KitchenTreasures

Nell Joslin, 61, of Raleigh, wrote about the electric mixer that belonged to her grandmother, Annie Hinsdale Joslin.My grandmother was a wonderful, old-fashioned cook. She was born in the Dodd-Hinsdale house (now the Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern). During the Great Depression, she owned the Tally-ho Inn, a restaurant at the corner of Hargett and Fayetteville streets. When I was 13, my mother was hospitalized for several months, and Grandmother came to stay with us. Her presence was one of the great blessings of my early life. She taught me the secrets of her signature chocolate cake and coffee mousse, our family’s holiday favorite, all using her magical electric mixer. Today, this same mixer still works the same magic for the same recipes that Grandmother taught me.

Clay baking molds

Juicing machine

Molly Johnson Weston

LaDonna Overcash of Raleigh wrote about the lime squeezer owned by her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Overcash. My home is filled with many things from my mother-in-law’s home, and each one brings special memories for my family. This object was pulled out the other day as my husband and I were trying to make Moscow Mules. We could not find a good tool to squeeze limes. He quickly found this object in an upper cabinet, and I did not even know was there. We sipped on our drinks and spoke of Lib, a Texas rose who was brought to North Carolina after World War II by my husband’s dad.

Catherine Chitty Pike, 56, of New Bern, wrote about the gift of a full recipe box from her grandmother, Caroline W. Railey.My grandma’s recipes are my greatest treasures. She was a beautiful country lady who lost her mother at the age of 16. She was the oldest of five and quickly learned to keep house, treat boo-boos and cook. As those recipes became tattered and torn with use, Grandma recopied each one and created a set for each of her six granddaughters and one grandson. The recipes are arranged in a small wooden box by category. They range from specialty pies, unforgettable potato salad, pickles, boiled and seasoned peanuts, fried chicken, fruit salads and our favorite, ambrosia. The recipe box stays in a hallowed space in my kitchen but most of all, in my heart.

Wooden recipe box

Vanessa J. Hardee, 56, of Dunn, wrote about the pot that her mother, Louise Stewart Jackson, used to make chicken pastry.My mother taught me how to cook. She was known for her made-from-scratch cakes and her chicken pastry. I have kept her famous pastry pot. Nothing fancy, just an old gray cast aluminum pot that is more than 50 years old. Whether it was for family reunions, church dinners, meals for bereaved families or Sunday lunch, the gray pot and her name were synonymous with “mouthwatering goodness.” Other pots of pastry would be on the table, but hers would empty first. The pot sits in my kitchen cabinet like a shrine – a reminder of delicious memories, courtesy of Louise.

Laura Ann Byrd, 50, of Raleigh, wrote about the rosette iron that belonged to her mother, Mary Ann East Hanson.My favorite heirloom kitchen tool is my mother’s rosette iron. I came from a family of nine and always looked forward to Sunday nights. Our family would watch “The Wonderful World of Disney” and Mom would make a special treat for us. Usually, it was popcorn. But as an extra special treat, Mom would make rosettes – thin and crispy fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar in the shape of snowflakes.My mom gave the rosette iron to me 10 or so years ago. She remembered how much I loved it when she made them. Since then, I have only made them a handful of times for my children, but one of my daughters absolutely loved them too. Sadly, she passed away at age 16 from leukemia. But thankfully, I am blessed with memories like this that are tattooed on my heart forever.

Peggy Riddle Hopson of Clayton wrote about the flour sifter that belonged to her grandmother, Leone Lewis.My grandmother was widowed at age 36 and lived alone in Raleigh most of her life. She cooked herself a full balanced meal each evening after work, along with one biscuit. My mother, Helen Riddle, asked why she didn’t cook a batch of biscuits and eat them all week. Grandmother replied, “Because if I cooked a batch of biscuits, I would want to eat more than one a day and I would get fat.” Her flour sifter sits proudly in her china cabinet in my house along with her one-cup ice cream churner.

Kitchen step stool

Greta S. Baron, 87, of Raleigh, wrote about the rolling pin that belonged to her grandmother, Vera Budnitsky.My grandmother’s rolling pin was kept in a cloth drawstring bag that she made for it when it was not being used to make her Russian and Polish pastries.I still have it, but sadly no longer make such labor-intensive delicacies. Her baking was famous and was requested for family celebrations, anniversary parties and even my wedding by the caterer. My own children are busy with jobs, homes, other hobbies and husbands, so my rolling pin will just be a part of family history, not to be used again.

‘Famous’ pastry pot

Wooden rolling pin

Flour sifter

Lime Squeezer

Nell Joslin

Meat mallet

Nancy Frazier of Oxford wrote about the meat mallet/lemon squeezer that belonged to her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Tyson Tarpley.This dual-use wooden kitchen gadget belonged to my great-grandmother. In the 1850s at the age of 18, she brought it with her when she moved from England to Raleigh. The flat end was used to crush ice or tenderize meat. The pointed, grooved end was for squeezing juice from lemons. The original twine loop is on it. It has been passed down from mother to daughter, next belonging to my grandmother, Paulina Tarpley Williamson, then to my mother, Addie Williamson Radford, who recently passed it down to me. What a treasure to receive, use and pass on to the next daughter.

Nancy Frazier

Rosette Iron

Pastry cutter

Kathy Norris, 67, of Wake Forest, wrote about the pastry cutterthat belonged to her mother, Jacquelyne Kerfoot Pearl.My mother was an excellent baker. Since Daddy had a sweet tooth, we had a made-from-scratch dessert every night. Mom was especially known for her pies. I have the pastry cutter she used countless times to blend lard into flour for her wonderful, flaky pie crust. I use it several times a week when I make biscuits and always think of her when I make her pie crust. I have a newer one, but this one is the best.

Jeanie DeGroff

Laura Ann Byrd

Nancy Satterfield, 68, of Goldsboro, wrote about the tin mouli grater that her mother, Frances R. Harper, used to make pimento cheese.As a child, I would never dream of eating pimento cheese. But I would beg to use mother’s tin mouli grater to help make the concoction that now I cannot live without. Those long strands of cheddar cheese emerged from the grater looked like an orange tornado. Now my granddaughter, Annsleigh Rouse, and I make pimento cheese with that old grater. But she has better taste as a child than I did. At 8 years old, she had already claimed not only the grater, but also the bowl and wooden spoon we always use, as her inheritance.

