The term antique is used rather loosely these days and often ends up reflecting the age of the person using it more than being a hard and fast definition. To a teenager, for example, a kitchen tool or gadget from the 1990s seems “antique,” while an older person might see antiques as the objects they used or seen in the homes of their parents and grandparents as a child. So the tools your grandmother or even mother have used might be termed as antique kitchen tools to younger persons.
According to the official definition issued by the United States Customs Service, antiques are items with at least 100 years of age under their belts. That means the scale slides every year as more objects grow older and fit into that timeframe.
There’s also plenty of stuff that was used in the kitchen and at the dining table, from practical inventions like butter makers and coffee brewers to silly tools like fork cleaners and spoon warmers. I have a peeler that is over 40 years old and now I am afraid of breaking it. Thing is, I have not bought a new one that works as good as my old one. I guess I have to get it out of retirement.
