Cast iron

[jkingrph]

We use some old cast iron, a great deal of cast aluminum, some early Mirro, and principally a set of French tinned copper which dates to the '80s or perhaps the '90s at the latest. The sautè and saucepan are the most useful. These 130 year old pans work equally well over wood or coal, gas, and on the electric hot plate.

They are a bit of trouble to keep shining, but they look so nice when cleaned that the effort seems worth the while.

Somewhere we acquired a small cast aluminum pan, works great. They tend to conduct heat better than cast iron and heat more evenly. My wife complains about the weight of cast iron, and if I could find a bunch of cast aluminum pans of similar size and configuration I would get them and retire the cast iron. The oxide than forms with aluminum along with polymerized oils tend to make them rather non stick also.

 

[BobHufford]

Found the remnants of a 10” pot deep in the woods. Not sure that I can bring it back to a useful state.

 

[3fingers]

Found the remnants of a 10” pot deep in the woods. Not sure that I can bring it back to a useful state.

Quite a project. It will keep you out of trouble this winter.

 

[jkingrph]

Found the remnants of a 10” pot deep in the woods. Not sure that I can bring it back to a useful state.

Best of luck with that one. Let us see more pictures when the project is done!

 

[Atticus Finch]

Earlier in this thread, @scotrace mentioned that tin-lined copper pots provide the best heat conductivity of any cooking vessel. I never forgot his comment. Seven months later, I found myself in a New Orleans antique shop that specializes in vintage cookware. I saw this very heavy, tin-lined copper pot and bought it on the spot. The shop owner had it re-tinned and then shipped to to my home.

Scotrace was right. I call it my “mojo pot” because it cooks Cajun red beans that are so freakin’ good the explanation can only reside in the supernatural.

AF

 

[scotrace]

Made my day! I’m very glad you’re on board.

 

[BobHufford]

With BBQ season starting up I got to thinking about a grille I used to have (until someone stole it -- probably for scrap metal) off my deck back in the 1980s. It was a great grille! Ours was from the 1950s, but I think they might still make them.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

With BBQ season starting up I got to thinking about a grille I used to have (until someone stole it -- probably for scrap metal) off my deck back in the 1980s. It was a great grille! Ours was from the 1950s, but I think they might still make them.

I'll bet that was a great one for slow cooking. For yrs I had a cast aluminum kettle grill made by KP Kitchen Patrol. It looked sort of like Sputnik or a satellite & it could really cook. After a number of yrs it developed a heat crack which would leak some air, but it could still really cook. I loved it.

A few yrs ago we got a new roof after a hail storm. I gave the job to a local company who subbed it out to a crew of roofers from "south of the border". They took 2-3 days doing the job & everyday they would eat their lunch on my covered patio. The day after the job was complete & they had cleared out I noticed my KP grill was gone along with a small Weber grill I used for camping. Really pissed me off!

 

[Atticus Finch]

Found the remnants of a 10” pot deep in the woods. Not sure that I can bring it back to a useful state.

Looks like it was once similar to one of my oldest...and most favored...bean pots.

AF

 

[jkingrph]

Earlier in this thread, @scotrace mentioned that tin-lined copper pots provide the best heat conductivity of any cooking vessel. I never forgot his comment. Seven months later, I found myself in a New Orleans antique shop that specializes in vintage cookware. I saw this very heavy, tin-lined copper pot and bought it on the spot. The shop owner had it re-tinned and then shipped to to my home.

Scotrace was right. I call it my “mojo pot” because it cooks Cajun red beans that are so freakin’ good the explanation can only reside in the supernatural.


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AF

Nice. I spent a couple of years over in Turkey back in the early 70's. Copper cookware was quite common, and we often saw shops that did re tinning. Remember untinned copper can be toxic. We have an old copper pot that must hold 20-25 gal that is copper lined. I think it was for making soup or stews for large numbers,

 

[alanfgag]

Earlier in this thread, @scotrace mentioned that tin-lined copper pots provide the best heat conductivity of any cooking vessel. I never forgot his comment. Seven months later, I found myself in a New Orleans antique shop that specializes in vintage cookware. I saw this very heavy, tin-lined copper pot and bought it on the spot. The shop owner had it re-tinned and then shipped to to my home.