Moira Laviolette, 56, of New Bern, wrote about the nested mixing bowls that belonged to her mother, Reasylvia Foley.Resilient and strong on the outside, witness to inspiration, creation and occasional failure on the inside – these words describe both my mother and her set of three nesting stainless steel mixing bowls. My mother is a refugee. Her father died in 1938, leaving my mother, age 13, and my grandmother alone on the eve of World War II. Infused with education and a command of six languages, my mother applied herself to sustaining them through the war. In 1949, they arrived in Pittsburgh with a single suitcase and the will to survive. These bowls — a wedding gift in 1953 – produced flavors both savory and sweet for 62 years. A reminder that the essence of life is a melting pot of ingredients and the right blend will endure.

Pie edger

Nesting mixing bowls

Leigh Eckle, 69, of Cary, wrote about a citrus squeezer and a pie edger that belonged to her mother, Helen Marie Smart.My mother taught us to love, to be gracious, to see beauty and to take our place in this world. These were mighty goals for a shy, sweet woman. The kitchen offered an opportunity for creativity that continues today. Two treasured items remain in my kitchen: a citrus squeezer and a pie edger that creates the perfect rippled edge of a homemade crust. This Mother’s Day will allow me to re-create the much-loved lemon meringue pie with the hands of my mom with me on these two old gizmos. And yes, I love, try to be kind, see beauty around me and remember those moments in the kitchen with my mom.

Tin mouli grater

Mollie Brice

Ann Howe of Raleigh wrote about the knife and spoon that belonged to her grandmother, Susan Boatwright Clark.My grandmother started housekeeping with this knife and spoon when she was married in 1895. My grandmother was a wonderful cook who could make a delicious meal out of the simplest ingredients, adding a few spices, an herb from the garden and a little lemon juice. Long before I was old enough to go to school, I was following her around in the kitchen. Today, I use both this knife and spoon almost every day. I never use them without thinking of her.

Strawberry spoon

Cheryl Sweitzer of Wake Forest wrote about the bowl and pot that belonged to her mother, Virginia Warren. I have the metal bowl my mom always used to to make mashed potatoes. After my father died, all the kids selected at least one item from the kitchen that reminded us of her. The bowl is dented and wobbly but I still use it, especially when my brothers and sister visit. I also have an old pot made by WearEver that has a wooden handle. The bottom is no longer level, so when I place it on the stove, only half actually touches the burner. My mother was very frugal. She had to be with five children and would never have thought of buying new pots and pans. I’m glad she didn’t. These have character.

Gerri Miller

Catherine Chitty Pike

Ann Howe

Mashed potato bowl

Cathy Allen

Susan Russell, 68, of Raleigh, wrote about the strawberry spoon that belonged to her mother, Dorothy Lineberger.My most treasured kitchen tool is my mother’s strawberry spoon. This mahogany spoon was distributed by Drexel Furniture Co. in Lenoir, N.C., in the 1940s. My mother never used it for anything except when making her homemade strawberry preserves. I grew up at a time when doors were not locked and windows were open during the summer. While we played in the yard, we could smell the strawberries cooking. I can still smell that sweet scent. I have continued to make Mother’s preserves for more than 50 years and always use this special spoon to stir them. You can see the stains from all those years of use. It is a real treasure to me.

Robert Alan King, 54, of Raleigh, wrote about the rolling pin that belonged to his grandmother, Louis Goostree Harrison.While I have my paternal grandmother’s cast iron cornbread molds and my mother’s original cast iron cookware set, one of my most cherished possessions is my maternal grandmother’s rolling pin. When I was 8 years old, she suffered a debilitating stroke limiting the physical movement on her left side. It didn’t stop her from rolling out homemade noodles and pie dough. She had to grip the left handle of the rolling pin and hold it stationary against her hip while she rolled out the dough in an arc with her right arm. I watched her with awe for so many years as she continued to make homemade meals despite her limitations. Remembering her rolling out dough in her own unique way is something I’ll never forget.

Kathy Norris

Moira Laviolette

LaDonna Overcash

Molly Weston

Cheryl Sweitzer

Bobbie Lou Alford Stuck, 61, of Gloucester, Va., wrote about a cowbell and a butter mold that belonged to her grandmother, Annie Medlin Alford. My family heirlooms are our grandmother’s butter mold and a cow bell that hung around the neck of one of the family’s cows. Grandmother was given the butter mold in 1919, the year she married Luke Alford. The cow bell belonged to the cow my father took care of during his childhood.

Anne Gilliam, 59, of Fuquay-Varina, wrote about the cookie cutters that belonged to her grandmother, Eva Transou.My treasured kitchen heirlooms are my late grandmother’s vintage cookie cutters. I am a ninth-generation Moravian and trace my roots back to Old Salem. My grandmother was a truly dignified lady and anyone who knew her could easily picture her in a period costume as seen on the hostesses at Old Salem. Some of my earliest memories of her were watching her bake. Even when she was in her 80s, she spent hours at Christmas time baking thin Moravian ginger and sugar cookies. I especially enjoyed the baked goodies she sent back to school with me during my college days. What a blessing to have enjoyed time in the kitchen with Grandma.

Knife and spoon

Vanessa J. Hardee

Vintage cookie cutters

Nancy Satterfield

Wood butter mold

Leigh Eckle

Violet Barwick Rhinehart, 64, of Raleigh, wrote about various kitchen tools that she inherited from her mother, Essie Lee Deaver Barwick. How do I choose one kitchen treasure? The red and white enamel pans or the red-handled spoons and rolling pin? Maybe I would choose the dimpled, wooden bread tray used daily to make the lightest, softest biscuits or the box grater now darkened and a little crooked or maybe the cast iron skillets. Surely it is the Hoosier cabinet with the flour bin now used to house many of these treasures. How do I decide on the real treasure? It’s easy. When I grasp the handle of the tin measuring cup, I place my fingers where Mama placed hers to pour milk, flour or sugar. My mama passed away in 1999 but she lives on in our lake-house kitchen.

Jeanie DeGroff, 64, of Raleigh, wrote about the pasta bowl that belonged to her mother, Phyllis Chelini Morreale.This is a cherished bowl that my dad gave my mom years ago. My mom used this bowl whenever she made pasta for our family of nine children, which was often three times a week. She would make gnocchi for us and somehow the memories of how it tasted have grown better through the years. We all remember this bowl and the wonderful meals it held. I was fortunate to be the one who received it. I serve my family with it, too, and will someday pass it on to my daughter for her to treasure and smile thinking of her grandmother and me.

