Vintage in the Kitchen: Ice pick

ice pick

kitchen utensil not a climbing tool

Many of the items in my kitchen are vintage. I have always been too parsimonious to replace hand-me-down items with brand-spanking new ones. I AM CHEAP. Now, besides being parsimonious, I realize the antique value, and I am extremely sentimental.  My mother gave me this ice pick when I married in 1966. It was old when she gave it to me. Goodell still makes these, but I am not sure if they are made in the USA. According to the embossed metal, this is Made in USA. Even though some look like this, they are not exactly like it.

Yesterday, I used this to make holes in  a plastic container. My icepick comes in handy at least weekly. In the past I used it on ice. I froze a big pan of ice and chipped away until I had glass-sized pieces. No, I did not have ice trays when I married.

When I was a child, we had a refrigerator that used a huge chunk of ice in the bottom.  Mama could chip off ice for our tea--unsweetened in our household. We may be Southern, but sugar was not part of our iced tea. Most of my life, my mother or I or Daddy chipped up ice for cooling drinks. We froze ice in a loaf pan and then reduced it in a bowl in the sink, chipping away until it was just the right size.

Notice the design, how hand-friendly it is. Many ice picks now are straight, not fitting the contours of a hand. I can only imagine how the design hurts the hand that has to expend great force in the task of ice chipping.

When I was 14, I made formula for my baby brother from Pet Milk. I used the ice pick to make two holes, one on each side of the top in order to pour the milk. That memory is vivid because, although I did not mind making formula, I hated the smell of Pet Milk.

Your turn

Did you ever have a refrigerator that used a chunk of ice for cooling? Do you have an icepick? Old or new? What is your opinion of ice picks?