The waffle thing is actually still being use in at least Hong Kong and Japan for street snacks! You guys had the right idea, they usually put eggy batter into it, quickly cook on both side, in Japan, they would come out as a cookie kinda snack and in Hong Kong they would some times roll it while it’s still hot, into a cigar shape, and let it cool so it’s crispy/crunchy when you eat. my dad still has one and would randomly use it when he’s bored… lol
Your description of the Hong Kong snack reminds me of a Norwegian treat called krumkake (kroom-kaw-kuh). It's somewhere between a crepe and a waffle cone. In the upper Midwest US, it's commonly made during Christmas time.
there is also an african version that's a little spongy and then gets doused in sugar syrup, we made that for a 'food from around the world' festival thing for school once and someone who's family originated somewhere there had one. I absolutely don't know any specifics though. That one had like, ripe wheat imprinted on it.
Obleas are typical of Spain and Latin America! Communion wafers filled with dulce de leche. They may contain jam, cheese, fruits, whipped cream, or a combination of multiple fillings. In Colombia, they are the size of a dinner plate with fun designs. Candied guava spread and sweet condensed milk is my favorite.
That pattern looks japanese, and considering how thin the “pancakes” came out, I want to guess that it is a japanese waifer iron to make those okashi waifer sandwich cookies that you then fill with redbean and mochi
I was thinking the same. The embossing looks to be either plum or cherry blossom. Perhaps it was used for making senbei rice crackers or dorayaki (sandwiched pancakes)
I like this theory, however consider the following: those types of Japanese filled pancakes are usually (modernly, to be fair) fried together. They first put the batter on the iron, then fill the batter and then they close the iron so that the two halves fuze together.
Lol, seeing this antiques episode has got my brain thinking. We should make these guys do a pass it on but with antique gadgets. WOuld be nice to see them try to make something without an electric kettle, a giant ass tub and a weighing scale
The waffle iron looks like a different version of a pizzelle press my dad has. He uses it to make Christmas cookies, which have a waffle like texture. Love them!
Was going to say the same, they came in all sorts of different patterns. also they have different names in different countries like in Norway they are called krumkake & while still hot you fold them around a cone shaped mandrel to make little wafer cones which you could fill with things liked whipped cream. So it the chefs had stopped before they got butter they could've used the churn to make whipped cream for them.
I don't resize how much I miss James until he visits...lovely to see him again! Also, the contrast between James and Ben always gets me, James being the sort of laid back chill but undeniably knowledgeable chef and Ben, the know it all chef
I grew up using a balance scale like this one (I’m 25), so I found it quite funny seeing it described as a piece of history! We have some family baking recipes that specifically call for an amount of ingredients based on the weight of other ingredients - I never even considered that it could be a less efficient method! I completely I agree that it’s good fun using it, and I continue to use it whenever I’m back home!
I don't go along with the idea the modern scale is better. Too much that can go wrong. And modern gadgets have a bad rep for messing up. But the metal weights will remain the same.
"We have some family baking recipes that specifically call for an amount of ingredients based on the weight of other ingredients" that seems like something which happens in baking e.g. for bread recipes "baker's ratios" define the weight of all ingredients relative to the amount of flour (by weight).
If it works, it works and really no need to change that at all. This will work under all conditions whilst with modern scales you could potentially run out of battery life. I have an old scale as well that I daily use, a springy one. But it works fine for me, so I'm not changing it.
I think the gang would have so much fun with Max & José. That could be a really fun episode, have a challenge for the guys to make vintage recipes while Max tells us the history behind them.
It may take some extra creativity, but Mrs. Crocombe (The Victorian Way videos by English Heritage) would be another amazing one. Bonus points if the Sorted Lads put on some Victorian finery and head to Audley End!
I can't tell you how nice it is to see James back with the clan. I stumbled onto sorted foods because of James; and it was a sad day when I learned he was going to be moving on. A really sad day (and not in a creepy way). Truth be told, my Son died less than a year ago, and James' reminds me so much of my Son. His mannerisms; the way he stands, talks and as you all say, Grumpy... But I can tell, as you lads already know, James is a good man with a heart of gold. It's good to see you back.
The last gadget looks like an early version of what we would now call a poffertjespan. Very common to eat these in the Netherlands, some people might even have one of those newer pans at home. I've never had them crispy before, they should be thicker and soft like a mini pancake.
Isn't the poffertjespan concave, as in it is hollow? The difference seems to be that this pan is made up of a positive and a negative (one concave one convex), so the result is bound to be thinner. It might be possible to use this for poffertjes if kept open though.
@@annam.1705 oh I didn’t see it had a negative side. Yes a poffertjes pan would indeed be only hollow because you want them thick and fluffy. I watched it on my phone so didn’t see it that detailed.
I loved this episode. Ben and James together, not competing, just having fun. It was obvious that they both had a good time together. Two friends playing with cool old toys.
according to the earliest records yet discovered, the first known instance of the "Ben from Sortedfood is old" joke dates from 1652... wait, sorry 16:52 in the afternoon
Yeah that's what i was thinking. It would be perfect for trying to make small crispy biscuits. Especially when you have something with a higher sugar content to get that Maynard's reaction (browning) on the surface and actually display those patterns. Sugar cookies would be wonderful in that.
I really want to say it's a Japanese senbei maker seeing as once they finished cooking it was crispy with the added Sakura and ume plum flower patterns in the mold.
That iron makes 2 cookies. Each shell is one half, makes a round cookie filled with some cream, from what I can remember. You should have a competition with different batters and fillings, see what's best!