Catherine W. Bishir

Violet Barwick Rhinehart

Rolling pin

Anne Gilliam

Pasta bowl

Linda Carter, 66, of Raleigh, wrote about the pan that her grandmother, Georgia Ann Anderson Lemley, used to fry chicken.When I was growing up, my dad had two weeks’ vacation each year from his job in the oil fields of Oklahoma. Every summer, my family took a road trip back to his hometown of Shinnston, W. Va. My grandparents had a big two-story house with dark wooden banisters and a kitchen that put out some of the best aromas imaginable. They raised seven children and grew most of their food. My favorite dish was fried chicken cooked in her special pan. I now have this frying pan. I’m not sure my fried chicken tastes like hers, but it is still my favorite food. Now that I’m a grandmother, I’ll be sure to pass it on.

Wooden chopper

Mary Prentis Jones, 59, of Raleigh, wrote about a wooden-handled grease crock that belonged to her aunt Mary Sexson. Growing up in Ohio, I enjoyed visiting our relatives in the Illinois farmhouse that was our family’s homestead for five generations. My aunt Mary was an incredible cook. My sisters and I vowed that when we grew up, we would use real butter like she did. She always had what we thought was a chunk of chocolate out on her counter for baking. Imagine my surprise in my mid-50s to discover that what I thought was a block of chocolate was, in reality, a stained wooden handle attached to a plate to cover a grease crock. We had quite a chuckle. When she passed away, I came to help clean out her house. I tucked the “chocolate” into my luggage. It sits in its proper place by my stove and makes me smile every day.

Fried chicken pan

Karla Jackson

Linda Carter

Catherine W. Bishir of Raleigh wrote about her grandmother Elizabeth Ward’s jar opener.Stuck jar and bottle tops have challenged inventors of kitchen gadgets for more than a century. Today’s cleverest devices can’t compete with this one, which came down from my grandmother. I don’t know how old it is but probably pushing 100 years old and still works perfectly.

Martha Leary

Tin measuring cup

Martha Leary, 65, of Raleigh, wrote about a bowl and potato masher that belonged to her grandmother, Annie Leary.I have a beautiful bowl and potato masher that belonged to my grandmother. I have never used either item. My grandson, Max, heads for the potato masher as soon as he hits my front door. He likes to carry it around with him and stir the water dish for the dogs. He doesn’t hit stuff in the house with it, just likes to carry it around. I have no idea what the attraction is to this kitchen tool. He is the fourth generation that has handled it. It will be left to him when I’m gone. I hope he will cherish it then as much as he does now.

Greta S. Baron

Jar opener

Florence Peloquin

Florence Peloquin, 83, of Hillsborough, wrote about a cookbook owned by her mother, Hilda Becker. I consider a cookbook to probably be my most treasured tool. It belonged to my mother. I remember when the mailman delivered the “Household Searchlight Recipe Book” to her in the 1930s. In addition to my mother, who frequently used the book, there were three girls who used it. A person can tell by looking at it which recipes we kids used most often based on the smears and grease spots on the pages. Most frequently they were for sweets and snacks. I am now 83 and there are still many times I look up recipes in it. Sadly, the book is looking bedraggled, but I still treasure that cookbook and I am sure one of my daughters will.

Mollie Brice, 49, of Raleigh, wrote about a kitchen step stool made by her great-grandfather, Francis Seth Terrell SimpsonThis kitchen step stool was ingeniously crafted by my great-grandfather more than 85 years ago for my grandparents when they married. It has been in my mother’s pantry for as long as I can remember and now it sits in mine. It’s heavier and takes up more room in my pantry than one of those metal ones that folds up flat might, but I like the security I feel from my great-grandfather’s clever design.

Karla Jackson of Franklinton wrote about the measuring spoons that belonged to her mother, Jo Kinney.It seems a little silly to call a set of tin measuring spoons a treasure but they are to me. To my mother, 10th birthdays were a big deal. That birthday was a milestone that marked the transition from child to contributing member of the family. One of her traditions was to have the birthday child make his or her own cake. I’ll never forget using those tin measuring spoons to make my choice: a cherry cheesecake. By the time my son turned 10 years old, Mom was in the early stages of dementia and had forgotten all about the birthday tradition. Nevertheless, I carried on with my son using those same spoons. I hope he does the same one day.

‘Chocolate’ crock handle

Roger Bernholz

Dee Blackwelder Marley, 62, of Carrboro, wrote about a pottery dish that belonged to her mother, Agnes Edna Anders Blackwelder.The brown three-quart Marcrest Oven Proof Stoneware pottery dish belonged to my mother. She died when I was 13 years old. One of my sisters gave it to me as a wedding present when she realized the value it held for me. It was sometimes used as a casserole dish, but its main function was to hold banana pudding. My father had a ferocious sweet tooth. His favorite desserts were toasted pound cake with ice cream and banana pudding. One medium bunch of bananas and one box of Nabisco Nilla Wafers fit almost exactly in the bowl. The sight of banana pudding in that bowl makes me feel 6 years old again. And very happy.

Bedraggled cookbook

Tin measuring spoons

Robert Alan King

Jo-Anne Martin

Banana pudding dish

Dolly Sickles

Potato masher

Nevis Kohout, 69, of Garner wrote about the crepe pan that belonged to his grandmother, Lillian “Nonny” Quille.My favorite Friday evenings as a child were spent with my cousin Judy. Grandmother Nonny would be at the stove patiently making “big pancakes” for us. Nonny would gently flip each creation, slide it from the pan and dust it with cinnamon and sugar. Sitting at the kitchen table, we would attempt to “out eat” each other. I had no idea we were indulging in crepes. I thought Nonny made the pancakes in a cast iron skillet. Reminiscing over coffee with an aunt, I mentioned this. She laughed, left the room, returning with Nonny’s crepe pan. It was black and crusty on the outside, but had a shiny gray-blue enamel inside. The pan now resides in my kitchen, where a glance brings me back to those wonderful Friday evenings.

