Can any kitchen gadget experts identify this for me?

[Siwsan]

I found it hanging in the back of the pantry, filled with old slivers of soap. (This used to be my aunt & uncle's house). It looks like a giant tea leaf strainer!

[CurtEastPoint]

1. I would say tea infuser but the holes look awfully big. But maybe OK for bigger tea leaves?

OH! I didn't notice the size. Good question!

[snpsmom]

2. For doing laundry?

Swish it in the wash bucket to make suds, dip the clothes in, scrub them against the board, and rinse. Voila! Clean clothes.

[wasupaloopa]

3. It might be a garlic crusher. Or to squeeze juice out of fruit.

[Yonnie3]

4. I remember my grandma using one.

It was used to get soapy water for washing things. Clothing, dishes or whatever. No powders or liquid detergents needed, just a bar of hard brownish soap swished through the water in that contraption.

[Squinch]

26. Genius! Now I want one! I'm trying not to use products that come in plastic bottles any more. This

and the soap would work well for a lot of things!

[nocoincidences]

5. Google: vintage soap saver

It was used to save slivers of soap for washing during the 30's.

[CurtEastPoint]

6. Brilliant!

https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+soap+saver&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwioicn5xcTcAhVCuVMKHUCaDSMQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=898

[Siwsan]

9. Thanks!

That explains all of the old soap slivers it contained!

I also found a very old GLASS scrubbing board that I now use as a wall decoration in the laundry room. This will go with it.

[Grasswire2]

28. that's called a "washboard"...

....and it doubles as a musical instrument (percussion) and is used in bands even today. Especially in New Orleans jazz. Here's the MOST popular band in New Orleans today, just back from a tour of Europe. Tuba Skinny. The washboard player, nicknamed "Itchi Ribs" gets a solo toward the end.

Here they are in their usual street gig.

[link:

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And here they are on European tour. Gee. Everyone has their shoes on for a change!

[link:

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The tune in both clips is "Postage Stomp" -- they have a very broad repertoire of old NOLA tunes.

[Grasswire2]

29. I have two washboards, currently.

One glass, the other the more common tin. As a musical instrument, they are played with thimbles on the finger tips. My grandkids love to play them along to a jazz CD.

[Siwsan]

30. This one is pretty small

About 8 X 18". And since it is glass, I wonder if it was used for ladies 'delicates'. As you can see, it was definitely well used - the logo is pretty much eroded away. I've just left it hanging where I found it but I'm tempted to really clean it up and do some sort of stencil on the board.

[Grasswire2]

32. sweet

Personally, I would leave it as it to show the authenticity of the piece. But I know that decorating old things is still the rage.

[DFW]

7. It's for making individual cups of tea from loose tea

Sort of a tea strainer for individual cups. We still use them in Europe. You put some loose tea in this thing, hold it shut, and wave it around in hot water as you would a teabag. When you are done, you take it out and empty the used tea directly into the trash. It's messier than teabags, but healthier.

[Siwsan]

8. I put it next to a ruler to show it's 11" long

WAY too big for a tea infuser.

I think I have the answer - it's used in laundry! I'd never have guessed.

[DFW]

10. That is kind of long for a tea maker.

I couldn't tell from the photo. In Europe, we do use things that look exactly like that to make tea.

[Siwsan]

11. I have several tea strainers

I used to bring a lot of loose tea back with me, from my trips to the UK. I've gotten lazy, now, and just use bags but loose tea is best.

[3catwoman3]

12. Somewhat OT, but this brought back a favorite memory.

My maternal grandmother used to use a small copper colored disc called a Scotch Soap Saver. You would put embed this device on the bottom side of a bar of soap, and it would both allow the bar to dry out between uses by elevating it of the edge of the sink so it didn't sit in a wet puddle, and it kept the last morsel of soap useable. The device was about the size of a silver dollar and was engraved with the face of a Scotsman wearing a tam.

[Siwsan]

14. I've learned that my aunt & uncle rarely threw ANYTHING away

Well, they were of the Depression era. They built this house in 1968 and never redecorated. It's a real time capsule that I am now dragging into the 21st century. But there are some things that I just can't part with because, like this strainer, they are so unique.

However, the shag carpeting and dark wood paneling are goners.

[GemDigger]

13. I think it is a potato ricer.

My great grandmother had one and she used it for potatoes.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. This is a potato ricer:

?w=598&h=396

My mom had one just like it.

[GemDigger]

17. Thanks, I see the difference now.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Yes, you need a part of the thing to do the squishing with.

[dixiegrrrrl]

24. Bless you! MY mystery implement solved.

We picked up a lot of old kitchen implements via garage sales, once in awhile stumbled on a gold mine of stuff from estates of elderly people. ( back when I was not an elderly person. )

and this type gadget was among them. I thought it was a garlic press, but the upper holes did not make sense for that use.

thank you....

[Squinch]

27. You have to have one of these if you want lump-less mashed potatoes! Use this, then the hand mixer.

Fabulous!

[beveeheart]

31. My mother always made rice potatoes with pork

chops or roast and mashed potatoes with chicken dishes. I still have the ricer.

[WhiteTara]

15. This is a very old version of a tea "bag"

People make their own tea non-bags by holding the strainer in the cup and pouring hot water over it. If this isn't aluminum, it's a treasure. Enjoy!

[Siwsan]

19. Nope - It looks like one but this is 11" long (see the ruler)

The 'sieve' portion is too wide to restrain tea leaves and container part wouldn't even fit into a tea cup. Turns out it some sort of old fashioned soap saver to utilize slivers of soap for the laundry.

[WhiteTara]

22. Well that's very cool and thrifty!

[2naSalit]

20. Looks like

it would be used to hold something in a hot bath of some sort so maybe it could be for soap making or used in some process where you only want what it's holding in the solution for a short time. If you are flavoring a batch of something, you would want big hunks of whatever the element is... a fistful.

Or maybe to hold over flame...?

[Siwsan]

21. Turns out it was for soap slivers, used in laundry

Obviously pre-automatic washers. However, I could see using it to infuse bath water with fresh lavender, too. Hmmm...... might have to give that one a try.

[applegrove]

23. Something to pick up things boiled? The equivalent of a slotted spoon today?

Or a spoon for Mongolian hot pot?

[sl8]

25. Lucky! You found a vintage Portabella-Buddy™.

Back in the old days, cowboys used these when they made their portabella burgers over the campfire.

You don't see them around much anymore, thanks to George Foreman.