 16:10:07 GMT -5
Super cool!
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Post by karitx on May 2, 2016 17:36:27 GMT -5
Woohoo! I love the name, too. It sounds like you are a muffin millionaire.
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Post by nana on May 2, 2016 18:30:28 GMT -5
Indeed, it's way BETTER than money!
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Post by nana on May 2, 2016 20:04:45 GMT -5
I forgot to mention who else is glad to see the Muffinaire again: her cousin, the Popovaire!! She doesn't get out much, because hubby prefers muffins to popovers, but they were very close there in the baking pan drawer before the Muffinaire set out to see the world.
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Post by vaporvac on May 2, 2016 22:35:33 GMT -5
You are crackin' me up, nana. I have such a picture in my mind of those two meeting in the drawer.
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Post by nana on May 3, 2016 7:04:25 GMT -5
The Popovaire is the "inside" spoon, if you get my drift...
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Post by 5talents on May 19, 2016 21:57:40 GMT -5
Thank you for this post! I am learning so much about vintage cookware on this forum. Now I have to find a muffinaire.
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Post by nana on May 20, 2016 5:43:45 GMT -5
Check out Chipperhiker's cookie sheets in this thread if you really want to have something to covet: chamberscommune.proboards.com/thread/2699/peanut-butter-spritz-cookiesIt is a little bit of an addiction, this vintage cookware thing, but I have it under control. At least I only have the one stove. Although I do have my eye on a vintage fridge if I can ever get power to it to see if it works...
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Post by nana on May 20, 2016 5:48:58 GMT -5
I thought a picture might be in order...
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Post by 5talents on May 20, 2016 8:29:26 GMT -5
I found several muffinaires on eBay. Any suggestions on what to look for or avoid? I'm also eyeing a Lisk roaster or two.
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Post by 5talents on May 20, 2016 8:32:50 GMT -5
And now I need an Ovenex cookie sheet! Who knew?!
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Post by vaporvac on May 20, 2016 9:10:31 GMT -5
There's a lot of temptation in these pages. Soon you'll need the double-decker Tbaker, tea kettles and stovetop coffeemakers.... that's a wonderful addiction.
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Post by nana on May 20, 2016 19:42:18 GMT -5
The only thing I would say needs to be avoided are crumpled muffin cups, which makes it really hard to get the muffins out cleanly. Any grime or baked on gunk can be removed with enough diligence. I paid a dollar for mine, and this was at what we consider to be the pricier kind of church sale...Dorset is just over the border in Vermont and has a lot of NYC summer home and retiree folks who drive up the prices, although they do tend to have better junk to donate to the sale. I usually pick up a couple of cashmere sweaters for $2-3 there. Not this year, though...
Vintage cookware, besides looking cool, is often better at what it does. Cheapo stuff from K-mart looks good at first, but wears out or breaks quickly. A 50 year old(or more) muffin tin that still makes muffins will probably do it forever unless you run over it with a truck or something. And I just like the thought of all the history and memories that go along with vintage stuff. Plus, you get to avoid chemicals and plastics.
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Post by karitx on May 21, 2016 15:44:42 GMT -5
Check out Chipperhiker's cookie sheets in this thread if you really want to have something to covet: chamberscommune.proboards.com/thread/2699/peanut-butter-spritz-cookiesIt is a little bit of an addiction, this vintage cookware thing, but I have it under control. At least I only have the one stove. Although I do have my eye on a vintage fridge if I can ever get power to it to see if it works... Curses! I missed that thread when it was originally posted. I've seen Ovenex loaf pans, but I had never seen the cookie sheets and now I. Must. Have. One.
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Post by nana on May 21, 2016 18:46:13 GMT -5
Come, come, Karitx. You know you want at least two! You need one to be loading up while the other is baking!
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Post by mach12 on May 22, 2016 18:02:23 GMT -5
Man Nana, I'm glad you posted about the muffin pans. We were on the way home from the pet store and saw an Estate Sale sign so figured we'd stop, even though it was after 3PM and they were done at 4. When we walked in the door they said what was left was 1/2 of the marked price and there on the kitchen counter were two Muffinaire muffin pans marked $2 for the set. And in really nice shape. And a really nice bean pot and several other things (including yet another cookbook...). We put a pile of little odds and ends in a nice bamboo tray and the lady looked at my wife and said how happy she was to not have to mess with the stuff and what we would have paid $15 at 1/2 price she offered for $3, though I gave her $5 for all of it. I have no idea how to figure what each item cost but needless to say the muffin pans were a bargain. Might make up for some of the stuff I've paid way too much for. Had it not been for your post I'd have had no idea what they were! Thanks for posting it!
There were, however, no Ovenex pans or sheetware.
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Post by nana on May 22, 2016 19:16:03 GMT -5
Yay! Mach 12's in the club! Although I daresay you would have recognized the quality and insouciance even without my post.
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Post by chipperhiker on May 23, 2016 12:51:57 GMT -5
Ovenex pans are an addiction just waiting to happen, aren't they? They're just so pretty. I have 3 NOS loaf pans and 3 NOS 7x11 pans, and 2 heart cake pans in that starburst pattern. I also have a cookie sheet that the cool, but less lovely, waffle-type grid pattern. It still works beautifully.
Still can't get myself to "spoil" the NOS pieces. I know, I know... what's the point of only looking at them...