Bobbie Lou Alford Stuck

Aluminum cake carrier

Sharon Morf of Raleigh wrote about the recipe collection that belonged to her mother, Martha Taylor. I was fortunate years ago when my mom gave me four generations’ worth of family recipes. Some date back to 1931. My plan is to turn this into a multi-generational cookbook. This gift was simple, but one that has shaped me forever and instilled in me a lifelong love of cooking and baking from scratch.

Roger Bernholz, 65, of Chapel Hill, wrote about a wooden bowl and chopper that belonged to his mother, Sherry Bernholz. Jewish mothers are often known by a favorite dish that lives on for generations. Among our family and close friends, that dish is unquestionably our mom’s chopped liver. She consistently made the best chopped liver in Greensboro where we all grew up. So after our mom died 30 years ago, I took her old wooden chopper and chopping bowl. I continue to do my best to replicate that chopped liver. I always think good thoughts of her as I patiently hand chop ingredients as she did so many years ago.

Reba Worsley

Decades of recipes

Jo-Anne Martin of Angier wrote about the simple cooking tools that belonged to her mother, Ann Trowbridge.My mother was quite an entrepreneur for her day. In the 1930s and 1940s, she operated Annie’s Tea Room in Charlotte and later managed the Tally-ho Inn tea room in downtown Raleigh. Our home’s kitchen on Brooks Avenue was tiny, with very little storage. One drawer sufficed for the modest, simple cooking tools. Used soap bars were salvaged in a handled wire basket and reused for dishwashing. A jar of bacon or ham grease always sat beside the stove on a small metal saucer. My mother’s handwritten, delicious recipes were contained in a small metal box. Tea Towels and handmade aprons were essentials. Life and cooking were simple in those days – and good.

Reba Worsley of Raleigh wrote about the egg basket that belonged to her mother, Estelle Hathaway.I was the youngest of five children living in rural Nash County. Each of us had daily farm chores. Egg gathering was passed down to each child with the passing of Mama’s basket around 4 years old. I have vivid memories of searching for the hen’s nests. Most were located in the barn. Some hens chose the upper level (accessible only by a rustic wooden ladder) but most chose the lower level. One day, I was greeted by a huge black snake devouring the hens’ eggs before I could gather them. It took several days and a lot of talking from Mama before I would visit the barn again. Mama’s worn handmade basket sits on my kitchen counter and is a daily reminder of egg gathering in my childhood years.

Ginny Byrne of Raleigh wrote about the clay baking molds that belonged to her grandmother, May Eugenia McDonald Wilson. Two clay baking molds, one with a corn design on the bottom and the other of a rabbit, were always in my grandmother’s kitchen. When my sons were young, I would bake a gingerbread rabbit for them, as one of their favorite stories was “The Gingerbread Rabbit” by Randall Jarrell. I have made cornbread a time or two in the corn mold.

Annette Roundtree Taylor

Crepe skillet

Soap saver basket

Annette Rountree Taylor, 60, of Apex, wrote about the mixing bowl that belonged to her mother, Eloise Rountree. My mother’s simple sunshine yellow Pyrex mixing bowl is Southern hospitality on a shelf. In the hands of Eloise, it was no ordinary bowl – it was a magical vessel that turned eggs, butter and flour into a warm slice of pound cake, hot, crusty cornbread or the long-anticipated fresh coconut cake that we cut on Christmas day. Eloise was always cooking for someone. The scratches on the bowl bear witness to the electric mixers, wooden spoons and spatulas beaten against it. Mother fed church members, Ruritans, sick neighbors, friends, and even strangers stranded near our farm were invited to use the phone and share a meal. After all, they were just friends we had not met.

Ginny Byrne

Peggy Riddle Hopson

Mary Prentiss Jones

Carol Schumann

Nevis Kohout

Yellow mixing bowl

Gerri Miller, 55, Raleigh, wrote about the juicer owned by her grandmother, Pauline Curtis.As a child, I loved visiting my grandma Pauline – first in Brooklyn, then in central Florida. My grandmother was the type of woman who coiffed her hair and dressed like company was coming every single day. Although Florida was her adopted home, she took great pride in it, especially its plentiful tropical fruits. Upon moving there in the 1970s, she procured a Proctor-Silex JUICIT machine. The juicer seemed like magic to me – just press a halved orange or grapefruit on the ridged ceramic dome and it started to spin, creating a trickle of fresh, pulpy, fragrant juice. Time after time, I’ve shared this same magic with my children in our kitchen in Raleigh, using Grandma Pauline’s JUICIT machine

Dee Blackwelder Marley

Sharon Morf

Susan Russell

Egg-gathering basket

Dolly Sickles of Apex wrote about the tube pan that belonged to her grandmother, Clara “Duck” Moore.When my husband and I got married 20 years ago, my mother gave me an old tube pan that belonged to my granny – whom everybody called Duck. It’s a little battered and less than completely round now, but it bakes as good a cake as it did when she got it new in 1947. Since I don’t like icing, pound cakes are my specialty and they’re perfect for Granny’s pan. As a matter of fact, it baked a perfect Almond Brandy Pound Cake in 2013 and won a red ribbon at the N.C. State Fair. I’ve taught our son to make the cake, so I’m doing my part to pass along our family tradition to the pan’s fourth generation.

Cathy Allen, 62, of Raleigh wrote about the kitchen scale that belonged to her mother, Ruth Greene Walton. Every December, my mother would take out her kitchen scale to make her Christmas fruitcakes. The recipe was handed down through my father’s family for at least four generations. She would carefully weigh each ingredient, including the nuts and candied fruits. After all was mixed, she would pour the batter into two tube pans. After they baked and cooled, she would wrap them in cheesecloth and pour blackberry wine over both cakes. She then sealed them in a metal pot and would let them sit for at least two weeks. My maternal grandmother loved her fruitcake and went to her grave never knowing there was wine in it, for she was a teetotaler. What wonderful memories my sisters and I have of this heirloom kitchen tool that now sits in my own kitchen.

Molly Johnson Weston, 70, of Apex, wrote about the sugar scoop that belonged to her mother, Izma Riggs Johnson.When my parents were married during the Depression, they barely had enough furniture to set up housekeeping. Kitchen gadgets were out of the question. Daddy made a sugar scoop from the lower part of an evaporated milk can and welded a small strip for a handle on the bottom. Two scant scoops of sugar perfectly sweetened a half-gallon of hot brewed tea.Before I was married, Mother invited my housemate and me for dinner. My housemate complimented Mother on the iced tea. When I protested that I made the tea, she asked why I didn’t make it at our apartment. My excuse: “I don’t have the sugar scoop.” Shortly before my wedding, I was delighted to find an identical scoop among my shower gifts. I gave the original to my daughter, but I’m still using mine after nearly 45 years.