@@SortedFood it came from my aunt and tbh, why buy something when you’ve been given one for nothing 😂 I also have the weights in ounces and grams which is handy because maths isn’t my bag 🙈
Great to have some scales like that hanging around if you've got kids (not too small though). Makes cooking more fun. I used to have lots of fun weighing all kinds of stuff that was lying around.
Feeling my age here because when I took "cookery" at school in the 1960s, we used scales identical to those in the classroom kitchen. Very much a trip down memory lane for me.
I have my grandma’s iron skillet, it’s over 100 years old , I have her pastry blender and a metal spoon she wore the rounded edge off to a straight angle on one side from her stirring. I also have her Starter which is over 100 years old .
I'm pretty sure that the waffle iron was used to make "monaka", as it has Japanese motives in it, and I've seen some antique irons that are quite similar to this one. It was used to make the shelves of these traditional Japanese sweets.
My gran has one of those waffle irons, she's Dutch and usually makes a Speculaas spiced batter to go in. I can't remember the name she uses for it, but she got it from her mother (it has been in the family for years apparently). She has a few things that they brought with them during WW2 when they escaped and as a baking/cooking family many were those type of heirlooms.
The waffle iron is for making Dutch (mini) pancakes, called "poffertjes". Nowadays they are made on a cast iron countertop griddle with the indented semi circle moulds. The one you have is an old version for on an open flame.
The waffle/pancake iron looks like a earlier version of dutch "poffertjes". They are tiny pancakes, usually had with some butter and sprinkled with icing sugar.
only 4 at a time seems a waste, while the current ones do over a dozen depending on design you just have to flip them ? I did love the ones for grilled cheese when I was young.
I was thinking the exact same thing! Though to use the right batter for this, they'd need: buckwheat flour, flour, salt, sugar, dried yeast, lukewarm milk and eggs🧐
She doesn't really use it much anymore, but I think my mom has a fish kettle knocking about somewhere. Side note, her turkey roasting pan has a nearly identical built-in lifter (with the holes on the bottom and long folding handles). It makes handling the bird and subsequent gravy-making SO much easier.
My dad's favorite kitchen scale, literally the only one he has and the one I learned to bake my first cakes with, is older than I am (I'm 33) and of course NOT digital. It's not quite as old as the scale in this video, but it's made out of iron (and is therefore very heavy) and also uses a weight for measurement. It works a charm and it's basically indestructable. I've gone through more scales in 5 years than my father has in 40 years.
We love James. Brilliant, dry wit. Matches Ben's sassiness with his own. And he also apparently has more time to work out now that he's not filming with you guys, because his arms might be the tastiest thing on this channel in a long time. I mean squeezing the water out of the butter at 12:13... *le drool*
My grandma had that set of weighing scales! It brought back loads of memories seeing it, she’s still alive and I think it’s in our shed, will go and have a look tomorrow! Thank you!
the reason it took so long to make that butter is it was likely too cold. Room temp cream can be lightly whipped into butter in about a minute if you use your fingers. that's how they did it in the medieval period for just home scale butter making
Yep. Use room temperature double/thick cream and you get a good butter in mere minutes with less waste - and you can use the left over buttermilk to flavour pancakes, marinade chicken, etc.
I also think they started with Butter milk instead of heavy whipping cream, which makes the process longer. Because the butter milk has to turn to whipping cream first before in turns into butter.
@@poppy7599 I thought buttermilk was the leftover liquid in the process of making butter, so it’s a byproduct of making butter. I didn’t think you could make butter from butter milk?
@@poppy7599 I rewatched and the packet says double cream as far as I can tell. They do say they have buttermilk in the jar but that’s once the butter and buttermilk seem to have separated (I could of course be wrong though!)
I have seen people still using the vintage scale, and I have tried that scale too. However, it was not easy to use, so I'm impressed that James can measure that accurately.
Yeah, I agree. It reminds me of a type of Norwegian sweet bread called Goro, or it might just make the tiniest Krumkake's(curved cake, not crumb cake) ever! :D
my family (in the US) always made krumkake at the holidays when i was a kid in irons my great great grandparents brought from Norway when they emigrated, and I only learned recently that no one in Norway still makes them on irons/wrapping them up that way
@@kirab.2936 Well, technically not correct as I still have plenty of burn marks from making them(for some reason those irons tend to be really hot)! Even so, yeah been a few years since I last made any and almost no one does it. Really a shame when you think of it.
@@kirab.2936 There still are some families that do make them, but the big challenge is that the krumkake irons with the patterns and everything are stupid hard to find for some reason. I'm pretty sure the one we use is from the 60s or 70s.
Mike: "Some antique gadgets" James: "From when you were a boy! Is that joke still going on?" It's a seasonal thing. It comes around a few times a decade.
The waffle thing is used in Asian cooking to make little filled motchi cookie type things. Similar to the camp pies you can make while camping where you take either some dough or some bread and place it into two bread sized squares on the end of a stick that clamp together when you pull the handles together. You fill them with jelly or compote or whatever you want and make mini campfire pies. That’s what we always called them. I liked making a graham cracker crust (I guess it would be like a simple biscuit with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar in the UK) and then I put chocolate and marshmallows inside. Also would be cool to see basic snack made gourmet. Like s’mores with homemade marshmallows and chocolate etc.
As a Chef of (well about 18 years now..) it really gives me a smile to see you guys working together again, especially after a hard week or so of just trying to keep my team going. Your enthusiasm and interest keeps me inspired and I hope to have something like this with people I have worked with along the way.
