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Bean Cutter

Display: Cutting Edge
Culinary Technique: separation

Date: c. 1900

Location: Germany

Dimensions: 8.5" h x 3.25" w x 7" d

This tool cut a green bean into thin, French-style slices as a cook cranked with one hand and fed one bean at a time through the chute. The crank handle turned a seven-blade roller that pressed the bean against the matching grooves of the stone roller, resulting in finely slivered stringed beans. The tool is marked Gesetzlich Geschlist, which means "legally protected" or patented. It was sold in the United States by a New York City housewares importer.

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