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February 1943. "Moreno Valley, Colfax County, New Mexico. George Mutz's daughter grinding meat on the ranch." Our second look at Mary Mutz in the kitchen. Photo by John Collier for the Office of War Information. View full size.
She would make ground bologna sandwiches! Oh the good old days. I wonder what happened to hers.
I see them around at flea markets & Ebay now & then.
My mom had one of these, and we used it for years. I wish I had it today, as it was much easier to use and clean than a food processor! As for the finger thing, my mother used more meat to push the meat through. When the meat was pretty much gone, she used a raw potato to push the rest of it through and clean the grinder. Other than receiving the proper cautions, I never thought it was dangerous.
for potato pancakes. Mom & Dad would grind peeled potatoes, every once in a while throw an onion into the grinder and let the liquid drain off. Throw in a tiny amount of flour & seasoning. Fry in lard. Slather finished product with butter served with apple sauce on the side. This was the best dinner!
I have an early 1930's Maytag washer with a gas engine on it. Also have the meat grinder attachment which allowed one to remove the wringer and attach the meat grinder. It still works as we have ground up venison with it. It's fun to take to antique farm machinery shows and show kids how it works by "grinding" play dough instead of meat. Keeps the flies down on those hot summer days.
...one of which was my mother shoving chunks of otherwise inedible meat through a grinder similar to this. (With her fingers, of course.) But a much worse memory was the sound of it; all that muscle, gristle, fat, etc., being ground up into our next meal. Yuck.
[Not to mention the fingers. -tterrace]
She died with all her fingers, thank you! But she was terrified of those newfangled food processors. So dangerous!
I have one down the cellar just like this also though I don't use it anymore. My mother used it to make clam cakes by grinding the clams in it.
My mother had one of these way back when.My job was to turn the crank so she could grind up the meat of the day, whatever it was. She did make killer sausage and hamburger with it!
She's pushing the meat in with her fingers? Not a chunky metal tool? My mother's grinder came with a tool and my mother taught me never to get my fingers near the opening well before I was 4.
[Maybe the recipe is Meat Loaf with Lady Fingers. - Dave]
I use it occasionally to make bread crumbs!
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