answers

So, my new little game, “What the Heck is That?!?” proved to be quite pop-pop-popular! That makes me happy! And I learned a few things from it…

Firstly, I need to make it harder and get even more “close up” with my photos.

Patti, who was the first to place her guesses (within 8 minutes of the post going up) got the first two correct, right off the bat!

My daughter’s memory isn’t as good as I thought. FYI, Maris – all these items are in the glass-front cabinet over the kitchen desk. I was sure you would remember “smelly” item #3!

Some of you were very “creative” in your guesses. Which I LIKE! Such as, “a carved something or other.”  Um, yeah, that’s vaguely correct and yet, so wrong!

And no, Sara, I do not sew – not even a little bit!

Oh, and yes, that is a close-up of red cabbage as my intro photo today – SWEET!

“What the Heck is That?!?” Round One – “Textures” The Answers

Item #1

This is a Springerle rolling pin.

Springerle is a type of German cookie/biscuit with an embossed design made by pressing a rolling pin or a mold onto rolled dough and allowing the impression to dry for 24 hours before baking. This preserves the pattern details. They are most commonly seen during the Christmas season.

Springerle molds and rolling pins were first made in German-speaking Europe; mainly  Germany, Switzerland, and parts of France. The first designs for molds were created from clay in about the 14th century.

The name springerle means “little jumper” or “little knight” because the cookies puff or jump up.

Here are three cool sites to visit if you want more details, history, recipes, or just want to look at some of the beautiful molds and pins.

Admire or purchase Springerle molds and pins
MORE than you would ever want to know about Springerle
A really wonderful blog post about a day full of Springerle baking

Item #2

So many of you guessed this correctly that I really needed to get closer up in the photo or maybe not have chosen the mold with the cow imprint on it!  (cow = butter!) It is a hinged wooden butter mold.

I actually own two of these. This one, with the cow carving, holds 1 pound of butter. And the smaller one, with a flower carving, holds just over a stick or quarter pound of butter.  I molded a stick for you to admire… but that didn’t turn out quite as well as I expected. 

I placed the softened butter in the mold… looking good. Then into the refrigerator, overnight. In the morning I open the little latch on the mold. Oh no, butter is sticking, not good!

Then I dig and pry at the butter, trying to get it off the bottom imprinted side of the mold.

Shoot, not so pretty!  So, now I go online to research and find that all I needed to do was insert the dry and assembled mold into a freezer for 30-40 minutes. Remove and fill with softened butter. Return to the freezer for another 50 minutes. Carefully open the mold and delicately remove the pretty frozen butter.  OK, I’ll do that next time!

I purchased both of my molds in France, but I found similar ones on Amazon.  Oh, and by the way, I did not pay these American high prices!

Item #3 – look very closely at each individual little piece…

It is a little clove box. 

All of you, except my sister – who gave it to me, guessed that it was a wicker basket of one sort or another, but it is actually a sweet little hexagon box made completely from whole cloves, woven tightly together.  I’ve had it for more than 12 years and believe it or not, it is still fragrant! I especially adore the little bent clove handle on the lid. You can find them online. Just Google “clove box”, and you’ll find several shapes and sizes, although most I found have cinnamon stick handles.  Thank you, Sloane, for giving it to me… a gift I still love!

I’m excited for our next round of the game.  I hope even more of you will play and many many thanks to all of you who played this time!  If I had to name a winner, it would be Patti. Yay Patti!!! Awesome job, everyone! Though, round two is going to be tougher, much tougher!  xoxo