Yes, but why did they resemble tomatoes?
That's an interesting question, mainly because the obvious answer is what else would they be?
And a look on the internet, and in particular I was searching magazine archives for pictures of them, the only thing I found was a timer in the shape of a chicken.
Also from the internet, I discover that the chap that invented the pomodoro Francesco Cirillo, an Italian, I guess Italians use a lot of tomatoes in their cooking?
My guess is the original timer wasn't made for timing in the kitchen, I imagine it must be a device with a spring winder and a key like a clock, it was probably an industrial timing device for some sort of process.
Then somebody took this timer and thought I can make this into a kitchen timer, the device they had was roughly the size of a tomato, and they had to think of something to put it in and make it attractive or possibly they already had a tomato shaped piece of plastic?
The point is that the question was a good question, because it hints at the history of the device, the history of advertising, the history of selling products to people. There's a lot more to it than just a simple timer for the kitchen. Someone created this thing, a timer for the kitchen, why?
Why did somebody decide you needed a timer in the kitchen?
Was there a famous cook like Delia Smith that said you should time this processor else you will get sick?
Was it just a Christmas gift idea?
Do YOU actually use a timer in the kitchen?
I know I don't, and my wife who does the majority of the cooking doesn't
The only person I know that does use a timer is my mother to time how long her porridge is cooked for.
But she doesn't use a tomato shaped one, she uses a little digital one she keeps in the cutlery drawer.
This leads me to tell you about something else I do. I love to know what people have for breakfast... Because --- that's another thread I reckon!
