I lurk to learn



B

Barbara

Guest
and I have learned much from this group. I use to have a black skillet, purchased in the late 60's.
My husband developed heart problems so I quit frying anything. When we retired and moved I donated
the skillet, corningware and tupperware to salvation army. Now that my husband is gone, I would like
to purchase a new skillet, and some new corning ware. Sometime ago it was mentioned in this group
that corningware was not made like it was made years ago. Would someone please explain how it
differs. You have discussed black skillets and some say they pick them up at garage sales or they
love the old ones. Are the new ones inferior to the old ones. I made the mistake of getting rid of a
lot of kitchen equipment thinking I would not be needing it again. That was a big mistake!!!!!!
Seems like everything you replace today is poorly made. Barbara
 
>You have discussed black skillets and some say they pick them up at garage sales or they love the
>old ones. Are the new ones inferior to the old ones.

Cast iron skillets have not changed; there's really not that much you can change in them; it's not
like they have any special finish or that anyone would change the weight/thickness of something made
of good, cheap old iron.

It's common around here to mouthe off about how things used to be better than they are now. Take it
with a grain of salt. Needn't be sea salt, either.

Neil
 
On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 21:56:12 -0500 (EST), [email protected]
(barbara) wrote:

> I made the mistake of getting rid of a lot of kitchen equipment thinking I would not be needing
> it again. That was a big mistake!!!!!! Seems like everything you replace today is poorly made.
> Barbara
>
You didn't make a mistake because you had more important things to worry about at the time.

I haven't purchased a cast iron skillet in 25 - 30 years and the other cast iron pans were hand me
downs... so shopping at estate or garage sales sounds reasonable to me.

There is no such thing as a poorly made cast iron pan and corning ware is, well - corning ware.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments
 
Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
 
sf wrote:

> On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 21:56:12 -0500 (EST), [email protected] (barbara) wrote:
>
>
>> I made the mistake of getting rid of a lot of kitchen equipment thinking I would not be needing
>> it again. That was a big mistake!!!!!! Seems like everything you replace today is poorly made.
>> Barbara
>>
>
> You didn't make a mistake because you had more important things to worry about at the time.
>
> I haven't purchased a cast iron skillet in 25 - 30 years and the other cast iron pans were hand me
> downs... so shopping at estate or garage sales sounds reasonable to me.
>
> There is no such thing as a poorly made cast iron pan and corning ware is, well - corning ware.
>
>
>
> Practice safe eating - always use condiments

I can't really speak about the new cast iron cookware as mine are old time Griswold but I have heard
that Lodge is pretty good. http://www.lodgemfg.com/

The more you use 'em the better they get. Mine never see soap.

--
Steve

Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.
 
Frogleg <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
> everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>
>

CorningWare has changed. There is now a warning label on the botton of the dishes not to use then on
the stove top.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.
 
Frogleg wrote:
> Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
> everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.

Anchor-Hocking makes the same sort of thing. I use mine for casseroles or the small one for
microwaving scrambled eggs. If you spray it with cooking spray first the stuff cleans right up :)

Jill
 
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 11:58:30 GMT, Frogleg <[email protected]> wrote:

>Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
>everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>
I have a Corningware roasting pan that cleans up nicely in the dishwasher.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
In rec.food.cooking, WardNA <[email protected]> wrote:

> Cast iron skillets have not changed; there's really not that much you can change in them; it's not
> like they have any special finish or that anyone would change the weight/thickness of something
> made of good, cheap old iron.

Some are great while others are mediocre. One huge advantage of the old ones is that you can find
excellent quality for tiny prices if you know where to look. Nowadays, the excellent quality ones
are sold in fancy-shmancy stores at huge prices.

> It's common around here to mouthe off about how things used to be better than they are now. Take
> it with a grain of salt. Needn't be sea salt, either.

Some things are still good quality. But generally, you pay for them dearly. Personally, I'd rather
hit an estate sale.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who
 
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 13:47:47 GMT, [email protected] (Curly
Sue) wrote:

>On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 11:58:30 GMT, Frogleg <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
>>everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>>
>I have a Corningware roasting pan that cleans up nicely in the dishwasher.

