Week 22 of 2012 - Breadbox

Oh what a topic...a breadbox.  Most people today do not even know what a breadbox was.  Ask a few people and you will get this look of bewilderment.  “Breadbox, what is that? “ They are still available and I was quite surprise when I did a google search that there are a lot of them out there...All shapes and sizes. Some are wooden and some are plastic and medal... Wikipedia says “A breadbox (chiefly American) or a bread bin (chiefly British)[1] is a container for storing  bread and other baked goods to keep them fresh. They were a more common household kitchen item until bread started being made commercially with food preservatives and wrapped in plastic.”

Well, I did have one when I was first married. They had regained popularity in the 1970's and 1980's when most kitchens had one. Mine was wooden and sat on my counter in Arizona next to my refrigerator.  It had an "oval medallion decorative thing" on the front of it.  I do not remember if it was a floral motif  or something else.  And I did store bread in it.  My children would remember it.  I do not remember if I brought it to Illinois with me when I moved here. Somewhere along the way I got rid of it.  I probably just did not have the counter space anymore.  I seem to recall that my mother had a nifty tin box (rather like lunchbox material) that she got from the Twin Pines man or for some promotional event at the grocery store....or on second thought was that a potato chip tin box!!!  On how my memory sometimes plays tricks on me!

My first husband's Grandma, Grandma Kaake had a bread drawer.  That was the first time I saw such a thing...Well it wasn't just a bread drawer, she also stored her cookies and sweet treats in there. You opened the drawer and it had a special tin lining of sorts which fit exactly inside the drawer. You would slide open the top of the metal lining. The bread drawer was a deep drawer and she always had it full of good stuff.  Every kid who walked through her door made a beeline for the bread drawer to find out what kind of goody she had in there today. There were always cookie and bread but sometimes you might get lucky and find brownies, pie or donuts!

So there you have it...My memories of a breadbox, bread drawer and a Potato chip tin!

Jan