Carol Schumann, 55, of Durham, wrote about the cake carrier that belonged to her mother, Rosemary Schumann. This classic aluminum cake carrier has picked up a ding or two over the years but is a treasured reminder of my mother. I’m second oldest of four siblings, and this carrier held the confetti angel-food birthday cakes Mom made for every one of us, from age 1 until we were old enough to request something different. I don’t often need to transport a cake anywhere these days. But when I do, it travels in excellent retro style.

1947 tube pan

Fruitcake scale

50-year-old electric mixer

Handmade sugar scoop

My treasured kitchen heirlooms are my late grandmother’s vintage cookie cutters. I am a ninth-generation Moravian and trace my roots back to Old Salem. My grandmother was a truly dignified lady and anyone who knew her could easily picture her in a period costume as seen on the hostesses at Old Salem. Some of my earliest memories of her were watching her bake. Even when she was in her 80s, she spent hours at Christmas time baking thin Moravian ginger and sugar cookies. I especially enjoyed the baked goodies she sent back to school with me during my college days. What a blessing to have enjoyed time in the kitchen with Grandma.

Nancy Frazier of Oxford wrote about the meat mallet/lemon squeezer that belonged to her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Tyson Tarpley.

This dual-use wooden kitchen gadget belonged to my great-grandmother. In the 1850s at the age of 18, she brought it with her when she moved from England to Raleigh. The flat end was used to crush ice or tenderize meat. The pointed, grooved end was for squeezing juice from lemons. The original twine loop is on it. It has been passed down from mother to daughter, next belonging to my grandmother, Paulina Tarpley Williamson, then to my mother, Addie Williamson Radford, who recently passed it down to me. What a treasure to receive, use and pass on to the next daughter.

Laura Ann Byrd, 50, of Raleigh, wrote about the rosette iron that belonged to her mother, Mary Ann East Hanson.

Nevis Kohout, 69, of Garner wrote about the crepe pan that belonged to his grandmother, Lillian “Nonny” Quille.

Kathy Norris, 67, of Wake Forest, wrote about the pastry cutter that belonged to her mother, Jacquelyne Kerfoot Pearl.

Karla Jackson of Franklinton wrote about the measuring spoons that belonged to her mother, Jo Kinney.

My favorite heirloom kitchen tool is my mother’s rosette iron. I came from a family of nine and always looked forward to Sunday nights. Our family would watch “The Wonderful World of Disney” and Mom would make a special treat for us. Usually, it was popcorn. But as an extra special treat, Mom would make rosettes – thin and crispy fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar in the shape of snowflakes. My mom gave the rosette iron to me 10 or so years ago. She remembered how much I loved it when she made them. Since then, I have only made them a handful of times for my children, but one of my daughters absolutely loved them too. Sadly, she passed away at age 16 from leukemia. But thankfully, I am blessed with memories like this that are tattooed on my heart forever.

Crepe Skillet

My mother was an excellent baker. Since Daddy had a sweet tooth, we had a made-from-scratch dessert every night. Mom was especially known for her pies. I have the pastry cutter she used countless times to blend lard into flour for her wonderful, flaky pie crust. I use it several times a week when I make biscuits and always think of her when I make her pie crust. I have a newer one, but this one is the best.

It seems a little silly to call a set of tin measuring spoons a treasure but they are to me. To my mother, 10th birthdays were a big deal. That birthday was a milestone that marked the transition from child to contributing member of the family. One of her traditions was to have the birthday child make his or her own cake. I’ll never forget using those tin measuring spoons to make my choice: a cherry cheesecake. By the time my son turned 10 years old, Mom was in the early stages of dementia and had forgotten all about the birthday tradition. Nevertheless, I carried on with my son using those same spoons. I hope he does the same one day.

Dee Blackwelder Marley, 62, of Carrboro, wrote about a pottery dish that belonged to her mother, Agnes Edna Anders Blackwelder.

I was fortunate years ago when my mom gave me four generations’ worth of family recipes. Some date back to 1931. My plan is to turn this into a multi-generational cookbook. This gift was simple, but one that has shaped me forever and instilled in me a lifelong love of cooking and baking from scratch.

Annette Rountree Taylor, 60, of Apex, wrote about the mixing bowl that belonged to her mother, Eloise Rountree.

Cathy Allen, 62, of Raleigh wrote about the kitchen scale that belonged to her mother, Ruth Greene Walton.

Nevis Kohout

The brown three-quart Marcrest Oven Proof Stoneware pottery dish belonged to my mother. She died when I was 13 years old. One of my sisters gave it to me as a wedding present when she realized the value it held for me. It was sometimes used as a casserole dish, but its main function was to hold banana pudding. My father had a ferocious sweet tooth. His favorite desserts were toasted pound cake with ice cream and banana pudding. One medium bunch of bananas and one box of Nabisco Nilla Wafers fit almost exactly in the bowl. The sight of banana pudding in that bowl makes me feel 6 years old again. And very happy.

Molly Johnson Weston, 70, of Apex, wrote about the sugar scoop that belonged to her mother, Izma Riggs Johnson.

Every December, my mother would take out her kitchen scale to make her Christmas fruitcakes. The recipe was handed down through my father’s family for at least four generations. She would carefully weigh each ingredient, including the nuts and candied fruits. After all was mixed, she would pour the batter into two tube pans. After they baked and cooled, she would wrap them in cheesecloth and pour blackberry wine over both cakes. She then sealed them in a metal pot and would let them sit for at least two weeks. My maternal grandmother loved her fruitcake and went to her grave never knowing there was wine in it, for she was a teetotaler. What wonderful memories my sisters and I have of this heirloom kitchen tool that now sits in my own kitchen.

My mother’s simple sunshine yellow Pyrex mixing bowl is Southern hospitality on a shelf. In the hands of Eloise, it was no ordinary bowl – it was a magical vessel that turned eggs, butter and flour into a warm slice of pound cake, hot, crusty cornbread or the long-anticipated fresh coconut cake that we cut on Christmas day. Eloise was always cooking for someone. The scratches on the bowl bear witness to the electric mixers, wooden spoons and spatulas beaten against it. Mother fed church members, Ruritans, sick neighbors, friends, and even strangers stranded near our farm were invited to use the phone and share a meal. After all, they were just friends we had not met.

