My husband worked in the Logging Woods here in Deep East Texas all his life. About 30 years ago, one of the old saw hands came to my husband carrying a LARGE cast iron skillet. ....Toby told my husband he found the handle sticking out of the dirt. He asked my husband to restore it and give it to me....in exchange for a pan of biscuits for him on occasion. It's a 16" cast iron skillet! ...have to have 2 hands to use this one! I still think of Toby every time I use it. 🤗
That's awesome! As a kid who grew up in the south, there's basically a cult around cast iron. There's a great big one that's almost 2 feet wide and almost looks like a shallow wok. I have no idea what was cooked in that one, but someone, somewhere in time, really needed a bloody great cast iron basin. It's always stumped me what it's for.
A couple of stories about culture shock: When my wife-to-be first visited my home in W. KY, she wondered what was in the coffee can hear the stove. Of course it was bacon grease. I had to show her our canister set, which had one labelled "grease" to convince her that people DO actually cook with it. The other thing she discovered in the garage was something hanging there in a greasy paper bag with cardboard on the floor. She described it to me, and exclaimed, "Dad got a ham! She was aghast when I told her how long it had likely hung there. I should mention that my father was a very successful surgeon, and I and my son are also physicians, and my brother a dentist and his daughter a physician. We were not poor farmers. I think my poor wife must have thought she had fallen into a time warp. Fortunately, she is still with me almost 47 years later.
In German we have a saying. When you have to move faster we say "Leg einen Zahn mehr zu" which translates to "Put one more tooth on!". It came from using the saw tooth. If you need a hotter pot you would have put it on a lower tooth so it boils faster.
In Dutch we have the same but the other way around 'Zet het een tandje lager' ('Put it a tooth lower'), but it means you should slow something down, interestingly enough. You could say you should 'put it a tooth higher' as well but then it means you should speed up. I don't think it has to do with boiling pots though, but some other mechanism now lost to time.
I learned the meaning of this German idiom at Marksburg near my home on the Rhine river. Wanted to share this when I saw you already posted the German idiom!
As a young woman growing up in VERY rural Italy, Parma to be exact, at the turn of the 20th Century my grandmother learned to cook using implements just like those, and on an open hearth as well. Needless to say when she came to America and discovered the wonders of gas stoves she NEVER looked back!
@@russellrlf Amazing all right, but in the old country Grandma didn't think anything of it, it's just how things were. I'll tell you a story and I'll try to make it a brief as possible. I've got a very interesting book at home called "Down Jersey," published in 1940 and about some of the lore of southern New Jersey. Anyway the author of the book Cornelius Weigand knew an Italian immigrant who ran a shoe-shine stand in one of Philadelphia's train stations. Anyway, the Italian gent visited a Colonial historic site in the Philly area, saw the kitchen fireplace with its utensils and recognized everything in it. Just like the house he grew up in in Calabria! "In the old days, for all people everywhere it was just the same!" he said. He was right!
Gas stoves are amazing. I'm going back to the old ways homesteading though lol. I'm sure she's able to cook Gordon Ramsay under the table with modern equipment after doing things the old way for so long!
@@teekotrain6845 Sadly, Grandma's no longer with us, she passed away in 1982. But let me tell you, she WOULD have cooked Gordon Ramsey under the table! And if he mouthed off to her like he's mouthed off to some of the people on his shows he'd have gotten a frying pan to the side of the head!
Hi: Gentleman knows how to cook , but not a Blacksmith. The round hole tramel is made from bloom iron , that is why it has all the delaminations. The waffle iron is a very well forged pro made one , not some home made crude job. Same with the basket handled stove lifter, a simpler to make item , but well done. I like the segment overall , but feel the need to point these things out. I have made my living for 42 years as a Blacksmith and know how to make all these items and can well judge the skill needed , Daniel Tokar The Willow Forge
@@mysticmeg111 Hi: Yes, webpage and youtube channel. You will have to google willowforge , they don't let you post addresses and links. RU-vid search Daniel Tokar. I make things to order, send me an email and I can give you a price and an idea of how long it will be. Thanks Daniel Tokar The Willow Forge
Hey Daniel tokar from the willow forge, I want to get into blacksmithing but it seems like an expensive hobby (power hammer, kiln, all that stuff is very expensive) is there some way to get into it as a hobby without spending a ton?
@@lordbarron3352The complete Modern Blacksmith by Weygers , is the best overall book on improvised blacksmith shops and tools. If you have the time , you can make everything from scrap for very little money. He was a Merchant Sailor 60 years ago and had to fix parts in remote locations around the world and he watched local craftsmen make stuff in those places. Great book to start. Daniel
It's kinda funny, the name salamander has still stuck in the restaurant industry. They have this little specialty high temperature finishing broiler called a salamander broiler that is very popular among high end restaurants.
