Monday 9 May 2011

A Rice Ball Cooker. A Fun Find from a French Flea Market

Nothing like the lure of a good flea market to coax me out of bed early on a Sunday morning especially when the sun is shining and the weather is warm.

I've always been a fan of garage sales and flea markets especially those in France where I always find something new and interesting.  

French junk is different from Canadian junk for sure. 

Today's Vide Grenier was in Cap d'Ail, a small village within walking distance of Monaco.  As with many of the local Vide Grenier, this one was sponsored by the local Lion's Club and there were hundreds of vendors and thousands of bargain hunters all looking to get rid of junk or scoop up deals.


I'm always on the lookout for silver serving pieces, tableware, and interesting kitchen items and today I scored a triple play:  a pretty antique cake plate with flowers and gold trim, a vintage wooden ravioli cutter, and most interesting of all, 2 rice ball cookers. Grand total: 14. The man who sold me the rice ball cookers generously took the time to give me instructions on how to use them and of course, provided a recipe.

The minute I got home I ran to the kitchen and cooked up some rice.

Taking the vendor's advice I filled half of the ball with rice and submerged it in boiling water.  After 10 minutes of cooking and 5 minutes of resting, I cracked it open to find perfectly cooked rice.

I couldn't find much information about rice ball cookers and how to use them except for a little ad from the December 1934 edition of Good Housekeeping Magazine.  For a mere 35¢ you could get a rice ball and a recipe book. With inflation factored in I think I got a pretty good deal! 


If you'd like to learn more about garage sales, flea and antiques markets in France, follow this link to my other blog, The Auntie Times, Used Stuff in France Three Ways.
 



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I found one a little while ago that I bought in South Africa - first one I had seen but bought it in a box of vintage kitchen utensils for about US$1

Anonymous said...

Hi Jennifer, I just bought one of these in Portugal and didn't know what it was, now I do! Thank you.

Gustia said...

They really do make excellent rice. Have fun with it!