For the butter churn you could have removed the rust by soaking it in vinegar, given it a good hard scrub and rinsed it off, it might have had some pitting but otherwise should have been completely functional and food safe.
I've used the waffle iron thing... It was used for making basically for making pancakes on a camp fire. first prop it up on rocks above or in the fire (best done with properly made fire for cooking) then just pour in the batter and gingerly put it back into the fire for a few moments until browned. the metal protects the batter from just burning and after a few tries its actually really simple way to make a nice campfire breakfast
It's only tangentially relevant, but as a Boy Scout in the US, we used to take on campouts a single compartment version of the waffle-cookie thing. You could put whatever you wanted (coldcuts, cheese) between two pieces of bread, clamp it in the device, stick it in the camp-fire, and pull out a 10cm diameter round hot sandwich crimped on the edges. We would also use it to make our own crispy PopTarts with jams. Honestly, I've never seen one in a store, though.
I worked in a traditional Gentleman's Outfitters (clothing shop) and one of their former shops has been a sweet shop before they got it. They found a large, old school sweet 'Balance' in the cellar and we had it on the main trousers table for 'interest' alongside a traditional Hat Stretcher, Clients loved playing with it!
Don’t get me wrong I’m not an expert, but aren’t they much deeper/rounder rather than thin and crispy? To get it like that I feel like the pan would have to not have that indent on one side
I thought the same when I saw it, but the other commenters are correct and the final product is different (poffertjes are fluffy/pillowy). Nu wil ik heel graag poffertjes -_-
@@ilanf2 Those were probably æbleskiver which translates to apple slices. Traditionally they were made with an apple slice in each but not anymore. They are mainly eaten around Christmas. From googling puffertjes they do look similar but it seems puffertjes are often a bit flat where æbleskiver are as round as possible. Don't know if they taste similar as I've only ever had æbleskiver.
The waffle iron reminds me of (Dutch) poffertjes (which literally translates to tiny puffs or tiny puffers), though the big difference is that poffertjes aren't pressed, they're more like small pancakes. We have pans specifically for making them, usually big cast-iron numbers with round indents for the individual poffertjes.
This was so much fun! Old gadgets are the best! They all still work, they are made to last a lifetime, as opposed to new ones who are made to last 2 years at most. James made a brilliant entry! His humour is great. 'still, not as much fun as the scales' Well, now you know what to give him for his birthday 😹
Loved this episode. The antique scale and the butter churn are my absolute favorites. I would proudly display them in my kitchen. Yes, we’ve technically improved these products, but there is an elegance and ingenuity in these antique items that is priceless.
My Grandmother's hand crank egg beater is still in frequent use since she doesn't like to devote counter space to a heavy stand mixer. She bought it new in the 1950s, and it still works great and looks neat. I love these vintage/antique gadget videos. There are so many things that are actually really cool bits of kitchen engineering history.
Watching through this again and saw the scales! I use the exact same scales at home for baking. They might not be perfect but it gives a more human feel to baking rather than zeroing and tearing. Still work, still just as good as when I started 20 years ago.
@@danutagajewski3330 I watch partially for the butchering of other languages while speaking so confidently. It gives me a little chuckle everytime. Like the Paella video.
In pastry school, we had old school scales like this because "electronic scales are inaccurate" after graduating, I only used a manual scale at one job. Electronic scales do have a shorter lifespan though as a con.
Apologies, your story should be funny but it fills me with despair. A common house hold digital scale that measures from 1 kilograms to 1 microgram costs around 15€. Precision laboratory scales with glass wind cages in the same performance range with analytical accuracy validated by a measurement agency start from 100 €. Who was this dickensian wonder child in charge of the scales, and why was he allowed to teach such nonsense? *bashes head on a table*
@@emilwandel That is an excellent point. I mass production the mechanical scale would make sense. Nevertheless, an old uncoated set of counterweights and and scales would drift overtime due to chemical activity - mainly oxidization in the case of cast iron adding mass. So it would be, potentially, fair to call them precise, but not accurate. Modern coating would minimise that error, but a mechanical scale would still be more succeptible to human error due to weight distribution (counterweights and the piling of material). Granted, that shouldn't be an issue in mass baking.
The last gadget looks very much like a bratzeli iron! Bratzeli are Swiss wafer cookies. My great great grandparents immigrated to the US from Switzerland in the late 19th century, and we have one of these irons as a family heirloom
ITEM 4 - Some old churches will still have these in a cupboard, but theirs would press an 'IHS' pattern on them for use as communion hosts. Interestingly; a company in Belgium who'd previously made wafers on a large scale until the decline of religion decided to press two wafers together creating a pouch for sherbet. Thus, flying saucers (sweets/ candies) were invented! (and saved the business)
I started working at the bakery I manage now, 11 years ago and we used balance scales up until about 6 years ago when we got digital scales 😅 I have one of the old scales and a counter weight on my shelf at home now
We’ve got weighing scales similar to those at home. They were my granny’s and possibly my great granny’s 🤔. Although I now use digital scales, I’ve got great memories of using the traditional ones when I was a kid. James is right, it is very fun!
The ingredients for my first cooking experiments were all measured on that type of balance scales. The weights started from half ounce and went up to one pound - at least ours did. I found it so amusing watching them fawn over something as mundane as weighing scales but then I'm sure my son would find it just as primitive.
Being one of the youngest on the (on screen) team and yet being referred to as old. That joke never gets old. It’s like my youngest sister insisting on calling me her little sister because I’m shorter than her. 😂
the waffle iron thing looks like what we use to make "plättar" 100 year ago in sweden. they are basically a thin version of pancakes and are most commonly eaten with ligonberrys!