In German there's the saying "Leg mal einen Zahn zu!" (Roughly: "Put on another tooth") when you want someone to hurry up. It's derrived from the sawtooth they used back then, meaning "Put your dish closer to the fire so it cooks faster". Funny how things go
It goes back to the Romans. They believed a salamander was created in fire, and breathed fire. The name of tools like that is an allusion to it. If you've ever seen the logo for the Italian petroleum company Agip, it's a salamander. When French director Francois Truffaut filmed his version of "Fahrenheit 451", he used the salamander as the symbol of the firemen, too.
Yeah, far too often the focus ends up being on big events and politics and war and what not but these are things that are as important in our daily lives as they were for people 300 years ago.
I'd love to see you do a video about how people took care of babies and toddlers in the 1700's. No one ever talks about that. I'd love to know about how they kept them safe, what kind of toys they played with, and what kind of activities people did with them back then.
I'd imagine the rounded bottom would actually help the castings work better and produce more usable pots, as a primary thing. From what I remember from casting classes (decades ago) the primary factor across ALL casting design is *speed*, getting your molten metal where it needs to be as fast as possible to minimize heat loss and differentials across the piece, and the round bottom would keep the metal moving much better by letting gravity help pull the metal into place instead of having to be pushed by the inflow through the gate. The rounded bottom might also make it a more even-heating pot by spreading the heat for cooking more quickly and allowing hot air to spread up the sides so as to bring heat to the food from more directions at once.
One of my ancestors built a house on the Shenandoah River in 1700. He had a puddling Forge, maybe to do something like these... The house is still these, the fireplace is enormous and I can see all of these in that fireplace... Wonderful.
Puddling forge is for making Puddled Wrought Iron, highest quality Iron on the market for its time if its Thrice Puddled. You couldn't cast with a puddling furnace only forge weld.
@@emccoy No woks have a round bottom so you can lean in over and only heat some of it while the other half of food is almost done. Making fried rice for instance. You lean it over as you incorporate the ingredients. Don't want your eggs burning.
My mother had an antique Swedish tea kettle, made from copper, tinned on the inside, with three forged iron legs, which had been riveted to the top of the kettle, and a wooden handle which stuck out from a sleeve which had been brazed to the side of the kettle, 90 degrees from the spout. One leg had been repaired by riveting another length of forged iron to it to extend it where the old leg had been broken off, short. She would use it in the fireplace at Christmas time to make spiced tea, and mulled wine. Still working after over 200 years!
tea is probably fine, but mulling wine in it might be dangerous. Alot of those old materials such as copper, tin, and pewter would leach out when exposed to acid especially if you cook it for a long time like tomato sauce or canning. Wine is only mildly acidic and not cooked for very long but its not a good thing for your health if it does leach out.
@@mcgrawnelson4722 Actually, the tin coatings inside copper pots and pans is to protect against copper leaching - especially when cooking acidic foods.
@@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim No. Tin is an element, and doesn't leach into food. Some tin *compounds* can be quite toxic, put pure elemental tin is quite safe. That's why they coat the insides of copper cookware with it. The copper can leach into food, and build up in the body to unsafe levels. The tin coatings prevent that. I'll bet that you're thinking of solder, which is an alloy of tin and lead. Solder lined cookware would (indeed) be quite dangerous.
I can actually see why you'd want a round bottom for saucepans. I find that using a wood spoon or a whisk is so much easier in a round bottomed bowl vs my modern saucepan. Getting the flour out of the inner corners while making a gravy is sooo annoying! I wish we could bring those back!
I know this is probably just vocabulary in the heat of the moment, but I’ll throw this in because there’s a lot of misinformation out there about how to care for cast iron cookware, and I had to learn the hard way. When seasoning cast iron, you are trying to *polymerize* the fat (fat chains cross-linking at high heat, forming a hard plastic-like layer), not carbonize it (burning food to soot). Carbonizing usually happens when someone is scared to thoroughly clean their pan and leaves a thin layer of food residue. When they cook again, the food residue burns to carbon, and a layer of seasoning build on top of that layer of carbonized food. Repeat a few times, you’ll get a “gunk/seasoning lasagne” which will easily chip and flake off (which probably reinforces the false myth that you shouldn’t use soap with cast iron). Proper seasoning involves clean layers of seasoning built up over time, each layer polymerized or cross-linked to each other to make a very strong and smooth surface. Any carbonized food present will prevent those layers from attaching to each other. Our great grandmothers used lye soap to clean their cast iron, so we shouldn’t be afraid of using some milder dish soap with each use. I used to believe that false myth that you should never use soap on cast iron, and only used a scouring pad, and my seasoning flaked and chipped all the time. Then I read an article by a modern cast iron skillet maker, who debunked that, showing that not only is proper seasoning very strong, but also it is chemically unaffected by soaps or detergents (you know this if you’ve ever tried to clean hardened grease off a fryer or range hood!) I started scrubbing my cast iron with dish soap after reading that years ago, and I haven’t had any flaking. I haven’t needed to re-season a pan since.