Leigh Eckle, 69, of Cary, wrote about a citrus squeezer and a pie edger that belonged to her mother, Helen Marie Smart.

Robert Alan King, 54, of Raleigh, wrote about the rolling pin that belonged to his grandmother, Louis Goostree Harrison.

This kitchen step stool was ingeniously crafted by my great-grandfather more than 85 years ago for my grandparents when they married. It has been in my mother’s pantry for as long as I can remember and now it sits in mine. It’s heavier and takes up more room in my pantry than one of those metal ones that folds up flat might, but I like the security I feel from my great-grandfather’s clever design.

Lime squeezer

My mother taught us to love, to be gracious, to see beauty and to take our place in this world. These were mighty goals for a shy, sweet woman. The kitchen offered an opportunity for creativity that continues today. Two treasured items remain in my kitchen: a citrus squeezer and a pie edger that creates the perfect rippled edge of a homemade crust. This Mother’s Day will allow me to re-create the much-loved lemon meringue pie with the hands of my mom with me on these two old gizmos. And yes, I love, try to be kind, see beauty around me and remember those moments in the kitchen with my mom.

Catherine Chitty Pike, 56, of New Bern, wrote about the gift of a full recipe box from her grandmother, Caroline W. Railey.

Rosette iron

Gerri Miller

Carol Schumann, 55, of Durham, wrote about the cake carrier that belonged to her mother, Rosemary Schumann.

Greta S. Baron, 87, of Raleigh, wrote about the rolling pin that belonged to her grandmother, Vera Budnitsky.

My grandma’s recipes are my greatest treasures. She was a beautiful country lady who lost her mother at the age of 16. She was the oldest of five and quickly learned to keep house, treat boo-boos and cook. As those recipes became tattered and torn with use, Grandma recopied each one and created a set for each of her six granddaughters and one grandson. The recipes are arranged in a small wooden box by category. They range from specialty pies, unforgettable potato salad, pickles, boiled and seasoned peanuts, fried chicken, fruit salads and our favorite, ambrosia. The recipe box stays in a hallowed space in my kitchen but most of all, in my heart.

LaDonna Overcash of Raleigh wrote about the lime squeezer owned by her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Overcash.

Robert Alan King

Nested mixing bowls

Gerri Miller, 55, Raleigh, wrote about the juicer owned by her grandmother, Pauline Curtis.

Pasta Bowl

This classic aluminum cake carrier has picked up a ding or two over the years but is a treasured reminder of my mother. I’m second oldest of four siblings, and this carrier held the confetti angel-food birthday cakes Mom made for every one of us, from age 1 until we were old enough to request something different. I don’t often need to transport a cake anywhere these days. But when I do, it travels in excellent retro style.

My grandmother’s rolling pin was kept in a cloth drawstring bag that she made for it when it was not being used to make her Russian and Polish pastries. I still have it, but sadly no longer make such labor-intensive delicacies. Her baking was famous and was requested for family celebrations, anniversary parties and even my wedding by the caterer. My own children are busy with jobs, homes, other hobbies and husbands, so my rolling pin will just be a part of family history, not to be used again.

Nancy Satterfield, 68, of Goldsboro, wrote about the tin mouli grater that her mother, Frances R. Harper, used to make pimento cheese.

My home is filled with many things from my mother-in-law’s home, and each one brings special memories for my family. This object was pulled out the other day as my husband and I were trying to make Moscow Mules. We could not find a good tool to squeeze limes. He quickly found this object in an upper cabinet, and I did not even know was there. We sipped on our drinks and spoke of Lib, a Texas rose who was brought to North Carolina after World War II by my husband’s dad.

Wooden butter mold

As a child, I loved visiting my grandma Pauline – first in Brooklyn, then in central Florida. My grandmother was the type of woman who coiffed her hair and dressed like company was coming every single day. Although Florida was her adopted home, she took great pride in it, especially its plentiful tropical fruits. Upon moving there in the 1970s, she procured a Proctor-Silex JUICIT machine. The juicer seemed like magic to me – just press a halved orange or grapefruit on the ridged ceramic dome and it started to spin, creating a trickle of fresh, pulpy, fragrant juice. Time after time, I’ve shared this same magic with my children in our kitchen in Raleigh, using Grandma Pauline’s JUICIT machine.

When I was growing up, my dad had two weeks’ vacation each year from his job in the oil fields of Oklahoma. Every summer, my family took a road trip back to his hometown of Shinnston, W. Va. My grandparents had a big two-story house with dark wooden banisters and a kitchen that put out some of the best aromas imaginable. They raised seven children and grew most of their food. My favorite dish was fried chicken cooked in her special pan. I now have this frying pan. I’m not sure my fried chicken tastes like hers, but it is still my favorite food. Now that I’m a grandmother, I’ll be sure to pass it on.

As a child, I would never dream of eating pimento cheese. But I would beg to use mother’s tin mouli grater to help make the concoction that now I cannot live without. Those long strands of cheddar cheese emerged from the grater looked like an orange tornado. Now my granddaughter, Annsleigh Rouse, and I make pimento cheese with that old grater. But she has better taste as a child than I did. At 8 years old, she had already claimed not only the grater, but also the bowl and wooden spoon we always use, as her inheritance.

'Famous’ pastry pot

Moira Laviolette, 56, of New Bern, wrote about the nested mixing bowls that belonged to her mother, Reasylvia Foley.

Wooden chopper

Jeanie DeGroff, 64, of Raleigh, wrote about the pasta bowl that belonged to her mother, Phyllis Chelini Morreale.

Martha Leary

Vanessa J. Hardee, 56, of Dunn, wrote about the pot that her mother, Louise Stewart Jackson, used to make chicken pastry.

Mary Prentis Jones

While I have my paternal grandmother’s cast iron cornbread molds and my mother’s original cast iron cookware set, one of my most cherished possessions is my maternal grandmother’s rolling pin. When I was 8 years old, she suffered a debilitating stroke limiting the physical movement on her left side. It didn’t stop her from rolling out homemade noodles and pie dough. She had to grip the left handle of the rolling pin and hold it stationary against her hip while she rolled out the dough in an arc with her right arm. I watched her with awe for so many years as she continued to make homemade meals despite her limitations. Remembering her rolling out dough in her own unique way is something I’ll never forget.

