I was near my favorite thrift store earlier in the week and found a few gems a few tarnished utensils.
I got all eight pieces for two bucks.
Apparently the only thing you can get for a quarter anymore is a old dirty fork, and I’m thinking they will be perfect in photos with some dark wood.
Or with this
I love the spoons.
Especially the one in the middle with the open spaces in the handle.
It reminds me of something my grandma would have used to stir her coffee.
Or something I can use to dig out mouthfuls of a Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Mug Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Glaze
My big score was this 5 dollar sifter with the turn-crank handle and wooden knob.
Too bad I never ever sift flour. Nor does Christina Tosi so I don’t feel too bad.
It feels so old-fashioned turning that crank.
Makes me almost contemplate sifting just to put this sifter to use. Almost.
The retro-chic of it was just too cute for me to pass up.
Between the tarnished silverware and the vintage sifter, I felt like I hit the 1950s jackpot and may make June Cleaver jealous. It was the best 7 dollars I’ve spent all month.
Okay, well, the best 7 dollars I’ve spent all month was on ingredients to make these.
Do you sift your flour?
I don’t sift because the flour most of us buy is pre-sifted. If there happens to be a little lump, gently tossing the flour in the bag will break it up.
I also give the bag a little tossing and jostling before I measure my flour to make sure it hasn’t compacted and is a little bit fluffed up. “As flour sits, it slowly settles, becoming more compacted. A cup of sifted flour may weigh 20% – 25% less than a cup of flour that has settled. This difference can significantly affect the results, making breads and cakes more dense.”
Also important to remember from here: A recipe that asks for, say, “one cup of flour, sifted” will use more flour than one that asks for “one cup of sifted flour”. In the first instance, the flour is measured prior to sifting, while in the second it is sifted first then measured.
But let’s face it, the less steps and dishes dirtied in the baking process, the better, which is why I don’t sift. Nothing I am making is so ultra-precise that I’ve found it matters when cooking at home for just myself and my family. Many websites suggest sifting is an antiquated practice rarely used anymore, but maybe I will do some side-by-side recipe tests to see if my results vary dramatically.
I also recently did a post comparing different types of all-purpose flour.
Have you found anything fun at the thrift store lately?
Or anything cute or fun in general?
Have a great weekend and thanks for the Lemon and Orange NuNaturals Stevia Giveaway entries
I only sift flour if the recipe says too … but even then sometimes I don’t.
Such pretty finds, now I want to check out our thrift stores! And great recipe inspiration. I’m not a flour sifter, especially since I rarely bake. But I remember my mom using one as a kid. My life has been pretty boring the last few weeks – running and work. :-P But good weather is on the way … I hope.
Do I sift flour? Um…no. I absolutely love to bake for my family, but my recipes and the recipes I prepare are the Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am type! ;-)
Loving the sweet little finds you scored! That spoon with the beautiful tear drop openings will be perfect for your photography!
I’m of the wham bam mentality with recipes, too. It’s for my..family. Not cooking for Emeril or anything :)
That’s a great tip and interesting semantic point–“flour, sifted” versus “sifted flour!”
I love the spoon and fork with the open spaces in the handles too!
Yes and the same could be 1 cup melted butter or 1 cup butter, melted. I never really paid that much attn to the subtleties until a few years ago but they are important!
So with you re the sifting…I have silver going back 200 years – but it only counts if the shot of food is good.
Your collection goes back 200 years?! Amazing, Liz!
I have a strange obsession with little spoons. I love to eat my desserts with it. Your silverware are so pretty. I want to go to a thrift store to see if I can find any. I do sift my flour when called for, but I use my strainer to do it, maybe it’s suppose to be used as a sifter? I don’t know, but it works! :)
Have a great weekend!!!!
keep on doing whatever you’re doing..it’s obvi working!
Hahaha! What a fun coincidence! I got another day a set of forks and knives at the local thrift store too! I love those places, to me it’s not just a stuff, it’s a story that each piece tells me. It’s like a museum of history but down to earth…:)
Yes, I do sift the flour. Grandma did it, mother does it, and I do it, i guess just out of tradition?! A ritual?! I use different sifter though. I really love the turquoise plates you found some time ago. My favorite color!
this is so true and I agree 100%
“to me it’s not just a stuff, it’s a story that each piece tells me. It’s like a museum of history but down to earth”
I put my flour through a sieve, especially if I am adding baking soda. I keep my flour in the freezer and I swear that makes it clump more easily so I find sifting necessary. I have a sifter, but for some reason I use the sieve instead. No rhyme nor reason to it…
What I really love about the spoon with the holes in the handle is the beautiful shape of the spoon part (I’m not sure what the word for that is!). It is beautifully and gracefully contoured.
I don’t sift but I stir the flour around and try to pour it gently into the measuring cup so as not to have it be too dense. My mom was a strict sifter, though!
I loved that part, too!
I love, love, love your photography! I oogle over it almost daily! Just thought you should know…:)
Awww, thank you! That’s the highest compliment someone could pay me. THANK YOU!
If we ever meet up! We are thrifting!! Great finds. I just got a cute dress at old navy
You know it girl!
That spoon is so fancy, I makes me want to go look for similar ones. pprreettttyy.
I don’t sift anything, I just can’t bring myself to spend the extra tiime using it and then cleaning…. I have never had a problem with any baked goods, cakes, cookies, breads, etc.
Have a great weekend!
And until there’s a problem, why bother is my thought process!
That sifter is adorable! I haven’t sifted flour in ages…I think my mom used to require that when we would bake!
Mine too but I’ve found it to be pretty…unnecessary :)