Love this! Especially the butter churn. 😄As I recall from Girl Scouts, making butter using the mason jar method takes about 30 to 40 minutes, and I had to hand it off every so often. These guys are amazing! Kind of sad you didn't do the 19th century apple peeler/slicer gadget though. There are modern versions being produced, but not many people use them and it would be fun to see an older one in action.
I used to have a vintage "pie iron" that we would make hand pies when camping. We would take buttered bread and pie filling or jam and putting buttered bread (butter side out on top and bottom) with fruit filling in middle, clamp shut and stick in campfire. Out came delicious late night desserts to accompany our fire cooked hot dogs (cooked on a stick or long fork).
Love to see James cook something in an old style kitchen with old style tools. Similar to Townsends but sorted version to give James a bit of the spotlight (ofc when he visits)
I hope James knows how happy we are to see him
He does 😁
yeah James personality adds perfectly to the other guys. Low patience but high on sarcasm
I'm like a kid at Christmas when I see he's back 😂
@@SortedFood Can't you, like, tie him up or something so he can't leave?
@@SortedFood Please bring him back more often! It’s such a joy to have the “old and whole” sorted bunch back!
I laughed so hard at the “It’s the coconut shredder all over again”. I was sure Ben was going to lose a limb in that video
"NOT WORTH IT"
James comes fighting straight out of the gate with the classic "Ben is ancient" joke. I love it
We’re glad he doesn’t hold back 😂
With Ben immediatly admitting he used the first antique gadget 😂
I’m 51 and Ebbers looks annoyingly young 😂
i wonder which would be willing to restore the butter churner
@@nicoluca_11 Ebbers
The waffle thing is actually still being use in at least Hong Kong and Japan for street snacks! You guys had the right idea, they usually put eggy batter into it, quickly cook on both side, in Japan, they would come out as a cookie kinda snack and in Hong Kong they would some times roll it while it’s still hot, into a cigar shape, and let it cool so it’s crispy/crunchy when you eat. my dad still has one and would randomly use it when he’s bored… lol
It reminded me of the toasty pie things we use in NZ/AUS, only smaller, that people take camping etc.
Your description of the Hong Kong snack reminds me of a Norwegian treat called krumkake (kroom-kaw-kuh). It's somewhere between a crepe and a waffle cone. In the upper Midwest US, it's commonly made during Christmas time.
there is also an african version that's a little spongy and then gets doused in sugar syrup, we made that for a 'food from around the world' festival thing for school once and someone who's family originated somewhere there had one.
I absolutely don't know any specifics though. That one had like, ripe wheat imprinted on it.
@@qienna6677 jaffa maker
Obleas are typical of Spain and Latin America! Communion wafers filled with dulce de leche. They may contain jam, cheese, fruits, whipped cream, or a combination of multiple fillings.
In Colombia, they are the size of a dinner plate with fun designs. Candied guava spread and sweet condensed milk is my favorite.
I love how James compares everything to the scales in terms of fun "not as fun as the scales.."
I agree with James "not as fun as the scales".
He's scaling things with the scale as a whole ;)
Was it also a fish pun?
@@c4tfish based on the context, I would say it wasn't
The new enjoyment measurement scale - how it compares to scales
James' pure joy at measuring things using the balance scale was adorable
James is just adorable period 😍
Gadget reviews just need James’ sassiness and Ben geeking out or being fearless with dangerous equipment.
The perfect combo.
Seconded. Shout out ben for being the most fearless of his friends. In the kitchen at least. (Dunno about his personal life.)
That pattern looks japanese, and considering how thin the “pancakes” came out, I want to guess that it is a japanese waifer iron to make those okashi waifer sandwich cookies that you then fill with redbean and mochi
I was thinking the same. The embossing looks to be either plum or cherry blossom. Perhaps it was used for making senbei rice crackers or dorayaki (sandwiched pancakes)
That does make much more sense. They seem way too small and thin to be eaten on their own like cookies or pancakes.
I like this theory, however consider the following: those types of Japanese filled pancakes are usually (modernly, to be fair) fried together. They first put the batter on the iron, then fill the batter and then they close the iron so that the two halves fuze together.
my theory is that its an early poffertjes iron made in the netherlands wich has quite a lot of exchange with japan
It looked like a cornbread maker. Used over a fire. Like a small cornbread muffin.
Lol, seeing this antiques episode has got my brain thinking.
We should make these guys do a pass it on but with antique gadgets. WOuld be nice to see them try to make something without an electric kettle, a giant ass tub and a weighing scale
Great idea 😂
Imagine Mike at the scales, Barry trying to make something excessively fancy in that fish pan and Jamie making bacon in the waffle iron.
That would be great
@@kilianortmann9979 bacon Pancakes
@@Sierraomega1991 YES!!
That scale is gorgeous and I loved Ben and James geeking out over it. I would be in on the bidding.
The waffle iron looks like a different version of a pizzelle press my dad has. He uses it to make Christmas cookies, which have a waffle like texture. Love them!
Was going to say the same, they came in all sorts of different patterns. also they have different names in different countries like in Norway they are called krumkake & while still hot you fold them around a cone shaped mandrel to make little wafer cones which you could fill with things liked whipped cream. So it the chefs had stopped before they got butter they could've used the churn to make whipped cream for them.
I've seen the same thing for making sandwhiches as well, i think its a bit too old for that, but i mean it would work.
I was going to say the same. A pizzelle maker!