Other myths include that it has to smoke to polymerize and that moderate seasoning temperatures yield a soft deposit (certainly slower but not softer). One thing: lye soaps, like castile soap and Neutrogena(R), aren't necessarily harsh.
My 7th Great Grandfather (1703-1757) had the following kitchen items listed in his will: 9 dishes, 9 plates, 21 spoons, one frying pan, one skillet, four iron potts, one copper kettle, one still, six coffee cups, one case of forks and knives and a flask.
I've always been enamored of cast iron cookware. I didn't inherit any pieces or buy any antiques, just purchased the modern ones. I had one for a long time, and it was well seasoned. Sadly, one time I set it on the stove burner to dry off, and forgot about it. My routine was to finish up the kitchen cleanup, then take the iron skillet off the burner. Well, I forgot and left the kitchen. Some time later I smelled something burning, then heard a small explosion. It was the skillet cracking in two, split down the middle crosswise (perpendicular to the handle). There was nothing for it but to turn off the burner and let it cool down. Ever since then I stand right at the stove when the skillets are on the burner drying.
Sounds like it had an innate casting flaw, probably a bit of the casting sand or an air bubble in the metal, or mishandling at the factory causing a difficult to see hairline crack. A cleanly cast and undamaged piece should be able to easily withstand heating to red-hot, well beyond the temperature range possible with any common house stove, without any damage (aside from burning off the seasoning).
I had that happen…put an enameled iron skillet on the stove eye, preheated it, turned to put the steak in-and bang, a piece of iron shot past my face and the skillet cracked in half. A flaw in the iron, apparently. Certainly an eye-opening moment.
I love cast iron. I grew up in Charleston and remember watching wrought iron being made into fencing. Fascinating!! Thank you for having this amazing guest on the show!
I have a metal trivet with a ceramic tile on it that I use to put under various hot pans and dishes when i want to put them on the countertop or the table so the surface doesn't get burned. Last night I put it under the air fryer pan so the counter top didn't get damaged. It's basically very old tech holding up something very new tech.
This was awesome! When Michael was talking about being a steward for that simple lifter thing ( I forget what it was called, lol), it was such a beautiful sentiment. Antiques like that, still in use, still having life, what a connection that must be to the people of the past.
My grandmother had a favorite way to season cast iron. She had 2 stoves, a 1943 Frigidaire electric and a wood stove. She didn't like getting either up to 500. So she'd get garbage fatty meat and fry it. She'd smear it around a bit. Once it was done, she'd clean the skillet and toss the meat. After the third time, she'd taste the meat to see if it was ready or if it had a metallic taste. Before you knock me, one traditional way to season a wok is similar.
As a prepper and homesteader, I find these explorations into the intricate details of early American cooking, building, and society to be incredibly important and valuable. Keep up the great work!
That is how I seasoned my cast iron. I have a cast iron skillet from 1880 and a Dutch oven from 1840. Both purchased at tag sales. Had a bear of a time restoring them, but love them.
I would love to have an antique Dutch oven. I asked for one as a Christmas gift years ago, but never had the heart to tell my husband the the Lodge one he got me wasn't right (the lid is convex so there is no way to put coals on top to make it an oven). I have several vintage skillets and they are my favourite cookware.
Awesome job Jon and Michael, your collection of Colonial Cookware is fantastic. Really enjoyed this video and will be sharing this alot. Thank you so much for keeping OUR HISTORY ALIVE. Fred.
@@swimmingturtle00 Avocado oil, wiped off to be "wet" but not dripping. Bake between 450 - 500 degrees for an hour. Let cool in oven. Repeat 6 times. Maybe even 8. Yes, it takes a long time. You don't need to read further. A little science, from my research. _IF_ your definition of seasoning is the polymerization of oil, then... ALL seasoning oils will polymerize given enough time (but it will be rancid due to autoxidation). So, in theory, you could spread olive oil on cast iron and wait long enough...presto, it's seasoned (and nasty rancid). BUT... If anyone ever heats that cast iron above olive oil's smoke point (say, about 350F degrees), then, by definition it is not exactly polymerized anymore. And I'm not getting into the arguments about carcinogens and bad flavors going into your food. So...use a high smoke point oil. IF you define seasoning as whatever is left after going _above_ the oil's smoke point, during your seasoning process, then go for it. I haven't seen any evidence that it's more desirable or "bonds" to the iron better, etc. If anything, it creates a layer of carbon ("char") that will chip off.
