Tvare (traditional wooden kitchen whisk)
A tvare is an older Norwegian kitchen implement used for stirring and mashing. Tvore and turu are alternative Norwegian names. A traditional form has a shaft ending in a whorl of short branch stubs, resembling a simple wooden whisk.
Form and use
NAOB describes a thick branch with its end twigs cut to even lengths. Aurskog-Høland museum records use for stirring porridge and mashing potatoes or swede. The museum also discusses examples made from a tree top. This explains the form without identifying the timber of every surviving example.
Recording and distinguishing objects
Record length, number of branch stubs, end shape and repairs. Distinguish it from a spoon with a hollow bowl and a whisk with loops. Check whether the branches grow naturally from the shaft or have been inserted. Wear and a dark surface alone establish neither age nor a particular use. Attach use histories to evidence about the individual object.
