What is this utensil?

[CityFoodie]

What is this? It was found in my father-in-law's kitchen. Thanks.

[alkapal]

i'm thinking about the answer. egg slicer doesn't seem correct.

in the meantime, i'll sip on my gin and "titonic." http://www.kitschulike.com/product_in...

[roxlet]

Ha, ha! Love it!

[cajundave]

It does look like it's for scooping and then pushing off the scoop as apposed to chopping because there is a stop. Take it to the Swimming with sharks TV show! I you figure it out.

[alkapal]

strange shape to "scoop," though.

[monku]

I was thinking of something along that line.
Maybe scraping home made chocolates off a sheet pan and transferring them onto a serving dish so you don't get fingerprints on them?

This is driving me crazy and I got to know what it is.

[jacquelyncoffey]

To me, it looks like a spatula and you lift the burgers or pancakes or whatever out of the pan, and squeeze the handle to push them onto the bun or a plate.

[jjw]

This brings back a vague memory from my childhood in the 50's. If I'm recalling correctly, it's a tool to make drop cookies. You squeeze the handle together, scoop up some dough, and then release the handle to push the dough off onto the cookie sheet.

[Gio]

Oh gosh I have one of those. It was my mother's. I really don't know what it's used for but something tells me it wasn't used as you describe. Maybe for slicing hard boiled eggs? I have to have a think on this...

[Chemicalkinetics]

Sounds reasonable.

[Miss Priss]

A little online research confirms the accuracy of your memory! Here's a "cookie dropper" from an online vendor:

http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/product.aspx?T=1&productId=614925

And here's the patent application (with helpful drawings) for one version:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5149161.pdf

There's also a newer type that looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Scoop-Re...

Apparently people have been dropping cookies with these things for decades. Who (besides them) knew?!

[alkapal]

miss priss wins the contest! ;-).

ps. have all of you noticed that whenever you go to amazon, there is always "only one" left of the product -- whatever it is!?

[monku]

Thanks.
The only thing that made me think it wasn't was how does one drop a round looking piece of dough to make a round cookie from that thing?

[alkapal]

i know...how do you control portion size?

[CityFoodie]

Miss Priss -- Bravo!! Bravo!! Thank you for your detailed research...and now I know!

[Chemicalkinetics]

Wow. Only $1.70?

[MikeG]

I don't know how much they've actually been used, it's not like useless kitchen gadgets ever go out of style. ;) My mother had one of these (back in the 70s) and it really didn't work very well at all.

[CityFoodie]

jjw - Thanks so much! Mystery solved!

[Chemicalkinetics]

Just want you to know. I were the first to agree with you. I believe in you. :P