Mom Refusing To Throw Away Soviet-Era Cookware Cheered: ‘Still Works Good’

A photo of a woman’s kitchen utensil has gone viral on Reddit and racked up 30,000 upvotes.

The June 9 post titled, “my mom cooks dinner with this every day and refuses to buy a new one…” was shared to the subreddit r/mildlyinfuriating.

User Kalmarsus told Newsweek: “We cook noodles for soup every day with it and she refuses to throw it away because she says it still works good. It was our grandmother’s and it was made in the Soviet Union, so over 30 years ago.”

The hand-held utensil with a mesh basket is commonly used for straining particles from liquid. As a rule, it is silver as they are often made from stainless steel but in this case, it is brown and orange.

Despite being not what it once was, thousands of Reddit users understand why it is still being used.

One user said: “I think is of the mindset from her that ‘it works, it’s not broken, so why waste money getting another one?” I’ve had the similar mentality when I’m trying to be frugal, or am attached to a certain object because [of] it’s history.”

Another agreed: “Same. I would only [replace] it if it broke, my dog decides to chew it up (she has one when she was a year old), or if someone gifted me a new one. Otherwise I would keep using it. Money struggles definitely the main reason for this!”

A third commenter said: “My dad always used to say “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

But not all of the 3,600 comments are about savvy spending, with some users joking about the original poster’s iron levels.

One said: “Highly likely you aren’t anemic,” and another commenter wrote, “no need to take iron supplements any more!”

However, it’s not all fun and games, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture website explains that rust is not safe for consumption and should never be ingested. Instead, people are advised to thoroughly remove all rust from utensils before using them.

According to a 2023 YouGov survey, 89 percent of 1,000 U.S. adults, own a strainer or colander and almost all respondents (92 percent) considered themselves to be “great cooks.” The simple yet effective sieve is owned by people of all ages but mostly those who are over the age of 45. The retail price can range from $1.19 to $60, according to Walmart.

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