What is this for? A burger-press?

Question

I've "inherited" this thing a long time ago, and I have no idea what it is. It consists of a cylindrical porcelain bowl with the words "Mason Cash England" stamped in the bottom, a very sturdy cast-iron frame with a screw through and two circular discs of zinc-plated iron that fit neatly inside. I could half imagine it being use to produce a perfectly circular burger, but it seems like absurd overkill. Here's a couple of pictures:

What is it actually for - anything to do with cookery at all?

Never underestimate the power of the useless kitchen gadget! — GdD, Jul 13 '20 at 09:43
While this one looks like it belongs in a kitchen, very similar contraptions exist for pressing leaves, books and just about anything else that needs pressing. One plate on the bottom, one plate screwed against it and whatever needs flattening in the middle. — Mast, Jul 14 '20 at 11:22
While Elendil's answer seems correct, why not contact https://www.masoncash.co.uk/ directly & ask? They could probably give you information on the age and how to clean it as well. — Dragonel, Jul 14 '20 at 15:24

score 36 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 15 '20 at 21:42

36

It appears to be a 'Meat/Cheese Press':

https://picclick.co.uk/Vintage-Mason-Cash-Cast-Iron-Ceramic-Meat-312233238612.html

I'm not sure why you'd press meat, but you'd use it with cheese to press the whey out.

edited Jul 15 '20 at 21:42

SQB

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answered Jul 13 '20 at 09:24

ElendilTheTall

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You'd press meat if you're making, say, a paté. – LSchoon Jul 13 '20 at 09:25
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@LSchoon Ah yes, good call – ElendilTheTall Jul 13 '20 at 09:42
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Can likely also be used to press carcasses. – Johannes_B Jul 13 '20 at 09:44
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@Johannes_B Like a duck press, you mean? I would worry about drainage, in that case. – LSchoon Jul 13 '20 at 09:52
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Smal scale winemaking? Only joking - I'll accept the answer, since it is obviously right. Thx! – j4nd3r53n Jul 13 '20 at 10:07
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When I was a kid my grandmother was given an ox tongue and needed to press it; my uncle, a car mechanic, did it with 2 enamel metal plates and a couple of G-clamps. They left it for several hours. – Michael Harvey Jul 13 '20 at 16:17
I'd expect a cheese press to have more drainage though - the only way to get rid of the whey here would be to invert it, and it doesn't look designed for that. – Chris H Jul 14 '20 at 20:34
@MichaelHarvey Did the ox confess eventually? – Sneftel Jan 04 '21 at 09:56
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@Sneftel - it had more difficulty speaking than oxen usually do. – Michael Harvey Jan 04 '21 at 10:00

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 14 '20 at 10:42

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You might also use this to slowly get excess moisture out of tofu! I usually put my slab between 2 plates with weights on top, so I can get it dry enough to fry in panko batter.

answered Jul 14 '20 at 10:42

Kaleigh MacKay

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What is this for? A burger-press?

2 Answers2