Brad Leone has a great video of him using one on the Bon Appetite youtube channel.
@@Getpojke here in the Netherlands we also eat those. Grandma always makes the best.
“Not nearly as fun as the scale” is gonna be the iconic line of James
So I like to think of James as a recurring character in a sitcom - it’s lovely to see him.
He’s our Lilith Sternin-Crane.
🤣🤣
I don't resize how much I miss James until he visits...lovely to see him again! Also, the contrast between James and Ben always gets me, James being the sort of laid back chill but undeniably knowledgeable chef and Ben, the know it all chef
James showing up is like a Ryan Reynolds cameo is an already good movie….magic
underrated comment!
you are so right
I grew up using a balance scale like this one (I’m 25), so I found it quite funny seeing it described as a piece of history! We have some family baking recipes that specifically call for an amount of ingredients based on the weight of other ingredients - I never even considered that it could be a less efficient method! I completely I agree that it’s good fun using it, and I continue to use it whenever I’m back home!
I don't go along with the idea the modern scale is better. Too much that can go wrong. And modern gadgets have a bad rep for messing up. But the metal weights will remain the same.
"We have some family baking recipes that specifically call for an amount of ingredients based on the weight of other ingredients" that seems like something which happens in baking e.g. for bread recipes "baker's ratios" define the weight of all ingredients relative to the amount of flour (by weight).
If it works, it works and really no need to change that at all. This will work under all conditions whilst with modern scales you could potentially run out of battery life. I have an old scale as well that I daily use, a springy one. But it works fine for me, so I'm not changing it.
A colab with tasting history with max Miller would be interesting. He does a lot of older historic recipes and ways of cooking.
I think the gang would have so much fun with Max & José. That could be a really fun episode, have a challenge for the guys to make vintage recipes while Max tells us the history behind them.
I also second this idea
Add in 'Ancient Recipes With Sohla' would be fun too! There is a colab between Max and Sohla over a fish sauce that was great!
yeeeees that would be amazing
It may take some extra creativity, but Mrs. Crocombe (The Victorian Way videos by English Heritage) would be another amazing one. Bonus points if the Sorted Lads put on some Victorian finery and head to Audley End!
I can't tell you how nice it is to see James back with the clan. I stumbled onto sorted foods because of James; and it was a sad day when I learned he was going to be moving on. A really sad day (and not in a creepy way). Truth be told, my Son died less than a year ago, and James' reminds me so much of my Son. His mannerisms; the way he stands, talks and as you all say, Grumpy... But I can tell, as you lads already know, James is a good man with a heart of gold. It's good to see you back.
James: From when you were a boy.
Ebbers: Indignant.
And just a few minutes later Ben states his parents still have a fish kettle. 😂
It's a family whose comfort food is fish pie.
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I had to appreciate the irony of the whole exchange.
The last gadget looks like an early version of what we would now call a poffertjespan. Very common to eat these in the Netherlands, some people might even have one of those newer pans at home. I've never had them crispy before, they should be thicker and soft like a mini pancake.
Yep, I agree
Isn't the poffertjespan concave, as in it is hollow? The difference seems to be that this pan is made up of a positive and a negative (one concave one convex), so the result is bound to be thinner. It might be possible to use this for poffertjes if kept open though.
I thought the same.
@@annam.1705 oh I didn’t see it had a negative side. Yes a poffertjes pan would indeed be only hollow because you want them thick and fluffy. I watched it on my phone so didn’t see it that detailed.
stroopwaffel are made this way too
James legit had PTSD flashbacks to the coconut shredder when Ebbers was playing around with the ripping hot waffle maker/waffle cattle branding iron 😂
I loved this episode. Ben and James together, not competing, just having fun. It was obvious that they both had a good time together. Two friends playing with cool old toys.
"Is that joke still going?"
For you, James, always.
Unlike Ben, that joke will never get old :D
according to the earliest records yet discovered, the first known instance of the "Ben from Sortedfood is old" joke dates from 1652... wait, sorry 16:52 in the afternoon
It’s so nice when James comes back. Please come back for more episodes!!!!
The "waffle iron" is a biscuit (cookie) pan. Came in various patterns some with, some without handles.
Yeah that's what i was thinking. It would be perfect for trying to make small crispy biscuits. Especially when you have something with a higher sugar content to get that Maynard's reaction (browning) on the surface and actually display those patterns. Sugar cookies would be wonderful in that.
We still use ours when camping. lol
I really want to say it's a Japanese senbei maker seeing as once they finished cooking it was crispy with the added Sakura and ume plum flower patterns in the mold.
@@alexsis1778 Just letting you know it is actually Maillard reaction and yes, it's a wonderful reaction making foods delicious!
I thought is was an old Dutch 'poffertjes' maker.
That iron makes 2 cookies. Each shell is one half, makes a round cookie filled with some cream, from what I can remember.
You should have a competition with different batters and fillings, see what's best!
haha, living for how much fun James had with the scales.
He REALLY liked those scales!
Love it when James comes back. Gives me the warm fuzzies. 🥰 Would love to hear how things are going in his new gig.
I still have a scale like that - it is used every day mostly because it’s too heavy to move so it sits out. Easier than grabbing the digital ones
LOVE this!
@@SortedFood it came from my aunt and tbh, why buy something when you’ve been given one for nothing 😂 I also have the weights in ounces and grams which is handy because maths isn’t my bag 🙈
Mine are hidden and not used but I do have a set
@@thepartnerincrime Barry is the same, I think
Great to have some scales like that hanging around if you've got kids (not too small though). Makes cooking more fun. I used to have lots of fun weighing all kinds of stuff that was lying around.
