All though,potatoes have long been considered a European staple, potatoes are a New World Food. Native to the Americas, potatoes were introduced to Europe around 1536 by Spanish explorers. The Incas seemed to prefer mashed potatoes. Some say the original recipe originated in 1771 when a French man Antoine Parmentier held a competition for potato recipes. Other sources say the English invented the mashed potatoes with gravy in 1600. No matter where they originated, a kitchen utensil was needed for preparation.
Probably the first potato masher was a rock or stone followed by a hand shaped masher made of wood. With the machine age of 1800's,the wood masher evolved into a hand or machine-turned mallet. Workers made mashers from left over wood - so designs and size varied. It was an additional source of income for the workers. These mashers do their job so well that no one has made changes to their basic design. It has become the most common of kitchen utensils.
Offering a fine selection of potato mashers in various sizes, All are in excellent condition and can be used as decoration or kitchen utensil. Each sells for $20.00 @.