-Put your steel wool pads in the freezer. It stops them rusting and you get 10 times the life out of them. -If you run out of laundry soap, take plain old bar soap and grate some of it into the washing machine. This is what your grandmother did. -Baking soda and hot water are acceptable emergency substitutes
Almost bought a vintage stand mixer at an estate sale. Had to be from the 50s or 60s. Had 2 bowls and a variety of inserts (whisk, dough hook, more). Was brown and chrome and looked like a bullet. Plugged it in and still worked! I didn’t need it. I already own a KitchenAide stand-mixer that is about 30 years old purchased new. 😊 But your points are excellent and estate sales are a great source for previously owned, high quality items.
Also---use MSG. Monosodium Glutamate. Marketed in the US as "Accent."
No. Stop typing that comment right now. You are not "allergic" to MSG. It does not "make people sick/give headaches." This is an urban myth from a flawed 1969 study. It's not true.
Monosodium glutamate is just a salt. It occurs naturally in many foods.
Its flavor-boosting capacity for savory foods is delightful. I use it constantly, and if you've eaten at my house, you've eaten me-added MSG and never knew it.
The packaging I've seen has no English writing. Some types are chunky , some are finer ground. The bags are abnormally large. Chinese people must use it by the cupful. 🤣
Great tips and tricks. Old appliances are usually fantastic, but I remember my mothers avocado green blender and it did not work nearly as well as my Ninja. I recall using a wooden spoon to push down all the bits that got stuck as the blades spun everything up and off to the sides. But yeah, that avocado blender would probably still work today while the Ninja will be dead within 7 years .
My mother still uses her hand mixer and pots and pans that were wedding gifts in 1957. The electric skillet gave up the ghost about 15 years ago. We had to hunt to find a sturdy replacement. She’s got Pyrex older than I and a sewing machine (German engineering!) that’s about 2 months younger.
All the Pyrex. glassware, casseroles, refrigerator dishes of my childhood and my mother's are at antique stores now selling for as much or more as they retailed new. It's surreal to see our "boring old everyday kitchen" stuff like that.
-Is your dishwasher not cleaning so well anymore? It might be that the holes in the sprayer arm are clogged. Check. I just unclogged the two main holes in the upper and lower arms of my dishwasher. Shredder hair and food had plugged them. Dishes are getting clean again.
Also I find the rhythmic hum of dishwashers pleasing and soothing and I do not require the soundproofing that they all have so much of. But I'm kinda spergy that way. I could fall right asleep next to a 20-foot tall steam-powered piston pump.
Love these! I really want that 1930s blender. Ditto on pressure cooking, too, except I have found that for a pork shoulder butt roast, the pressure cooker leaves it tough while 8 hours in the slow cooker make it heavenly. Could be operator error, though! :) Oh, and I'm adding Accent to my grocery list.
I love this post! A walk down memory lane. I still have a food processor that is harvest gold. The grater is broken but the rest of the attachments work. It is heavy but stable .
Beauty matters, too. Classic appliances, especially those from the 40s and 50s, were beautiful, like the cars.
Modern appliances are ugly. They are Brutalism in home design. No organic forms. Steel and concrete buildings in miniature to conform to 2001: A Space Odyssey/i-phone vision. A human-less, nature-less vision of immaculate perfection.
They're not only ugly, they're user-hostile. Have you noticed, now, that buttons on electronic devices are frequently not even labeled? This is a new development.
Have you noticed how physical buttons that give tactile confirmation are being pushed out even when touch screens or recessed pressure pads are ill-suited to the task? This is also a new development.
Have you noticed how, if you're even given physical buttons, they're so small, they're the same black as the case, and they are designed not to function but to preserve the aesthetic of the machine?
We are not living in the glory days of technology. There was such a time, and it hit the fulcrum, the "sweet spot", between manual work and automation. The machines were made to fit our hands, and to fit our needs.
We are living in the age of technological slavery. We humans service the demands of the machines in our lives. Their notifications, their chimes, their dissonant warnings, their mommying us about our seatbelts, our lane-keeping, our bloody *tire pressure*.
To top it all off, they do all that while being ugly. We are not in the best possible first world any longer.
Every button on my newish washer and dryer is horrible. They’re the types of buttons that have no tactile feedback.
Automobiles have gone this way too. Long gone are actual buttons and dials one can manipulate. Instead they use either poorly designed “buttons” or dreaded touch screens.