Scotrace was right. I call it my “mojo pot” because it cooks Cajun red beans that are so freakin’ good the explanation can only reside in the supernatural.


View attachment 161666 View attachment 161667

AF

That's a beautiful pan. Do you know the maker?

 

[alanfgag]

Vintage Griswold cast iron waffle iron with cast-in hammered dimples. Likely 1940s.

 

[Atticus Finch]

That's a beautiful pan. Do you know the maker?

Not sure how old is the pot. Probably not very, given the “made in France” stamp near the handle. But it is heavy and cooks red beans better than anything I own.

AF

Edit: I just looked at “A Field Guide to Dehillerin”. Found it on line. The author guessed this stamp is post WWII but perhaps pre 1957. The manufacture of this pot was possibly outsourced to Jules Gaillard...who, evidently, is another French cookware maker.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Here’s some cast iron you might not see every day. This iron decoy sat at my grandparents’ front door for many years. I’m not sure when it first came to their home, but it’s broken bill is owing to my father’s childhood use of it as a nut cracker. According to Dad, that happened one Christmas in the mid-thirties.

But the decoy was old, even before then.

Cast iron decoys are relics of a bygone era. After the Civil War, in the days of unregulated market gunning, hunters often killed scores of ducks from special duck blinds called sink-boxes. I won’t bore you with the details, but heavy iron decoys held the “wings” of sink boxes level with the surrounding water. This allowed hunters to hide beneath the surface...literally, below sea level. Yes, the practice was dangerous for hunters. But, to the ducks, it was absolutely deadly.

In 1918, the Federal Migratory Bird Act outlawed the use of sink boxes. Since iron decoys had no other practical function in the field, hundreds of them were soon relegated to use as andirons, net anchors and door stops. Sometime after 1915, when my grandparents built their house in Beaufort, NC, Grandpa probably rescued this old redhead from some ignominious fate. And, for the next century or so, it found employment as a doorstop, Yuletide nut cracker...and, now, family heirloom.

AF

 

[alanfgag]

View attachment 201634



Not sure of how old is the pot. Probably not very, given the “made in France” stamp near the handle. But it is heavy and cooks red beans better than anything I own.

AF

Edit: I just looked at “A Field Guide to Dehillerin”. Found it on line. The author guessed this stamp is post WWII but perhaps pre 1957. The manufacture of this pot was possibly outsourced to Jules Gaillard...who, evidently, is another French cookware maker.

Great... thanks for adding that photo. E. Dehillerin is a great name in French copper - the store is still in operation today. Gaillard made excellent commercial weight copper too. I have a set of saucepans with their stamp.

 

[tonyb]

Just picked up these ’60s(?)-vintage Copco enameled iron pots and pans. Very heavy, which is kinda the point.

 

[belfastboy]

View attachment 398650 Just picked up these ’60s(?)-vintage Copco enameled iron pots and pans. Very heavy, which is kinda the point.

I had (lost along the way somewhere) a Copco pot from the mid 70's, in orange of course. I saw in Costco yesterday two enameled CI fry pans on coupon now costing $40 Canadian for the pair. Last thing I need is anymore fry pans but I almost caved......almost.

 

[Bugguy]

Seeing as cast iron has floated to the top of the forum... I'm finally parting with a great little pot bellied 'caboose' or 'railroad' stove. I brought this home from the Nashville antique fair in horrible condition years ago and had it blasted and repainted so it's fully restored. I replaced the mica window, so its usable for coal or wood.

I've seen similar stoves in caboose pictures, but usually square. I suspect if it was really used in a caboose, it burned coal. Regardless, it is a great conversation piece that I've never gotten around to installing. I guess I'm put off with cutting a hole in the wall. I may save it for my garage/workshop.

Tennessee Stove Works, Chattanooga, TN. - not much history to be found.