National origins: not always what they seem

Danish Bread Dough Whisk: Made in Poland.

BuiltNY Clink-Proof BYOBag: Made in Taiwan.

Oyster Knife, Boston Style (also New Haven Style and Galveston Style): Made in Brazil.

Tortilla/Taco Shell Baking Pans, Blued Steel Deep Paella Pan, Cucina Pro Electric Krumkake Iron, Swissmar Classic 8 Person Raclette Party Grill -- and a mindboggling array of other cooking utensils: Made in China.

At www.fantes.com (the Fantes shop was established in Philadelphia in 1906) you can travel around the world by merely exploring their catalogue. It feels as through every national cuisine is represented. But it's clear, even after only a few clicks -- and if you love kitchen stuff the way I do, I challenge you to perform only a few clicks; I found that the enterprise quickly became addictive -- that almost every category is swamped by the number of items manufactured in the People's Republic.

The copper pots come from France, and so do the Peugeot pepper mills, as one would hope and expect. There are tagines from Tunesia, as one would hope and expect, although the catalogue does include tagines from both France and the USA.

But for the rest, one must imagine endless ranks of Chinese workers in endless ranks of Chinese factories turning out endless numbers of melamine measuring cups, silicone spatulas, meat grinders, flour sifters, pickle forks, ketchup bottle scrapers; not to mention Cuisinart coffee makers and even the Sushi Magic Express Sushi Maker Kit.

Without doubt, however, this item is my very favorite:

You'll find it in "Toasters." An instructional note says:

Press stamp into a piece of bread before toasting it. Works best on fresh white sliced bread. Makes a light image, almost as if the image appeared naturally on the toast.

Beware of imitations!