20 Unusual Kitchen Items That Triggered Our Curiosity

From weirdly shaped knives and utensils, to plastic instruments with special features — these unusual kitchen tools were discovered hiding inside drawers. And since they are not as common as the other cooking devices that we normally use, they raised some questions about their true purpose.

Now I’ve Seen Everything collected several pictures of these unfamiliar kitchen instruments, which were identified with the help of internet users.

1. “Family gave me a bag of kitchen stuff for my apartment, and this was in it. It’s plastic, and the bottom has a little scoop. Sharpie for scale.”

Answer: It’s a cat food can opener. You use the handle to pop the tab, then the other side for the scooping.

2. “What is this small solid plastic tool I found in our old family cottage’s kitchen drawer?”

Answer: This is a pumpkin carving scoop. The indent in the center is for a kid’s thumb.

3. “I found this in an old silverware set. It’s a little shorter than a teaspoon, and the bottom edge is not sharp at all.”

Answer: This is a citrus peeler for oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, etc.

4. “What’s this kitchen item? It’s about the right size to hold an orange with 5 pointy spikes.”

Answer: It’s a holder for fruits and veggies to be sliced on a mandoline food slicer.

5. “These have been in our kitchen drawer for ages, but we haven’t figured out what they are used for.”

Answer: The green one is used to open bananas. The blue one is used to peel oranges — with the tooth on the front, you can cut lines in the outer shell of the orange, and with the beaver tail you can scrape the peel off.

6. “I’ve had this kitchen utensil forever, I just don’t know what it does or how to use it.”

Answer: This is a corn stripper.

7. “A steel kitchen utensil with a wooden handle.”

Answer: It’s a meat holder.

8. “This weird pair of tweezers — it’s probably a kitchen tool.”

Answer: Looks like it’s for squeezing lemon pieces to catch seeds.

9. “I found this tool in the kitchen drawer. Wondering what it’s used for. There’s no writing or logos on it.”

Answer: It’s a bottle/jar opener designed to fit various jar lid sizes.

10. “I just bought a house and this weird triangle holder thingy is by my kitchen sink. What is it?”

Answer: It’s a dish towel holder.

11. “Found this in a random box of kitchen supplies. Is this just for carving meat or some other food?”

Answer: It is used to make equally thick slices of bread.

12. “I found this while cleaning out the flat kitchen. It’s 8 inches long and the middle bit is a spring.”

Answer: It’s an ice tapper.

13. “What is this thing in my kitchen? It has a flat edge and it isn’t sharp.”

Answer: It’s a sharpener for smooth blade shears. The idea is to run it along the blade at an angle to get out any micro nicks.

14. “What is this odd serrated knife? It’s about 10 inches long, was found in a kitchen, and the serration of each section goes in opposite directions.”

Answer: It’s a frozen food knife!

15. “What is this thing? A kitchen tool of some kind? Or something for yarn maybe?”

Answer: This tool is for making a krumkake. The thin round cake, like a pancake, is rolled around the wooden pyramid. The metal part holds it in place while the soft dough cools.

16. “I bought this today at a flea market in a box with kitchen tools because it looked nice. Can you help me identify its purpose?”

Answer: It’s a toast rack, used to serve up toast on a table.

17. “I’m told this is a kitchen utensil, but none of us can figure out what it’s actually for. Can you help?”

Answer: This is an aluminum bar that you use like soap to remove the onion smell from your hands.

18. “What is this tool that came in my assorted kitchen bundle?”

Answer: This is a fish scale remover.

19. “I found this while cleaning the kitchen. When pressed, a little spike comes out of the hole. What is this?”

Answer: It’s an egg piercer. It helps keep the egg from cracking during boiling.

20. “Found these in the kitchen. They appear to be some kind of hooks, no idea what for though.”

Answer: It’s for bread makers. They are used to pull out the handle when its hot.

Have you ever come across items or tools with purposes you couldn’t identify? Tell us in the comments below.