@@RodCornholio 👍 interesting approach. How long does it last until you find it needs to be seasoned again? I gave up on mine maybe ill bring it out again.
It's absolutely fascinating learning about the kinds of utensils they used then. NOUN utensils (plural noun) an implement, container, or other article, especially for household use. "kitchen utensils"
I love this show and it's one of the best on youtube. Always cheers me up. pasta Grannies is my other big favourite, new episode each Friday and is always so sheering.
Having cooked in both, I think the Townsend's cast iron pots are much much better than the originals! He's outdone himself with those. :) also.. I had the bale cut off on mine and use an original hinged 18th c. pot lifter for it instead. I think it would make a very nice option if Mr. Townsend's smiths were able to reproduce the lifters.
Mortar and pestle as the food processor of the 18th century... They're largely the food processor of this century! Heck, I own a food processor but I still have a mortar and pestle! I mostly use it for spices (not as much as I should because I only have a big granite one that weighs about 15 pounds)
Exactly the type of ironware that I want on the hearth in my planned log cabin restoration... I have a few already.. my favorite is the legged 12in. skillet my father had and used on fishing trips when I was a boy...
My uncle received from his granfather an old cast iron cauldron, so old that the bottom was worn to the point of breaking with a wooden spoon. It was a large and decorated piece, about 20 liters, with the feet shaped like lion paws and the brim with a patern of twisted vines. It became a very fancy plant vase.
I love beeswax and oil on my cast iron you heat both together it makes a suave. Works like a dream. If you dont make it you can buy it too. Love my cast iron
Speaking of the cooking vessels at the 20 minute mark: In Hungarian, a cooking pot is called a "lábos", literally "thing with legs" (probably shortened from "lábos edény", "pot with legs"). We sometimes used to joke when visiting open-air museums that we had "lábatlan" at home, eg "legless thing" :)
Just traced back one of our family lines to Jamestown in 1609 and read a huge last will and testament of that lines from 1786. What cool family lineage I came across! Several of the members fought in the militia against Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Guillford courthouse in N. Carolina. Time to make some meals they may have eaten now! Love your videos! And what a fascinating period to learn about!
Jon and Michael, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Michael, what a great collection you have! Thank you for explaining that you are simply the steward of these pieces while they are in your possession and that someone else will take on that role when you pass them on to another. Also, it’s great to see how people made due and put their skills to work. A piece may not have been the prettiest, but it was functional and got the job done. Thanks again for this very informative episode!
When I worked in a kitchen, there was a small open sided oven that just had very intense top heat that was called a "salamander" , so the name has lived on =)
The iron bakestone that is examined at 9m and is attributed to Scotland, is very like a Welsh 'bara planc', these are still available in most cooking shops in Wales - although they are usually about half the thickness of the one shown.
One of the most interesting episodes yet! And “yes” it seems that everyone has their own opinion about seasoning their cast iron…I have mine but I know other methods work just as well and maybe even better.😉
wow, this was a wonderful video, thank you both, well thanks to the whole crew! I would so love to have such a nice collection. But some of these I have never seen before and now I know more what to watch for when I am out and about.
I keep hearing how easy it is to damage the seasoning. I use metal tools in my cast iron all the time, it never damages the seasoning. For me it seems to be hard as enamel, in fact, I use a metal scraper like you use on a cooktop grill only smaller, if something gets stuck which is super rare. Normal cleaning I use a chainmail pad to clean them. Never have any problems with it so I don't know what they are talking about. I guess you could damage the seasoning if you really tried with a hardened scribe or chisel but you would be trying to damage it and the pan under it not normal use.
I guess it depends on how good your layer of seasoning is. I use a metal spatula for flipping things usually because they seem to work the best. I've had problems with flaky seasoning that seem to come from cooking bratwurst and breakfast sausages in my pans. It seems that there is always that residue from the sausage that you must get off, because if you don't it becomes a part of the patina. (I'm guessing the residue is from the sugars used in the sausage?) But it's weak stuff and always eventually starts flaking. This residue is REALLY hard to get off for some reason, but it has to go to avoid problems. I usually simmer some water to loosen it enough to scrape out with a wooden spatula and finish by scrubbing with salt. I may try chainmail to see if it is better. Also all my pans that were seasoned with lard seem to flake over time no matter how good the initial seasoning layers were. Recently I started using grapeseed oil to see if it's any better, after doing some research online.
