And the hand worked mincer

My friend Andrew Simpson and I often indulge in what can only be described as whimsy when we’re in conversation – in phone calls and Whatsapping, and also commenting on each other’s blogs. Yesterday I wrote about kitchen gadgets, and how they have changed over the years, and pondered on whether the multitude we have now will still be in use or popular in the future. My featured image was from the turn of the century if not earlier, and was an advert for various handy kitchen equipment, the centre picture being of a mincing machine. Andrew commented on what I’d written, and mentioned his own memories of childhood in the kitchen. I replied and we had a pleasant and amusing (to us) interchange, which I share below:

A: Yes … those savoury and fruit puddings made with suet which steamed away wrapped in cloth for hours. And the hand worked mincer …. a fascination of mine, mincing up raw meat and for that matter the roast left overs. I took my turn at the machine but would soon get bored and escape. Not so the endless standing with arms outstretched while mother wound up wool into balls.
In our house there was a clear distinction in who made the mince stew. Dad added cornflour and made a heavy, thick mass which sat on the plate, while mother’s was lighter made with just gravy or Nana’s which was equally lighter but with the addition of peas from the garden and cloves.
L: Yes, I actually bought a retro mincer, in fact I bought two! The problem was the clamps on one mincer were too close together for the table. On the other mincer I was worried about it damaging the table despite pads because it had to be clamped so tightly!

I’m interested in your Nan’s addition of cloves to savoury dishes. We only had cloves in puddings and fruit pies. My mum didn’t use them in savory dishes and nor did dad, but I absolutely love the flavour of clove. I use them in a spice mix for North African dishes, but never thought of doing that in other recipes. That will be an experimental addition in the future!
A: Yep, Nana put them in apple sauce and apple pies
L: Perfect partners, apple and clove! Maybe they have a detective agency for small domestic difficulties – Clove & Apple, they’ll solve the mystery of your deflated soufflé, and the puzzle of the carrot-less carrot cake!

I mentioned a detective agency because there seem to be so many novels at the moment about a mismatched pair of characters who undertake quirky tasks for eccentric people. They usually have mild difficulties and may have the odd bump or bruise but nothing too grisly or realistic. I guess Miss Marple and Agatha Christie’s other lovable detectives fall into this bracket but she was a skilled writer and some of her stories are quite brutal and sinister. There are also plenty of cosy crime TV series, I’m sure the Clove and Apple Domestic Detective Agency would fit in splendidly to this genre of TV cosy crime – if I were ever to write about them, which I’m pretty sure I won’t!

PS if I ever did, I would resist the trend of having even more ridiculous first names, but I would have to decide their gender and age.

PPS if you want to have a look at Andrew’s fascinating blog, here is the link:

Andrew Simpson – Chorlton History:

https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com