This is a cherished bowl that my dad gave my mom years ago. My mom used this bowl whenever she made pasta for our family of nine children, which was often three times a week. She would make gnocchi for us and somehow the memories of how it tasted have grown better through the years. We all remember this bowl and the wonderful meals it held. I was fortunate to be the one who received it. I serve my family with it, too, and will someday pass it on to my daughter for her to treasure and smile thinking of her grandmother and me.

Martha Leary, 65, of Raleigh, wrote about a bowl and potato masher that belonged to her grandmother, Annie Leary.

Resilient and strong on the outside, witness to inspiration, creation and occasional failure on the inside – these words describe both my mother and her set of three nesting stainless steel mixing bowls. My mother is a refugee. Her father died in 1938, leaving my mother, age 13, and my grandmother alone on the eve of World War II. Infused with education and a command of six languages, my mother applied herself to sustaining them through the war. In 1949, they arrived in Pittsburgh with a single suitcase and the will to survive. These bowls — a wedding gift in 1953 – produced flavors both savory and sweet for 62 years. A reminder that the essence of life is a melting pot of ingredients and the right blend will endure.

Bobbie Lou Alford Stuck, 61, of Gloucester, Va., wrote about a cowbell and a butter mold that belonged to her grandmother, Annie Medlin Alford.

My mother taught me how to cook. She was known for her made-from-scratch cakes and her chicken pastry. I have kept her famous pastry pot. Nothing fancy, just an old gray cast aluminum pot that is more than 50 years old. Whether it was for family reunions, church dinners, meals for bereaved families or Sunday lunch, the gray pot and her name were synonymous with “mouthwatering goodness.” Other pots of pastry would be on the table, but hers would empty first. The pot sits in my kitchen cabinet like a shrine – a reminder of delicious memories, courtesy of Louise.

Soap save basket

I have a beautiful bowl and potato masher that belonged to my grandmother. I have never used either item. My grandson, Max, heads for the potato masher as soon as he hits my front door. He likes to carry it around with him and stir the water dish for the dogs. He doesn’t hit stuff in the house with it, just likes to carry it around. I have no idea what the attraction is to this kitchen tool. He is the fourth generation that has handled it. It will be left to him when I’m gone. I hope he will cherish it then as much as he does now.

Mary Prentis Jones, 59, of Raleigh, wrote about a wooden-handled grease crock that belonged to her aunt Mary Sexson.

Ann Howe

How do I choose one kitchen treasure? The red and white enamel pans or the red-handled spoons and rolling pin? Maybe I would choose the dimpled, wooden bread tray used daily to make the lightest, softest biscuits or the box grater now darkened and a little crooked or maybe the cast iron skillets. Surely it is the Hoosier cabinet with the flour bin now used to house many of these treasures. How do I decide on the real treasure? It’s easy. When I grasp the handle of the tin measuring cup, I place my fingers where Mama placed hers to pour milk, flour or sugar. My mama passed away in 1999 but she lives on in our lake-house kitchen.

Tin mouli grater

Egg-gathering basket

Cheryl Sweitzer of Wake Forest wrote about the bowl and pot that belonged to her mother, Virginia Warren.

Ann Howe of Raleigh wrote about the knife and spoon that belonged to her grandmother, Susan Boatwright Clark.

Growing up in Ohio, I enjoyed visiting our relatives in the Illinois farmhouse that was our family’s homestead for five generations. My aunt Mary was an incredible cook. My sisters and I vowed that when we grew up, we would use real butter like she did. She always had what we thought was a chunk of chocolate out on her counter for baking. Imagine my surprise in my mid-50s to discover that what I thought was a block of chocolate was, in reality, a stained wooden handle attached to a plate to cover a grease crock. We had quite a chuckle. When she passed away, I came to help clean out her house. I tucked the “chocolate” into my luggage. It sits in its proper place by my stove and makes me smile every day.

I have the metal bowl my mom always used to to make mashed potatoes. After my father died, all the kids selected at least one item from the kitchen that reminded us of her. The bowl is dented and wobbly but I still use it, especially when my brothers and sister visit. I also have an old pot made by WearEver that has a wooden handle. The bottom is no longer level, so when I place it on the stove, only half actually touches the burner. My mother was very frugal. She had to be with five children and would never have thought of buying new pots and pans. I’m glad she didn’t. These have character.

Reba Worsley

My grandmother started housekeeping with this knife and spoon when she was married in 1895. My grandmother was a wonderful cook who could make a delicious meal out of the simplest ingredients, adding a few spices, an herb from the garden and a little lemon juice. Long before I was old enough to go to school, I was following her around in the kitchen. Today, I use both this knife and spoon almost every day. I never use them without thinking of her.

My mother was quite an entrepreneur for her day. In the 1930s and 1940s, she operated Annie’s Tea Room in Charlotte and later managed the Tally-ho Inn tea room in downtown Raleigh. Our home’s kitchen on Brooks Avenue was tiny, with very little storage. One drawer sufficed for the modest, simple cooking tools. Used soap bars were salvaged in a handled wire basket and reused for dishwashing. A jar of bacon or ham grease always sat beside the stove on a small metal saucer. My mother’s handwritten, delicious recipes were contained in a small metal box. Tea Towels and handmade aprons were essentials. Life and cooking were simple in those days – and good.

Jewish mothers are often known by a favorite dish that lives on for generations. Among our family and close friends, that dish is unquestionably our mom’s chopped liver. She consistently made the best chopped liver in Greensboro where we all grew up. So after our mom died 30 years ago, I took her old wooden chopper and chopping bowl. I continue to do my best to replicate that chopped liver. I always think good thoughts of her as I patiently hand chop ingredients as she did so many years ago.

When my parents were married during the Depression, they barely had enough furniture to set up housekeeping. Kitchen gadgets were out of the question. Daddy made a sugar scoop from the lower part of an evaporated milk can and welded a small strip for a handle on the bottom. Two scant scoops of sugar perfectly sweetened a half-gallon of hot brewed tea. Before I was married, Mother invited my housemate and me for dinner. My housemate complimented Mother on the iced tea. When I protested that I made the tea, she asked why I didn’t make it at our apartment. My excuse: “I don’t have the sugar scoop.” Shortly before my wedding, I was delighted to find an identical scoop among my shower gifts. I gave the original to my daughter, but I’m still using mine after nearly 45 years.