My parents (early 70s) got a new car last year and because nothing is tactile they are really struggling. They don't know what half the features on the touchscreen are, they get confused about the Bluetooth connectivity, and it distracts the hell out of them when their eyes should be on the road. They also have nowhere to play all their CDs.
I told them they should've gone for a used car with a properly designed interior and analogue features but they didn't listen.
Thank you for these, Josh. I’m Canadian, love the show and appreciate all you and Kevin do. I'm starting to enjoy older products, starting recently with a preference for top-load washing machines (with agitators), as the newer high-tech models are trash and don’t do the job well. My folks still use their Electrolux vacuum from the 80s (complete with attachements); the thing won’t die, and it is probably something I’ll end up inheriting.
Great tips. If you're not sure whether to go for a slow or a pressure cooker, remember that you can make all the same food in a pressure cooker, but you can't make bombs in a slow cooker.
Also, I always keep washing soda, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda for cleaning in the house. Big bags/bottles at hardware drops or the cleaning aisle st the supermarket are cheaper. Plus, ditch the cleaning sprays and get a bottle of concentrated disinfectant to dilute at a fraction of the cost. It's also good to throw a capful in your washing machine with any towels that have sat too long.
Almost bought a vintage stand mixer at an estate sale. Had to be from the 50s or 60s. Had 2 bowls and a variety of inserts (whisk, dough hook, more). Was brown and chrome and looked like a bullet. Plugged it in and still worked! I didn’t need it. I already own a KitchenAide stand-mixer that is about 30 years old purchased new. 😊 But your points are excellent and estate sales are a great source for previously owned, high quality items.
The old electric appliances almost always work, and if they don't, they can be easily fixed.
Definitely don't be afraid to buy such things if you're in need of them, readers.
I have a 20 year old Kitchen Aid. It's great and all, but the modern quality isn't what it used to be. Plastic knobs fall off, etc.
Also---use MSG. Monosodium Glutamate. Marketed in the US as "Accent."
No. Stop typing that comment right now. You are not "allergic" to MSG. It does not "make people sick/give headaches." This is an urban myth from a flawed 1969 study. It's not true.
Monosodium glutamate is just a salt. It occurs naturally in many foods.
Its flavor-boosting capacity for savory foods is delightful. I use it constantly, and if you've eaten at my house, you've eaten me-added MSG and never knew it.
MSG " the king of flavor "
I add it to almost everything
Praise.
FYI
MSG from the Chinese markets is better (more potent) than Accent. It comes in a
bag and looks like clear(ish) rock salt.
Oh, is it? I'm so glad to know this! Is it labeled as MSG, or under a trade name?
The packaging I've seen has no English writing. Some types are chunky , some are finer ground. The bags are abnormally large. Chinese people must use it by the cupful. 🤣
East Asia is calling your name, Josh.
Oh, sanking u vewwy much!
Great tips and tricks. Old appliances are usually fantastic, but I remember my mothers avocado green blender and it did not work nearly as well as my Ninja. I recall using a wooden spoon to push down all the bits that got stuck as the blades spun everything up and off to the sides. But yeah, that avocado blender would probably still work today while the Ninja will be dead within 7 years .
Waring blenders can't be beat. All metal. No plastic. That's the one picture, and my 1962 is a Waring. To consider when your Ninja wears out:)
Thanks! I don't recall every owning anything Waring. I think the green blender was an Oster.
My mother still uses her hand mixer and pots and pans that were wedding gifts in 1957. The electric skillet gave up the ghost about 15 years ago. We had to hunt to find a sturdy replacement. She’s got Pyrex older than I and a sewing machine (German engineering!) that’s about 2 months younger.
Yes ma'am.
I have my mother's early 80s Electrolux canister vacuum with all the attachments. I will never give it up.
All the Pyrex. glassware, casseroles, refrigerator dishes of my childhood and my mother's are at antique stores now selling for as much or more as they retailed new. It's surreal to see our "boring old everyday kitchen" stuff like that.
Edit to add:
-Is your dishwasher not cleaning so well anymore? It might be that the holes in the sprayer arm are clogged. Check. I just unclogged the two main holes in the upper and lower arms of my dishwasher. Shredder hair and food had plugged them. Dishes are getting clean again.