Feeling my age here because when I took "cookery" at school in the 1960s, we used scales identical to those in the classroom kitchen. Very much a trip down memory lane for me.
I have my grandma’s iron skillet, it’s over 100 years old , I have her pastry blender and a metal spoon she wore the rounded edge off to a straight angle on one side from her stirring.
I also have her Starter which is over 100 years old .
Wow, that’s actually incredible! It’s great that these items (and starters) can be passed down the family.
@@SortedFood looks like Tyrone will one day be inheriting all his dad’s kitchen paraphernalia… and an allotment/herb barrow? 🤣
Oef, no pressure on keeping it alive. But that is really cool.
James back in the videos is sooooo heartwarming
I'm pretty sure that the waffle iron was used to make "monaka", as it has Japanese motives in it, and I've seen some antique irons that are quite similar to this one. It was used to make the shelves of these traditional Japanese sweets.
Yeah defiantly monaka... the Sakura, Ume and Take leaf design is a bit of a give away as it is a traditional Japanese design.
@@damonrudkin7859 Exactly! 🤣
that's kind of what I think, the thinnes of the wafer suggest that plus the motifs on the piece.
It's Dutch, but the dutch where the first western country to have trade relations whit Japan
Yes! Our favorite sassy ginger came back for a visit! It's always enjoyable when Ben and James test gadgets together.
My gran has one of those waffle irons, she's Dutch and usually makes a Speculaas spiced batter to go in. I can't remember the name she uses for it, but she got it from her mother (it has been in the family for years apparently). She has a few things that they brought with them during WW2 when they escaped and as a baking/cooking family many were those type of heirlooms.
kniepertjes, oublie, or maybe ijzerkoek? They are traditional midwinter food in the north-east of the country, especially filled with cream.
@@BorghBorgh Grandma makes the best kniepertjes.
@@BorghBorgh Thank you so much 😃 Next time I get to have a phone call with her I'll ask her
The waffle iron is for making Dutch (mini) pancakes, called "poffertjes". Nowadays they are made on a cast iron countertop griddle with the indented semi circle moulds. The one you have is an old version for on an open flame.
The waffle/pancake iron looks like a earlier version of dutch "poffertjes". They are tiny pancakes, usually had with some butter and sprinkled with icing sugar.
It is exactly that.
Thanks for the clarification. Knew it wasn’t a pizzelle iron.
And the old irons Mike spoke about were to make stroopwaf(f)els
only 4 at a time seems a waste, while the current ones do over a dozen depending on design you just have to flip them ?
I did love the ones for grilled cheese when I was young.
I was thinking the exact same thing! Though to use the right batter for this, they'd need: buckwheat flour, flour, salt, sugar, dried yeast, lukewarm milk and eggs🧐
This time off was great for James! He's much more relaxed and cool.... And he's swolllllll
The fact Jaime verbally said "obvs" just made my day 😂 I use that to annoy my fiancee all the time! So glad to see the old group together for a bit!
James*
@@Missmethinksalot1 I 100% psyched myself into mixing them up. Had a feeling I would... Then accidentally did that 🤦 ty for catching
She doesn't really use it much anymore, but I think my mom has a fish kettle knocking about somewhere. Side note, her turkey roasting pan has a nearly identical built-in lifter (with the holes on the bottom and long folding handles). It makes handling the bird and subsequent gravy-making SO much easier.
More James! He has been sorely missed.
My dad's favorite kitchen scale, literally the only one he has and the one I learned to bake my first cakes with, is older than I am (I'm 33) and of course NOT digital. It's not quite as old as the scale in this video, but it's made out of iron (and is therefore very heavy) and also uses a weight for measurement. It works a charm and it's basically indestructable. I've gone through more scales in 5 years than my father has in 40 years.
I’m hoping for a pass it on classic equipment edition
This would be great.
We love James. Brilliant, dry wit. Matches Ben's sassiness with his own. And he also apparently has more time to work out now that he's not filming with you guys, because his arms might be the tastiest thing on this channel in a long time. I mean squeezing the water out of the butter at 12:13... *le drool*
It’s been wonderful having James back!
My grandma had that set of weighing scales! It brought back loads of memories seeing it, she’s still alive and I think it’s in our shed, will go and have a look tomorrow! Thank you!
the reason it took so long to make that butter is it was likely too cold. Room temp cream can be lightly whipped into butter in about a minute if you use your fingers. that's how they did it in the medieval period for just home scale butter making
Yep. Use room temperature double/thick cream and you get a good butter in mere minutes with less waste - and you can use the left over buttermilk to flavour pancakes, marinade chicken, etc.
I also think they started with Butter milk instead of heavy whipping cream, which makes the process longer. Because the butter milk has to turn to whipping cream first before in turns into butter.
@@poppy7599 I thought buttermilk was the leftover liquid in the process of making butter, so it’s a byproduct of making butter. I didn’t think you could make butter from butter milk?
@@rebeccas2801 tbh that’s what I thought too. But I swear I heard the boys say they put buttermilk in the jar. Which was why I was surprised.
@@poppy7599 I rewatched and the packet says double cream as far as I can tell. They do say they have buttermilk in the jar but that’s once the butter and buttermilk seem to have separated (I could of course be wrong though!)
I have seen people still using the vintage scale, and I have tried that scale too. However, it was not easy to use, so I'm impressed that James can measure that accurately.
The last one seems like an old School way of making a Norwegian christmas baked good. At least we have used a similar tool for that!
