Old-Fashioned yet Fashionable: The Granny Fork

Do you use a "granny fork"? To be honest, we really hadn't heard of this kitchen tool — at least not by that name — but it features prominently in Saveur's Top 100 List and Bon Appetit's list of the best kitchen gadgets of the year. It was a favorite tool of Julia Child's, and we all know how popular Julia and her kitchen have been this year!

The granny fork, or turning fork, appears to be a very multi-use tool. It stirs, it tosses, it pierces, it drains pasta. There are a couple different sorts, though; the fork pictured at top is really what we think of as a granny fork. It's basically like a spoon with a fringed end.

Bon Appetit, in their roundup of favorite tools from the past year, says, "Julia Child loved this tool, and it's easy to see why. It costs less than $10 and it does a multitude of things from stirring to serving."

Sometimes you will find more pointed forks, like the one directly above, called a granny fork. But we would probably distinguish it as a turning fork.

Do you use one or both of these old-fashioned yet very useful tools?

(Images: Amazon; Andre Baranowski)

Comments (12)

Wow, no idea this was called a granny fork. My Mom has her mother's and it's basically the gravy-maker. Essential item for making gravy. Which of her 5 children will get it passed down to them remains to be seen! :)

There is a big difference from the one you have above and the second picture. What you have at the very top is what I would call a Foley Fork. It is a loved kitchen tool by many bakers and I think has its origin in Scandinavia as it is most easily found in the midwest of the USA. Some people also call them blending forks. I much prefer these names to the Granny Fork. I personally have one and have given many to my friends after they pass my pie baking course. It is much better for pastry than most pastry blenders and better for mashed potatoes than most mashers. Really- I can't think of anything better!

Can anyone tell me where the fork in the 2nd photo is from? Thanks!

DC Sarah, that was the photo in the Saveur note. They don't list any source, unfortunately. I think the stamp on it reads Lamsonsharp, though.

I have one of the turning style forks, which I didn't initially use too much, since I use tongs for turning and don't eat meat so don't need it to carve. However, back in my restaurant days, I worked for a time at Carrabba's. If you haven't been there, the cooks all work on a 10 burner line with a constant stream of various pasta dishes being sauced, tossed and served. They had a trick of taping a spatula and a turning fork together in a way that left you with a two-ended pasta cooking super tool. After recalling that, I started using my fork for mixing all noodle dishes, and find that it's the easiest way to evenly distribute the sauce and veggies.

I work for the company that produces Saveur, I can ask them!

Quick google search found this for you https://store.lamsonsharp.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=56_32&products_id=639&osCsid=9353dbaae5ce5c8141ed69bc63125ced

thanks guys! guess I should have tried a google search too-apparently today is lazy friday :)

I HEART the granny fork. I have a red silicone coated one from King Arthur baking. best tool ever for mixing up stuff like meatballs or pot sticker stuffing

I grew up using a Foley Fork and consider it an essential kitchen tool. Great for quick breads, pancakes, that don't really need an electric mixer. Or for stirring up cookies, mixing kool aide, etc. etc.

The name Foley came from the company that produced them. The Foley company made many wonderful kitchen items. The Foley food mill and the Foley fork kept the company name for some reason. They went out of business sometime in the late 80's or early 90's, I'd guess. Since then I have only been able to find replacements that are similar to the one you pictured made by Norpro. The tines on this version are not angled exactly the same as the original Foley fork.

And what you called the turning fork, is the classic granny fork made by various companies back in the day. It had a wooden handle so that it wouldn't over heat while you turned your meat in the hot skillet. I have a version with shorter tines in my kitchen drawer, just like my Mom did, and her Mom did. FYI - I'm a baby boomer kid -- born in the early 50's.

I forgot the best use for the Foley (granny) fork. Cutting shortening into flour for pie dough or biscuits. I don't own a pastry cutter.

I use a fork like the second one when I brown ground meat. It's how I grew up, so I thought everyone did it that way. My husband still thinks I'm weird for using it instead of a spatula.