In recent years, there's been a large push to ditch extra kitchen items you might not need and to truly love the items you use on a regular basis. Now I'm all for paring down, but that doesn't mean I don't hoard wooden spoons or vintage dish towels with the best of them! What about you?
Over recent years I've found great freedom in not hoarding things in my kitchen. It used to be a thing right after I was married: it felt grownup to keep collecting more and more things. Utensils, canisters, bowls, you name it — that's what grownups do right?
People collect things for several reasons. More often than not it's for nostalgic purposes. Maybe your grandmother had a certain type of china in her kitchen and it gives you warm fuzzies to keep the same pieces in your home. Maybe your mom always used wooden spoons and you love the way they drag on the bottom of a pan when cooking. For others it's design, function or just the sheer joy of collecting that drives them.
What do you collect in your kitchen and why? Share your obsessions, big or small, in the comments below!
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We've started a collection of mismatched dinner plates! Every time I go to an antique store (or simply a shop where buying a whole cupboard worth of plates would be cost prohibitive), I find a new treasure. We keep the color palette simple - blues and browns - but it's turning into a real hobby.
I'm not sure I'm going to make this a collection, but I purchased a photograph of Julia Child on her set with her facing the camera while a crew of people sit behind her on the floor with scripts and waiting for plates of food. It hangs prominently in my kitchen
Woodenwares, especially olive wood.
My collection is rather utilitarian... I add to my spice collection whenever I am on a trip! I collect Olive Oils or salts too, if we visit a place that is known for it's wines or beers I'll pick those up instead of mugs, spoons or knick-knacks. I know my collection won't last forever, and that's part of it! This way, it doesn't become clutter in our kitchen cabinets, we can remember our trip, enjoy a good addition to a meal, and appreciate products from specific places.
Wooden spoons and cast iron pots.
CopperClad RevereWare
My niece gave me three silicone spatulas last year for Xmas. I would never have bought these for myself, but I use them every single day. Talk about enabling "Waste not, want not"! They will get every last ounce of cake batter, pasta with cheese that sticks to the pan, and oatmeal (ditto) out with no effort whatsoever.
Otherwise I collect some small things that actually work, like a teeny tiny (2" diameter) cast iron frying pan.
This sounds like such a good idea! Right now I have really plain, boring dishes but I'm too much of a chicken to commit to a pattern. Plus I could get only the pieces I need! Brilliant. Thanks!
Lemon reamers! Especially glass and ceramic lemon reamers. My family and friends know of my obsession with them and are sweet enough get me one should they see one.
Pretty vintage glasses - we can never have enough because ours always get broken (we're very clumsy). Also, I look out for and hold onto antique kitchen tools because they get the job done well, and some specialist items are are hard to find nowadays - for example, where would you find a 'manche à gigot' (a device that holds a leg of lamb for carving)?
Large serving dishes/platters - I look for antique/vintage ones off Ebay, cheaper and prettier than new ones.
Vintage Pyrex and interesting bowls of all sizes- amazingly, I use all of it. I love color, and my mismatched and brightly colored kitchen makes me very, very happy.
definitely a sucker for mugs.
vintage mason jars: I just counted about 50 in the kitchen full of dry beans, nuts & seeds, flours, olive oil, bacon grease... not to mention the ones in the cold room full (and empty from) canning tomatoes & jam!
At the moment, vintage and earthenware mugs. I am such a sucker for handmade mugs!
I love whisks, all types. I have a lovely assortment of balloon whisks, roux whisks, the virtually straight ones that reach just right into the pan.
Whisks! So weird, I know, but I love them. I've got about 10 of them, way more than I could ever use at one time, but I'm stil always on the lookout for more.
teapots. There are about 17 in the kitchen right now, mostly for display, 5 in regular rotation
vintage pyrex! it is pretty and functional and generates a lot of excitement when i find it at the thrift store!
When I travel, I like to pick up traditional, utilitarian items for my kitchen. I bought little olive wood cutting boards in Bellagio, Italy; small copper, silver, and bronze spice grinders from Antalya, Turkey. I brought many beautiful, functional vintage pieces from our time in Germany. And I have also ordered a traditional German fermentation crock online-- I love the beauty of functional items in my kitchen. Somehow, I feel like it honors past traditional foodways, and I like brining that into my kitchen and daily cooking.
Here's a post showing the souvenirs I brought home form Turkey at this time last year:
http://and-here-we-are.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/tangible-memories-souvenirs-from-turkey.html
Egg cups.
Bowls of all kinds. Pyrex dishes and bakeware. Specialty bakeware like bundt pans and madeleine pans. I am seriously running out of room, though.
I have collected many things over the years (mugs, dishtowels, bowls), but I'm out of room. I do still occasionally slip in another dishtowel, but that's it.
Wooden utensils. I can't get enough of them.
Vintage Rosti Kitchen Utensils and bowls. The vintage Rosti colors are so bright and beautiful :)
Vintage Pyrex and olive wood spoons.
Chopsticks!! I don't have them in the kitchen and rarely use them (I have other ones for common use) but they are so pretty ^_^, even though is hard to find pretty/interesting ones must of the time (at least where I have access or know were to search now).