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Nutcracker
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==Functions== Nuts were historically opened using a hammer and anvil, often made of stone.<ref name=book/> Some nuts such as walnuts can also be opened by hand, by holding the nut in the palm of the hand and applying pressure with the other palm or thumb, or using another nut.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popsugar.com/food/How-Crack-Nuts-Without-Nutcracker-26338627|title=Holiday Hack: How to Crack Open Nuts With Your Bare Hands|work=PopSugar|last=Perry|first=Nicole|date=December 7, 2015|access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> Manufacturers produce modern functional nutcrackers usually somewhat resembling pliers, but with the pivot point at the end beyond the nut, rather than in the middle. These are also used for cracking the shells of crab and lobster to make the meat inside available for eating. Hinged lever nutcrackers, often called a "pair of nutcrackers", may date back to [[Ancient Greece]].<ref name=book>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZhxRMPg4Y4gC&pg=PA5|title=Nutcrackers|first=Robert|last=Mills|publisher=Shire Books|isbn=9780747805236|date=2001|access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> By the 14th century in Europe, nutcrackers were documented in England, including in the ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'', and in France.<ref name=book/> The lever design may derive from blacksmiths' pincers. Materials included metals such as silver, cast-iron and bronze,<ref name=slate>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/holidays/2010/12/in_a_nutshell.html|title=In a Nutshell: A Brief History of Nutcrackers|first=Noreen|last=Malone|work=Slate|date=December 2012|access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> and wood including [[boxwood]], especially those from France and Italy.<ref name=book/> More rarely, porcelain was used.<ref name=slate/> Many of the wooden carved nutcrackers were in the form of people and animals.<ref name=book/> [[File:Nutcracker ΓAM.jpg|thumb|A screw nutcracker]] During the Victorian era, fruit and nuts were presented at dinner and ornate and often silver-plated nutcrackers were produced to accompany them on the dinner table.<ref name=book/> Nuts have long been a popular choice for desserts, particularly throughout Europe. The nutcrackers were placed on dining tables to serve as a fun and entertaining center of conversation while diners awaited their final course. At one time, nutcrackers were actually made of metals such as brass, and it was not until the 1800s in Germany that the popularity of wooden ones began to spread.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oktoberfesthaus.com/blogs/okt/39280705-the-history-of-nutcrackers|title=History Of Nutcrackers|work=Oktoberfest Haus|date=September 5, 2014 |access-date=March 27, 2017}}</ref> The late 19th century saw two shifts in nutcracker production: the rise in figurative and decorative designs, particularly from the Alps where they were sold as souvenirs, and a switch to industrial manufacture, including availability in mail-order catalogues, rather than artisan production.<ref name=book/> After the 1960s, the availability of pre-shelled nuts led to a decline in ownership of nutcrackers and a fall in the tradition of nuts being put in children's [[Christmas stockings]].<ref name=book/> ===Alternative designs=== [[File:Macadamia cracking tool.jpg|thumb|Modern screw nutcracker designed specifically for macadamia nuts]] In the 17th century, screw nutcrackers were introduced that applied more gradual pressure to the shell, some like a vise.<ref name=book/> The spring-jointed nutcracker was patented by [[Henry Quackenbush]] in 1913.<ref name="Nutcracker history">{{cite web|title= Nutcracker history - invention of the nutcrackers | url=http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/nutcracker.htm|publisher=ideafinder.com|access-date=20 June 2012}}</ref> A [[Ratchet (device)|ratchet]] design, similar to a car jack, that gradually increases pressure on the shell to avoid damaging the kernel inside is used by the Crackerjack, patented in 1947 by Cuthbert Leslie Rimes of Morley, Leeds and exhibited at the [[Festival of Britain]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tried-tested-taking-a-crack-at-it-we-sample-seven-nutcrackers-the-hard-shell-won-when-it-came-to-the-1392361.html|title=TRIED & TESTED / Taking a crack at it: We sample seven nutcrackers. The hard shell won when it came to the crunch|last=Yarrow|first=Stella|work=The Independent|date=February 6, 1994|access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://openingceremony.festivalofbritain.woodhousemoor.com/morleys-nutcrackers/|title=Morley's Nutcrackers|date=June 22, 1951|work=Morley Advertiser|access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=GB&NR=592232|title=Improvements in or relating to nut-crackers GB592232 (A)|work=Espacenet|date=September 9, 1947|access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ehive.com/account/3894/object/73525| title=Crackerjack nutcrackers; C.L. Rimes Limited, Leeds, UK; 1969; T92|work=City of Belmont Museum|publisher=Ehive|access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref> Unshelled nuts are still popular in China, where a key device is inserted into the crack in walnuts, pecans, and macadamias and twisted to open the shell.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-24/cracking-nuts-in-china/5834734|title=Is China's love for our native nut a production threat or marketing opportunity for Australian macadamia growers?|work=ABC Rural|first=Kim|last=Honan|date=October 24, 2014|access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> Screw nutcrackers are still commonly used to crack [[macadamia]] nuts,<ref name="am">{{cite web | url=https://www.australian-macadamias.org/grow/how-to-crack-a-macadamia-nut/ | title=How to crack a macadamia nut }}</ref> since their shell is too hard to be cracked with an ordinary nutcracker.<ref name="shellingmachine">{{cite web | url=https://www.shellingmachine.com/application/south-africa-macadamia-nuts-processing-industry.html | title=Macadamia Nuts Processing Industry in South Africa | date=25 June 2019 }}</ref>
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