Just about everyone I know has one (or more) of these expanding-mesh wire baskets in their kitchen. I see them for sale in discount and dollar stores, at church rummage sales, and tag sales. Sometimes, the baskets have a slightly hooked steel bar on the bottom, just like this Mouli branded basket does. (Hooking the handles onto that bar provides a support frame that lets the basket stand up on a tabletop without having to hang on to the handles. The cheap ones don't have this feature.)These baskets truly are multi-purpose; when my daughter was little, she would bring one out to the henhouse to collect eggs (and my wife Maryanne always calls this kind of basket an "egg basket.") Some friends of ours in France call theirs a "salad basket:" they fill the basket with greens and hold it under running water to rinse them, then shake hell out it to help dry them for dinner. And another friend on the coast uses one as a basket for steaming clams.
Anyway, in all the years I've seen these baskets, I've never seen one in the original box, so when I found this one at a rummage sale recently, I grabbed it. I love the little Mouli chef logo. And in the spring when we get new hens, I'll probably use it like I've used all the others - collecting eggs.
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2 comments:
Awesome! I totally remember these. My mom had a bunch when we were growing up. I wonder why/how they got phased out...seems like a good addition to any kitchen.
I've never seen such a thing! And I spend a lot of time at dollar stores and garage sales.
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