Why Old Kit Deserves a Working Shelf

Most vintage kitchenalia was made to be used hard, and much of it survives precisely because it was made well. A bread bin that has kept flour dry for eighty years will keep yours dry too. A pair of brass balance scales will still weigh out a pound of currants with more honesty than a battery-powered gadget that needs a new cell every six months. The pleasure of collecting for a practical kitchen is that you get the character of an antique and the usefulness of a tool, provided you choose with your head as well as your eye.

The trick is to be honest about which pieces can take daily work and which are better off on the shelf. Here is how to tell the difference.

Scales That Still Tell the Truth

Balance scales with brass bell weights are the most rewarding corner of kitchenalia, because they are simple, repairable and usually cheap. Expect to pay somewhere between £15 and £45 at a car boot sale or country auction for a sound set with most of its weights. Before you part with money, check three things: that the beam swings freely and settles level when empty, that the pointer lines up with the centre mark, and that the weights are not mismatched. Missing weights are common, and a set short of its 2 oz is a nuisance.

Once home, test it. Weigh a sealed bag of sugar on a modern digital scale, then on the balance, and compare. Small discrepancies are normal on well-worn kit, and you can simply note them and adjust. Keep the conversions to hand:

• 1 lb = 454 g, so a recipe's pound of flour is a shade over 450 g
• 8 oz = 227 g and 4 oz = 113 g, the two weights you will reach for most
• Old recipes often use a gill, roughly 142 ml, and a breakfast cup, about 284 ml

Clean the beam with fine wire wool and a drop of oil, but never oil the pivot or you will gum it up. Store the weights in a drawstring bag so they do not wander off.

Jelly Moulds, Copper and Cast Iron in Use

Copper moulds are the showpieces of a vintage kitchen, and the good ones are tin-lined inside. Tin is what stops the copper reacting with fruit acids. Run a fingertip over the interior: if you can feel the copper coming through, the lining has gone and the mould should be kept for display, or used for setting butter, making soap or shaping a pâté. A soundly lined mould will turn out a jelly, a blancmange or a steamed sponge beautifully, provided you butter it thoroughly and dip it briefly in cold water before filling.

Cast iron is the other workhorse. A well-seasoned pan will outlast most modern non-stick, but it needs drying on the hob after washing and a thin wipe of oil before it goes away. Never soak it, and never leave it wet overnight.

Enamel Tins and the Working Pantry

Enamelled bread bins, flour bins, tea caddies and biscuit tins bring instant colour to a pantry shelf, and most of them are perfectly sound for dry goods. Two things to watch. First, chipped enamel: if the damage is inside, do not let wet or acidic food sit against the exposed metal. Line the tin with baking parchment or stand a paper bag inside it. Second, rust, which creeps in around seams and hinges. Treat light rust with fine wire wool and a smear of oil, then keep the contents dry.

Wooden bread bins deserve a mention too. Check for woodworm holes and for lingering smells, which a saucer of bicarbonate of soda left inside for a week will usually shift.

What to Buy and What to Walk Away From

Condition matters more than rarity when you intend to use a piece. Before buying, run through this list:

• Movement: hinges, handles and lids should work without force; a seized hinge often hides a crack
• Cracks and repairs: hairline cracks in stoneware will spread with heat; riveted repairs on metal are charming but only buy them for display
• Verdigris: green bloom on brass is normal and cleans off, but deep pitting means the metal underneath has gone
• Lining: any copper pan or mould without intact tin lining is decorative only
• Smells: a musty tin or jar will taint anything you store in it, however pretty it looks

Do not overpay for the ordinary. Plain enamel tins, wooden spoons, pudding basins and pastry boards turn up constantly and should cost a few pounds, not twenty.

Care, Cleaning and the Right Kind of Wear

Wash enamel by hand in warm water and dry it at once; dishwasher cycles will dull the glaze and lift any chips. Brass and copper look better with a gentle patina, so polish sparingly with a vinegar-and-salt paste rather than attacking them every month. Re-oil wooden spoons, boards and handles with a food-safe oil once or twice a year. Cast iron gets re-seasoned after every wash.

Accept honest wear as part of the deal. A knife mark on a pastry board, a rubbed patch on a bread bin lid, a slightly wobbly weight: these are the signs of a kitchen that has been used, and they are exactly why the pieces are worth having in yours.