Apple Anatomy
The
apple stem end is usually placed on the fork for paring. Which leads
to an interesting question. Why are the extra small knife blades
on some apple parers called blossom cutters? Pictures in old catalogs
show the stem end placed on the fork. A 1915 ad for the "Penn
Perfect",
reproduced in Thornton's Apple Parers boasts, "The
small stationary knife near the Fork serves to pare the Apple around
the
base of the stem, thus making the operation clean and perfect".
(1997, p. 73) The Reading Advance lathe has a "B. Knife " patent
date. A Reading ad reproduced in Thronton's book claims, "...the
small knife removes the paring from the base of the apple..." (1997,
p.40). In the picture one cannot tell which way the apple was oriented
on
the machine.
It is my belief the person who named the blossom knife may have made
a mistake. |