Universal #2 Food Chopper ~ Food Grinder ~ 3 Blades ~ Cast Iron & Aluminum~ Farm House Kitchen ~ Rustic Tool ~ Off the deals Grid ~ Primitive

Universal #2 Food & Meat Chopper ~ Common kitchen tool from the early 1900's perhaps until electric food processors replaced them. This tool was used to grind meat or other foods and to make baby food. The thumb screw on the bottom secures the grinder to a pull-out bread board. The various attachments determine the texture, coarse or fine. Works just as well today as it did more than 100 years ago....no electricity necessary. This particular grinder is likely from the 1950s or early 60s and comes with the three original attachments that determine how coarse or fine the finished product will be. The crank on this one is made of aluminum.

I remember my mother using one just like this. She would grind up leftover roast beef or pot roast and make the most delicious hash. She also ground the last remnants of the ham and combined them with some magic ingredients (mayo and pickles maybe) and made open-face sandwiches topped with melted cheese. She would let me turn the crank and I remember how fascinating it was to watch the ground meat come out the other end. The last thing she would do before giving it a wash was to run the heel of a loaf of bread through it. That went into the hash too, but probably the purpose was to whisk all the remnants of the deals meat through the mechanism. After washing it, she also set it in the oven to dry. Probably the oven wasn't on; there must have just been some residual heat from having baked something. That last step in all likelihood was to prevent rust.

This Universal #2 food and meat chopper looks to have been used lightly. There are some spots of minor discoloration, but I do not think it is rust. The finish is still shiny. It comes with 3 different attachments, one with three teeth, one with 12 and one with 19 (called a crumber), all undamaged, plus the thumb screws, crank and inside mechanism. Made in U.S.A. appears on the aluminum crank in raised letters as well as D 4741.