Yeah, I agree. It reminds me of a type of Norwegian sweet bread called Goro, or it might just make the tiniest Krumkake's(curved cake, not crumb cake) ever! :D
@@drakologx5085 was thinking of krumkake yeah!
my family (in the US) always made krumkake at the holidays when i was a kid in irons my great great grandparents brought from Norway when they emigrated, and I only learned recently that no one in Norway still makes them on irons/wrapping them up that way
@@kirab.2936 Well, technically not correct as I still have plenty of burn marks from making them(for some reason those irons tend to be really hot)! Even so, yeah been a few years since I last made any and almost no one does it. Really a shame when you think of it.
@@kirab.2936 There still are some families that do make them, but the big challenge is that the krumkake irons with the patterns and everything are stupid hard to find for some reason. I'm pretty sure the one we use is from the 60s or 70s.
Mike: "Some antique gadgets"
James: "From when you were a boy! Is that joke still going on?"
It's a seasonal thing. It comes around a few times a decade.
James was always my favorite. Always nice to see him back
Ohhh, how I missed James on the Gadget Review videos! I love his reactions!
Loving the horror at eyeballing the bicarb!!! Also, super glad to see James nipping in for a visit!
The waffle thing is used in Asian cooking to make little filled motchi cookie type things. Similar to the camp pies you can make while camping where you take either some dough or some bread and place it into two bread sized squares on the end of a stick that clamp together when you pull the handles together. You fill them with jelly or compote or whatever you want and make mini campfire pies. That’s what we always called them. I liked making a graham cracker crust (I guess it would be like a simple biscuit with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar in the UK) and then I put chocolate and marshmallows inside. Also would be cool to see basic snack made gourmet. Like s’mores with homemade marshmallows and chocolate etc.
As a Chef of (well about 18 years now..) it really gives me a smile to see you guys working together again, especially after a hard week or so of just trying to keep my team going. Your enthusiasm and interest keeps me inspired and I hope to have something like this with people I have worked with along the way.
Love seeing James back in the mix!
For the butter churn you could have removed the rust by soaking it in vinegar, given it a good hard scrub and rinsed it off, it might have had some pitting but otherwise should have been completely functional and food safe.
I've used the waffle iron thing... It was used for making basically for making pancakes on a camp fire. first prop it up on rocks above or in the fire (best done with properly made fire for cooking) then just pour in the batter and gingerly put it back into the fire for a few moments until browned. the metal protects the batter from just burning and after a few tries its actually really simple way to make a nice campfire breakfast
It’s nice to see James shows such a delight in these things it’s under watch him especially when he’s picking on him it’s just too good.
It's only tangentially relevant, but as a Boy Scout in the US, we used to take on campouts a single compartment version of the waffle-cookie thing. You could put whatever you wanted (coldcuts, cheese) between two pieces of bread, clamp it in the device, stick it in the camp-fire, and pull out a 10cm diameter round hot sandwich crimped on the edges. We would also use it to make our own crispy PopTarts with jams. Honestly, I've never seen one in a store, though.
Love watching James. I'll never miss a video with him in it.
LOVE the scales!!! Where I grew up, street vendors still use these to weigh fruits, veg, legumes, nuts…pretty much everything!
Hear me out. Normals cooking from Le Repertoire de La Cuisine, but they can only use older gadgets/tools and old methods.
I very much appreciate the background of the antiques being added.
Goodness, I’ve missed James. I’m so glad he comes for visits.
I worked in a traditional Gentleman's Outfitters (clothing shop) and one of their former shops has been a sweet shop before they got it. They found a large, old school sweet 'Balance' in the cellar and we had it on the main trousers table for 'interest' alongside a traditional Hat Stretcher, Clients loved playing with it!
This really looks like what we call in the Netherlands 'poffertjes', they still sell them fresh in some street markets with some powdered sugar😊
Don’t get me wrong I’m not an expert, but aren’t they much deeper/rounder rather than thin and crispy? To get it like that I feel like the pan would have to not have that indent on one side
Poffetjes are biconvex though whereas these things are concavo-convex. Notice the shapes in the top go inward not outward
I thought the same when I saw it, but the other commenters are correct and the final product is different (poffertjes are fluffy/pillowy).
Nu wil ik heel graag poffertjes -_-
Are they sold too in Denmark?
I remember visiting a "danish" town in California that sold those things.
@@ilanf2 Those were probably æbleskiver which translates to apple slices. Traditionally they were made with an apple slice in each but not anymore. They are mainly eaten around Christmas. From googling puffertjes they do look similar but it seems puffertjes are often a bit flat where æbleskiver are as round as possible. Don't know if they taste similar as I've only ever had æbleskiver.
The waffle iron reminds me of (Dutch) poffertjes (which literally translates to tiny puffs or tiny puffers), though the big difference is that poffertjes aren't pressed, they're more like small pancakes. We have pans specifically for making them, usually big cast-iron numbers with round indents for the individual poffertjes.
2:05 wow Ben continually proving james' comment earlier about ben being ancient 😂. Knew the exact name and such. you go grandad
This was so much fun! Old gadgets are the best! They all still work, they are made to last a lifetime, as opposed to new ones who are made to last 2 years at most. James made a brilliant entry! His humour is great. 'still, not as much fun as the scales'
Well, now you know what to give him for his birthday 😹
That waffle iron was probably used for either christmas wafers (which you can find in poland for example) or holy communion wafers
Loved this episode. The antique scale and the butter churn are my absolute favorites. I would proudly display them in my kitchen. Yes, we’ve technically improved these products, but there is an elegance and ingenuity in these antique items that is priceless.