Also I find the rhythmic hum of dishwashers pleasing and soothing and I do not require the soundproofing that they all have so much of. But I'm kinda spergy that way. I could fall right asleep next to a 20-foot tall steam-powered piston pump.
Love these! I really want that 1930s blender. Ditto on pressure cooking, too, except I have found that for a pork shoulder butt roast, the pressure cooker leaves it tough while 8 hours in the slow cooker make it heavenly. Could be operator error, though! :) Oh, and I'm adding Accent to my grocery list.
Older washing machines and dishwashers, ahem, use "too much water."
Meaning: they work.
Correct.
And tell you what. Next refrigerator I'm getting? 50s model. The kind kids died in. Don't care how much juice it pulls.
You crack me up! “The kind kids died in” 🤣🤣🤣
I love this post! A walk down memory lane. I still have a food processor that is harvest gold. The grater is broken but the rest of the attachments work. It is heavy but stable .
I'm basically a housewife. There's no more denying it.
I would kill to see you dressed up like a Stepford. So cute. Gay men need to reclaim the right to wear dresses and keep their junk.
My drag days are over:) But I had a good run!
Josh embracing his inner tradwife... fucking glorious! And genuinely useful! Thank you for the great tips and tricks!!!
Beauty matters, too. Classic appliances, especially those from the 40s and 50s, were beautiful, like the cars.
Modern appliances are ugly. They are Brutalism in home design. No organic forms. Steel and concrete buildings in miniature to conform to 2001: A Space Odyssey/i-phone vision. A human-less, nature-less vision of immaculate perfection.
They're not only ugly, they're user-hostile. Have you noticed, now, that buttons on electronic devices are frequently not even labeled? This is a new development.
Have you noticed how physical buttons that give tactile confirmation are being pushed out even when touch screens or recessed pressure pads are ill-suited to the task? This is also a new development.
Have you noticed how, if you're even given physical buttons, they're so small, they're the same black as the case, and they are designed not to function but to preserve the aesthetic of the machine?
We are not living in the glory days of technology. There was such a time, and it hit the fulcrum, the "sweet spot", between manual work and automation. The machines were made to fit our hands, and to fit our needs.
We are living in the age of technological slavery. We humans service the demands of the machines in our lives. Their notifications, their chimes, their dissonant warnings, their mommying us about our seatbelts, our lane-keeping, our bloody *tire pressure*.
To top it all off, they do all that while being ugly. We are not in the best possible first world any longer.
(Rolls eyes)
Every button on my newish washer and dryer is horrible. They’re the types of buttons that have no tactile feedback.
Automobiles have gone this way too. Long gone are actual buttons and dials one can manipulate. Instead they use either poorly designed “buttons” or dreaded touch screens.
My parents (early 70s) got a new car last year and because nothing is tactile they are really struggling. They don't know what half the features on the touchscreen are, they get confused about the Bluetooth connectivity, and it distracts the hell out of them when their eyes should be on the road. They also have nowhere to play all their CDs.
I told them they should've gone for a used car with a properly designed interior and analogue features but they didn't listen.
Thanks for the tip on rendering lard. I don’t cook with seed oils anymore, but buying leaf lard is so expensive! I’ll give this a try.
Thank you for these, Josh. I’m Canadian, love the show and appreciate all you and Kevin do. I'm starting to enjoy older products, starting recently with a preference for top-load washing machines (with agitators), as the newer high-tech models are trash and don’t do the job well. My folks still use their Electrolux vacuum from the 80s (complete with attachements); the thing won’t die, and it is probably something I’ll end up inheriting.
You want the Electrolux. I have my mother's of that era.
I love stuff like this.
Gonna show Rob the floor sweeper. Also, is that Marla Gibbs hocking the MSG?
Don't use fabric conditioner on towels. They stay softer without.
And more absorbent, without. Good, ol' white vinegar zaps laundry odors, and softens clothes. ☺️
Good tips Old souls turn up in surprising places.
Great tips. If you're not sure whether to go for a slow or a pressure cooker, remember that you can make all the same food in a pressure cooker, but you can't make bombs in a slow cooker.
Also, I always keep washing soda, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda for cleaning in the house. Big bags/bottles at hardware drops or the cleaning aisle st the supermarket are cheaper. Plus, ditch the cleaning sprays and get a bottle of concentrated disinfectant to dilute at a fraction of the cost. It's also good to throw a capful in your washing machine with any towels that have sat too long.