That's been my experience with old cookware. I've been using cast iron for over 50 years now and I didn't have a plastic spatula until the late 80's. One issue has been new, unfinished spatulas with razor-sharp edges. They can be burnished with the kitchen whet-stone and a green Scotch-brite pad. The other is the new-style rough-finished Lodge pans are a bit flaky until the seasoning builds-up.
@@yearginclarkethe stuff that flakes off is not "seasoning " but what is known as fond it is caramelized sugars and proteins pure unommy flavor, and very sticky stuff but needed for a good pan sauce or gravy. to clean I scrap all the loose stuff, bumps, and burnt-on bits I use my metal scraper /spatula but a lot of folks use a wooden spatula. you may need a splash or two of hot water to help dissolve some of it.. after that rinse in hot water and scrub with the chanemale pad some people use coarse salt with a rag or a stiff nylon brush. the surface should be smooth and slick if not repeat the above until it is. dry on the stove and apply a thin layer of high temp fat I use refined coconut or grapeseed oil but almost any fat will work but higher temp oils seem to make harder seasoning. wipeout as much as possible store in a dry place.
@@karm65 Yeah I clean it out very similarly to how you described it there. When I first started frying sausages in cast iron I didn't clean my pans out as well as I do now, out of pure inexperience and lack of knowledge on my part. Therefore I discovered over time that I was having problems with that gunky residue. Glad I know how to take care of it now. I used cast iron for years without knowing how to clean it properly! When I was a teen in the early 2000's I was going off of word-of-mouth information on using cast iron, which in my case was very unreliable and ultimately left me confused. Thanks to the internet and all the tips people have online, I finally learned how to do it.
I have a big footed cauldron that goes back at least to my great grandmother. For at least 60 years, it's had a large crack down the side, making it useless for cooking. I'm the third generation to use it for a flowerpot! It should last for another 60 years, with many a petunia or rosemary finding a home there. ♥️ From Kentucky
Great collection. thanks Michael. I love cast iron. pretty much cook with a variety of them skillets, dutch ovens, flat irons, etc. most of the time. In the summer they get used over the outside fire pit as well.
One correction... wrought iron is very often easier to work than modern mild steel. Its grain and inclusions can make forging more simple, it is also much easier to forge-weld that mild steel. It also has disadvantages but, on the whole, a decent quality wrought iron is a pleasure to work. 👍
I’ve forged so many s hooks! I really want to build an outdoor kitchen right next to my garden. I’m familiar with the cooking style and I’m somewhat proficient but there’s always something new to learn! I’m slowly building my kitchen ware. We use cast iron for cooking full time already. I season mine much like Michael.
We have a big stone mortar and pestle. Wifey makes alot of her own things. It works great. We also have the little wood ones. An iron one would be cool
Loved loved this episode!! Cast iron cooking pans are the best! Appreciate the detailed info and historical uses of the different elements. I have a couple of skillets that have been passed down for three generations which isn't that long of a time but still holds great connections for me knowing that three other women in my family tree also fried chicken and flipped pancakes from this skillet ! Hopefully my grand children will take up the skillets when it is finally passed on! Or some other person who appreciates the utility and can enjoy them! Thank you again for the lovely video !
Using these tools is like shaking hands with the past. It fills one with gratitude and appreciation for the people that contributed to society in small ways that have made a big impact.
A awesome show, thanks guys for all the information on cast iron kitchen implements. I've learned something new today which is good. I always try to learn something every day and I can always rely on one of your videos to do it. 👍
We season our cast iron by rubbing it in hog's lard and setting it in a hardwood fire. As it seasons we add additional layers of fat and said it back in the fire. when we finally remove the pot we give it one more coating of hog's lard and let them cool down. Love the video
What a great episode! And fabulous collection 😍 Personally, I cook with seamless one piece wrought iron (and nickel-free stainless steel) pots and pans. It’s new tech using old materials. It’s not as cool as using really old pans, but instead of imagining backwards, I like to imagine forwards and think of who will be using my cookware hundreds of years in the future…
What a pleasure to see these cooking tools, and especially the evidence of the hard-working cooks' handling of them until they were well used. I love my cast iron; nothing cooks like a properly seasoned iron surface. I still use a mortar and pestle. Mine is black granite and weights in at 8 pounds. There is a quality to the substances ground by hand that just cannot be achieved with a spice grinder or food processor.
Great show and thank you for sharing some of your collection. It is great to see how we have evolved from one time period to the next and learning or should I say re-learning how we did things not so long ago.
