We unearthed this mystery utensil during a recent KCTS kitchen cleanout, and don’t have the faintest idea what it is. Any guesses? On the neck it says "Regd 911032 Made in England."
The UFO is about 7 inches long, wood-grain plastic handle.
Can anybody help?
Unidentified Fork Object (top view)
Unidentified Fork Object (side view)
Paula Nemzek is the Executive Producer of KCTS 9 Cooks and Chefs. Paula's Weekly Kitchen Tips publishes every Monday.
Comments
Posted by keitel (not verified) on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 7:15am
Picture this: the knife is in your right hand, and this item in your left, you can gently steady the chicken without piercing it, or you can whack it with the prongs to really hold it
Posted by Fiona (not verified) on Tue, 06/16/2009 - 4:59pm
Should also point out: by "a meat carving set" I mean "a fairly random collection of knives, prongs, forks, skewers etc, which appeared to cover pretty much all meat-related eventualities."
Posted by Fiona (not verified) on Tue, 06/16/2009 - 4:57pm
My mother (in England) had one of these -it was indeed part of a meat carving set.
I can't, however, tell you any more than that, as I never saw her use it.
Posted by Guest (not verified) on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 5:27am
Having carved many a turkey (and having watched my father carve turkeys and roasts), I would bet the farm that it is NOT a tool for carving meat. It would be very awkward, even useless. And all the carving sets that I have seen have regular-looking forks.
Also, that doesn't explain the metal notch next to the handle. Given the shape of the handle that notch would be positioned underneath, not on top.
I vote for the removing-meat-from-a-spit idea from Sara.
Posted by Sara Elward (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 11:45am
I posted this photo on my Facebook page to see if anyone knew the answer. Fortunately, I have friends who are librarians (I LOVE LIBRARIANS!) and one sent me this:
There was another site trying to find the answer for this, and although they never got a definitive one, the most convincing answer was that it is a tool for helping to remove a spit from meat. The forked "palm" is placed against/into the meat, with the spit in the "C groove" in the handle, and the spit is then pulled out of the meat, which remains... Read More stuck to the tines. Seems a fairly good explantion. The only other strand I could get is that there appears to have been one of these devices for sale on eBay some time back, as part of a boxed set of "Sheffield Steel" containing this thing and two knives. Which supports its use to grapple with either spitted meat or some sort of round roast, maybe.
Posted by Judy (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 9:42am
Maybe you should check with Antiques Roadshow UK to see if they know what it is.
Posted by Alan (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 8:58am
I think it is a fork for holding a joint of meat while carving it.
Posted by SUSAN (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 8:12am
I think it is part of a meat carving set. My clue was the arch that holds it up like legs. Picture this: the knife is in your right hand, and this item in your left, you can gently steady the chicken without piercing it, or you can whack it with the prongs to really hold it.
Posted by Gail Brown (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 7:11am
You hold the curved double-forked end on a roast or bird to hold it secure while you cut or carve it. Don't know what it's called but that's how you use it.
Gail in Vancouver, BC
Posted by Kathy Benson (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 6:20am
I have no idea, but hope you will post it if you do find out. Now I am very curious. It could be a new feature, like the one they have for odd tools on "Ask This Old House", except for kitchens.
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