My Grandmother's hand crank egg beater is still in frequent use since she doesn't like to devote counter space to a heavy stand mixer. She bought it new in the 1950s, and it still works great and looks neat. I love these vintage/antique gadget videos. There are so many things that are actually really cool bits of kitchen engineering history.
Watching through this again and saw the scales! I use the exact same scales at home for baking. They might not be perfect but it gives a more human feel to baking rather than zeroing and tearing. Still work, still just as good as when I started 20 years ago.
The confidence from Mike saying "poissonnière" at 1:16 is through the roof! 😂
My first thought when I heard Mike say, "poissonnière": Finally! Someone on Sorted who can pronounce a foreign term correctly!
@@danutagajewski3330 I watch partially for the butchering of other languages while speaking so confidently. It gives me a little chuckle everytime. Like the Paella video.
Fully convinced chef Ben Ebbrell is my spirit animal. Making knowledge annoyingly cool 1 video at a time.
In pastry school, we had old school scales like this because "electronic scales are inaccurate" after graduating, I only used a manual scale at one job. Electronic scales do have a shorter lifespan though as a con.
Apologies, your story should be funny but it fills me with despair. A common house hold digital scale that measures from 1 kilograms to 1 microgram costs around 15€. Precision laboratory scales with glass wind cages in the same performance range with analytical accuracy validated by a measurement agency start from 100 €.
Who was this dickensian wonder child in charge of the scales, and why was he allowed to teach such nonsense?
*bashes head on a table*
@@emilwandel That is an excellent point. I mass production the mechanical scale would make sense. Nevertheless, an old uncoated set of counterweights and and scales would drift overtime due to chemical activity - mainly oxidization in the case of cast iron adding mass. So it would be, potentially, fair to call them precise, but not accurate. Modern coating would minimise that error, but a mechanical scale would still be more succeptible to human error due to weight distribution (counterweights and the piling of material). Granted, that shouldn't be an issue in mass baking.
The last gadget looks very much like a bratzeli iron! Bratzeli are Swiss wafer cookies. My great great grandparents immigrated to the US from Switzerland in the late 19th century, and we have one of these irons as a family heirloom
ITEM 4 - Some old churches will still have these in a cupboard, but theirs would press an 'IHS' pattern on them for use as communion hosts. Interestingly; a company in Belgium who'd previously made wafers on a large scale until the decline of religion decided to press two wafers together creating a pouch for sherbet. Thus, flying saucers (sweets/ candies) were invented! (and saved the business)
I am loving your history-oriented content! I just finished a PhD on Scottish recipe books, and it's fun (and terrifying) to see the tools being used.
I'm loving the regular James videos. He's great.
I started working at the bakery I manage now, 11 years ago and we used balance scales up until about 6 years ago when we got digital scales 😅 I have one of the old scales and a counter weight on my shelf at home now
always up for a james episode. love it when hes back
I love Ben's face after he "unintentionally" blurts out a benuendo @ 11:28 🤣
Those antiques actually look really cool! Could use that equipment as a Pass It On challenge! xD
I’d love to see them review other cultures kitchen gadgets and antiques! Loved the video
"It looks cool but I'll never be using them"
Waiting for this to bite James on the arse with the inevitable Pass It On - antique gadgets episode
We’ve got weighing scales similar to those at home. They were my granny’s and possibly my great granny’s 🤔. Although I now use digital scales, I’ve got great memories of using the traditional ones when I was a kid. James is right, it is very fun!
The ingredients for my first cooking experiments were all measured on that type of balance scales. The weights started from half ounce and went up to one pound - at least ours did. I found it so amusing watching them fawn over something as mundane as weighing scales but then I'm sure my son would find it just as primitive.
I'm from switzerland and my grandmother has a very similar waffel iron and used to make bricelets ,also called bretzeli, with it.
Being one of the youngest on the (on screen) team and yet being referred to as old. That joke never gets old.
It’s like my youngest sister insisting on calling me her little sister because I’m shorter than her. 😂
James is actually the youngest.
the waffle iron thing looks like what we use to make "plättar" 100 year ago in sweden. they are basically a thin version of pancakes and are most commonly eaten with ligonberrys!
strange video idea but i would love a behind the scenes tour of the studio I think that would be so cool. keep up the good work guys
Love this! Especially the butter churn. 😄As I recall from Girl Scouts, making butter using the mason jar method takes about 30 to 40 minutes, and I had to hand it off every so often. These guys are amazing! Kind of sad you didn't do the 19th century apple peeler/slicer gadget though. There are modern versions being produced, but not many people use them and it would be fun to see an older one in action.
I would love to see a cooking challenge between these two where they can only use old fashioned cooking tools from different eras.
I used to have a vintage "pie iron" that we would make hand pies when camping. We would take buttered bread and pie filling or jam and putting buttered bread (butter side out on top and bottom) with fruit filling in middle, clamp shut and stick in campfire. Out came delicious late night desserts to accompany our fire cooked hot dogs (cooked on a stick or long fork).
I would love to see the guys make a recipe from the old cookbook using tools they had at the time
i think this is one of my new favorite sorted videos, it's so interesting to see these historic items and absolutely lovely to see james again!!
I believe the waffle iron tool is actually a tool to make Osenbei (Japanese rice crackers) Thank you for such a fun content!
Love to see James cook something in an old style kitchen with old style tools. Similar to Townsends but sorted version to give James a bit of the spotlight (ofc when he visits)