Florence Peloquin, 83, of Hillsborough, wrote about a cookbook owned by her mother, Hilda Becker.

Linda Carter, 66, of Raleigh, wrote about the pan that her grandmother, Georgia Ann Anderson Lemley, used to fry chicken.

Jo-Anne Martin of Angier wrote about the simple cooking tools that belonged to her mother, Ann Trowbridge.

I consider a cookbook to probably be my most treasured tool. It belonged to my mother. I remember when the mailman delivered the “Household Searchlight Recipe Book” to her in the 1930s. In addition to my mother, who frequently used the book, there were three girls who used it. A person can tell by looking at it which recipes we kids used most often based on the smears and grease spots on the pages. Most frequently they were for sweets and snacks. I am now 83 and there are still many times I look up recipes in it. Sadly, the book is looking bedraggled, but I still treasure that cookbook and I am sure one of my daughters will.

Aluminum cake carrier

Violet Barwick Rhinehart, 64, of Raleigh, wrote about various kitchen tools that she inherited from her mother, Essie Lee Deaver Barwick.

My family heirlooms are our grandmother’s butter mold and a cow bell that hung around the neck of one of the family’s cows. Grandmother was given the butter mold in 1919, the year she married Luke Alford. The cow bell belonged to the cow my father took care of during his childhood.

Reba Worsley of Raleigh wrote about the egg basket that belonged to her mother, Estelle Hathaway.

Roger Bernholz, 65, of Chapel Hill, wrote about a wooden bowl and chopper that belonged to his mother, Sherry Bernholz.

I was the youngest of five children living in rural Nash County. Each of us had daily farm chores. Egg gathering was passed down to each child with the passing of Mama’s basket around 4 years old. I have vivid memories of searching for the hen’s nests. Most were located in the barn. Some hens chose the upper level (accessible only by a rustic wooden ladder) but most chose the lower level. One day, I was greeted by a huge black snake devouring the hens’ eggs before I could gather them. It took several days and a lot of talking from Mama before I would visit the barn again. Mama’s worn handmade basket sits on my kitchen counter and is a daily reminder of egg gathering in my childhood years.

Catherine W. Bishir of Raleigh wrote about her grandmother Elizabeth Ward’s jar opener.

Stuck jar and bottle tops have challenged inventors of kitchen gadgets for more than a century. Today’s cleverest devices can’t compete with this one, which came down from my grandmother. I don’t know how old it is but probably pushing 100 years old and still works perfectly.

Clay baking molds

Ginny Byrne of Raleigh wrote about the clay baking molds that belonged to her grandmother, May Eugenia McDonald Wilson.

Two clay baking molds, one with a corn design on the bottom and the other of a rabbit, were always in my grandmother’s kitchen. When my sons were young, I would bake a gingerbread rabbit for them, as one of their favorite stories was “The Gingerbread Rabbit” by Randall Jarrell. I have made cornbread a time or two in the corn mold.

Flour sifter

Peggy Riddle Hopson

My favorite Friday evenings as a child were spent with my cousin Judy. Grandmother Nonny would be at the stove patiently making “big pancakes” for us. Nonny would gently flip each creation, slide it from the pan and dust it with cinnamon and sugar. Sitting at the kitchen table, we would attempt to “out eat” each other. I had no idea we were indulging in crepes. I thought Nonny made the pancakes in a cast iron skillet. Reminiscing over coffee with an aunt, I mentioned this. She laughed, left the room, returning with Nonny’s crepe pan. It was black and crusty on the outside, but had a shiny gray-blue enamel inside. The pan now resides in my kitchen, where a glance brings me back to those wonderful Friday evenings.

Sharon Morf of Raleigh wrote about the recipe collection that belonged to her mother, Martha Taylor.

Peggy Riddle Hopson of Clayton wrote about the flour sifter that belonged to her grandmother, Leone Lewis.

My grandmother was widowed at age 36 and lived alone in Raleigh most of her life. She cooked herself a full balanced meal each evening after work, along with one biscuit. My mother, Helen Riddle, asked why she didn’t cook a batch of biscuits and eat them all week. Grandmother replied, “Because if I cooked a batch of biscuits, I would want to eat more than one a day and I would get fat.” Her flour sifter sits proudly in her china cabinet in my house along with her one-cup ice cream churner.

Dolly Sickles of Apex wrote about the tube pan that belonged to her grandmother, Clara “Duck” Moore.

When my husband and I got married 20 years ago, my mother gave me an old tube pan that belonged to my granny – whom everybody called Duck. It’s a little battered and less than completely round now, but it bakes as good a cake as it did when she got it new in 1947. Since I don’t like icing, pound cakes are my specialty and they’re perfect for Granny’s pan. As a matter of fact, it baked a perfect Almond Brandy Pound Cake in 2013 and won a red ribbon at the N.C. State Fair. I’ve taught our son to make the cake, so I’m doing my part to pass along our family tradition to the pan’s fourth generation.

My mother never used it for anything except when making her homemade strawberry preserves. I grew up at a time when doors were not locked and windows were open during the summer. While we played in the yard, we could smell the strawberries cooking. I can still smell that sweet scent. I have continued to make Mother’s preserves for more than 50 years and always use this special spoon to stir them. You can see the stains from all those years of use. It is a real treasure to me.

Nell Joslin, 61, of Raleigh, wrote about the electric mixer that belonged to her grandmother, Annie Hinsdale Joslin.

My grandmother was a wonderful, old-fashioned cook. She was born in the Dodd-Hinsdale house (now the Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern). During the Great Depression, she owned the Tally-ho Inn, a restaurant at the corner of Hargett and Fayetteville streets. When I was 13, my mother was hospitalized for several months, and Grandmother came to stay with us. Her presence was one of the great blessings of my early life. She taught me the secrets of her signature chocolate cake and coffee mousse, our family’s holiday favorite, all using her magical electric mixer. Today, this same mixer still works the same magic for the same recipes that Grandmother taught me.

Anne Gilliam, 59, of Fuquay-Varina, wrote about the cookie cutters that belonged to her grandmother, Eva Transou.

Mollie Brice, 49, of Raleigh, wrote about a kitchen stepstool made by her great-grandfather, Francis Seth Terrell Simpson.