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Post by mach12 on May 23, 2016 21:09:49 GMT -5
Chipperhiker - I thought I was the only one who bought stuff and then wouldn't use it! Art comes in all kinds of forms. Heck, my shop classes were even called Industrial Arts classes.
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Post by pooka on May 25, 2016 8:04:36 GMT -5
I think buying stuff we won't or can't used is a guilty pleasure for more of us than would admit to it. I struggle with the addiction myself every time I make the rounds of the thrift stores. They are one of my few forms of entertainment. They are sometimes like a poor mans museum where you can learn about things from many eras. That's also where I buy all my cloths. Where else can you find cashmere sweaters & silk shirts for from $1.25 to $3.00. I can spend pennies on the dollar for high quality or designer brands. I almost never shop retail unless it's something I need right now. More often than not, I talk myself into, then out of buying something. First, is it interesting enough to warrant my notice. Then I ask myself, can I, or will I use it. Then, is it beautiful or cool enough to justify it's price. Sometime this last reason overcomes all reason that might bar me from bringing it home. I've got a giant "Savory" roaster in the "Hotel Oval" size that won't even fit in my oven. It's rated to hold a 35 pound roast or a 30 pound bird. It was $15.00, & I'd never seen one before. Give me credit. I did wait a day before I bought it. It could also double as a bath tub for a baby if need be. I've toyed with the idea of gifting it to someone with an Imperial which have the bigger oven it will fit in. When this thread started, I thought I recognized the muffin pan as one like I had, but when I dug it out, I found it was a a "Comet" gem pan probably from the same era. A gem is a mini muffin or cake that come in various shapes. I do have an 9"x14" "Ovenex" by "Ekco" cake pan I bought because I thought it was cool looking. While digging through my bake ware, I also found my pizza pan must also be an "Ovenex" too because it has the above mentioned waffle pattern, although it's marked "APPIAN WAY". In researching it, they were apparently a promotional item given away when you sent in the proof of purchase of two packages of Appian Way pizza mix back in the 1950s or 1960s. Growing up I know my mom had a couple of the muffin pans, but I don't know what ever happened to them. As mach12 intimated, art come in all forms. There is art for arts sake. Then there is commercial or industrial art & design of items we use every day. Raymond Loewy was one of America's greatest of the latter. In his day he designed more things used & seen in everyday life as anyone. From the Sunbeam T-9 toaster to railroad locomotives & corporate logos. You name it. He designed it. Click on his name to see the Wikipedia page list of all his designs. Some would say he was simply an industrial designer. But looking at his work, you realize he was a true artist, but of everyday items. He made ordinary items a joy to use & see beyond their function.
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Post by nana on May 25, 2016 21:32:12 GMT -5
I do the same waffling back and forth over some things at garage sales. Last week I found a box of 45's, probably around a hundred of them. I idly glanced through and realized they were all fantastic, from the 50's through the late 70's, all top hits. Beatles, Stones, Jay and the Americans, The Young Rascals, the Shirelles, The Monster Mash, Convoy.... All types of bands, all classics. She wanted $10 for the box. I walked away, I don't even have a turntable anymore. But my son in law does.... I walked back and asked would she take less than $10? She took $7. They sound fantastic. So much fun!
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Post by karitx on May 29, 2016 9:47:37 GMT -5
Ovenex pans are an addiction just waiting to happen, aren't they? They're just so pretty. I have 3 NOS loaf pans and 3 NOS 7x11 pans, and 2 heart cake pans in that starburst pattern. I also have a cookie sheet that the cool, but less lovely, waffle-type grid pattern. It still works beautifully. Still can't get myself to "spoil" the NOS pieces. I know, I know... what's the point of only looking at them... Well if you need someone to break them in for you, I can give you my address. I just hope they don't get "lost" on the way back to you.
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Post by chipperhiker on Jun 1, 2016 14:07:11 GMT -5
LOL, Karitx!!!
I really do like seeing them in my Hoosier. Maybe I'll put them into use, and maybe not. I guess only time will tell. I certainly is easier to buy stuff that already broken in because there is no guilt. Every time I buy something NOS, I debate, and it's so bad that I feel guilty getting rid of the original packaging. I help on to my sunbeam waffle maker box for a few years. Crazy.
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Post by nana on Jun 1, 2016 17:40:11 GMT -5
OK, I'll bite. What is NOS?
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Post by pooka on Jun 1, 2016 18:31:54 GMT -5
"NOS" = "New Old Stock". It puzzled me the first time I'd heard the term. Another way to say it is "NIB" = "New In the BOX".
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Post by nana on Jun 1, 2016 19:29:16 GMT -5
Oh! Well, my inclination is to use these kind of things. They've been languishing on the culinary equivalent of the Island of Misfit Toys. They will never be truly happy until they are cooked with. When you find them at the thrift shop you are like Santa and Rudolph all rolled into one!
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Post by pooka on Jun 1, 2016 20:12:53 GMT -5
There are those that collect this kind of thing almost as museum pieces, so they want it just as it was new. Still others like them as decorator pieces in their country store themed kitchens. For me. it depends on the price. If it's really cheap, I might hesitate, but I'd still use it. I might save the label to frame or the box to sit in a shelf. If it was pricey, I probably wouldn't buy it at all. I'd admire it like you would window shopping, then move on.
Your Island of Misfit Toys with Santa & Rudolph analogy is great. It kind of sound noble to finally let them be useful after languishing unloved for so long.
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