To mince or not to mince….?

You’ve just reminded me that I have a mincer somewhere. It seemed like a good idea at the time……………

I have never liked the look of those mincers, they look as though they’d be fiddly to clean and quite unhygienic.

Not in this kitchen, MrJ rarely creates meals in the kitchen and we cleared out a load of stuff that wasn’t used a year ago. We have a very good butcher friend, in the unlikely event I’d need anything mincing, he’d do it.

They are marvellous for making bread crumbs with if you cut dryish bread into small cubes and let it dry thoroughly before mincing.

Making your own is much cheaper than buying ready made bread crumbs and you know what is in it too.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." So said William Morris.
Having said that though, there is plenty in this house that I could do without but DH would cry if I got rid of them.

My mother had a Spong mincer. She cursed it every time she used it. The only thing it would screw on to was a kitchen chair! She had to mince stuff on her knees.

Spong no 25

This is the aforementioned mincer-it’s a no.25 and is described as ‘vintage’. Looks quite an old model to me, no enamel for a start, but appears to have its attachments!

It won’t match my kitchen and there won’t be any meat minced as I’m vegetarian, but memories of childhood? They must be worth the £10.

I had one, bought about 1970. Spong. Blue. Didn’t use it much and eventually gave it away. Perhaps it’s the one OP’s husband covets!

I still have mine, but it is quite a small one so doesn't take up much space. I would guess I use it about once a month or six weeks. I wouldn't want to be without it.

I really wish I still had my mum's old one, but my husband chucked it out years ago in one of his decluttering spells. I used to love using it to mince the leftovers from the roast beef, which I then made into a cottage pie - nothing came close to that!

If I had a kitchen table to clamp it to, I’d buy one like a shot. Alas I don’t.

Depends. Is it cheap? Would it look out of place in your kitchen or would it fit right in if you have other vintage clutter gadgets, like scales with weights etc?
It sounds as if it can be used for things other than mincing meat, anyway.
I'd love an efficient carrot grater!

OMG! I remember my mum having one - Monday dinner was either cold roast meat just sliced and with new potatoes and salad in the summer, in winter, the roast meat was minced, and had onions added to it, then either baked in the onion with gravy and served with mashed spuds and veg or made into a pie or shepherds/cottage pie with veg in the winter.
If you think you will use it, why not buy it? I can remember having to wait until I was deemed old enough to not trap my fingers in it!

I still have mine! A wedding gift from 1975. Blue and it still has enough suction to stick to the counter top. I have never used the meat attachment as I'm plant-based but it's a terrific carrot grater! 46 years old!