I also have casserole dishes that clean up nicely. I don't use any on the stovetop, only in the
oven. Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
"Frogleg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
> everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>

Corningware used to be pyroceram - a glass-ceramic material developed for the nose cones of
missiles. Now the stuff that I see (like their French White line) looks like common pottery. If
soaking won't remove burned-on food, I use oven cleaner. It works well without any scrubbing.
 
Vox Humana wrote:

> "Frogleg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
>>everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>>
>
>
> Corningware used to be pyroceram - a glass-ceramic material developed for the nose cones of
> missiles. Now the stuff that I see (like their French White line) looks like common pottery. If
> soaking won't remove burned-on food, I use oven cleaner. It works well without any scrubbing.
>
>

If it is common pottery, oven cleaner can etch it. You ought to see the crockpot that I made soap in
a couple of times; the lye took most of the glaze off.

Bob
 
WardNA wrote:
>
> >You have discussed black skillets and some say they pick them up at garage sales or they love the
> >old ones. Are the new ones inferior to the old ones.
>
> Cast iron skillets have not changed; there's really not that much you can change in them; it's not
> like they have any special finish or that anyone would change the weight/thickness of something
> made of good, cheap old iron.
>
> It's common around here to mouthe off about how things used to be better than they are now. Take
> it with a grain of salt. Needn't be sea salt, either.
>
> Neil

I bought a cast iron chicken fryer a few years ago. The surface was very rough with bumps and pits.
I don't recall my mother's old cast iron skillet being like that - it had a nice smooth cooking
surface. I hardly every use the chicken fryer now as it's a pain to try to get it seasoned and it's
hard to clean because of the rough surface. Maybe I should have bought a more expensive one - if
there even is such a thing as expensive cast iron vs. cheap cast iron.

Kate
--
Kate Connally “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.” Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that
smiles back, Until you bite their heads off.” What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all
about? mailto:[email protected]
 
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 09:13:05 -0600, zxcvbob <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Vox Humana wrote:
>
>> Corningware used to be pyroceram - a glass-ceramic material developed for the nose cones of
>> missiles. Now the stuff that I see (like their French White line) looks like common pottery. If
>> soaking won't remove burned-on food, I use oven cleaner. It works well without any scrubbing.
>>
>If it is common pottery, oven cleaner can etch it. You ought to see the crockpot that I made soap
>in a couple of times; the lye took most of the glaze off.

Vox wrote "looks like," and the CorningWare site mentions 'from freezer to oven or m'wave to table'
use that I recall as a prime selling point from old time ads. I don't have any strong pro or con
opinions. The pieces I had just phased out of my kitchen and I never missed 'em. Nor have I seen
them mentioned in cookware threads here.
 
WardNA wrote:
>
> >You have discussed black skillets and some say they pick them up at garage sales or they love the
> >old ones. Are the new ones inferior to the old ones.
>
> Cast iron skillets have not changed; there's really not that much you can change in them; it's not
> like they have any special finish or that anyone would change the weight/thickness of something
> made of good, cheap old iron.

I'm not sure that's true. I see plenty of brand new cast iron pans with cheap rough surfaces in
stores. I don't see many old ones with bad surfaces.

I can think of two reasons for this 1) rising production pressure leading to worse surfaces, or 2)
folks toss crappy ones and keep nice ones so the old ones still around are the better examples.
 
In rec.food.cooking, Curly Sue <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have a Corningware roasting pan that cleans up nicely in the dishwasher.

I just used a Corningware roasting pan for the first time earlier this week. I cooked a Hotel-
style Turkey breast. I was too lazy to make gravy, and I was unsure about putting it on the
stovetop to boot.

It had lots of baked on drippings. I put it throught the dishwasher, and expected to have to do it a
second time, but it came out sparkling.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who
 
"Frogleg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 09:13:05 -0600, zxcvbob <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Vox Humana wrote:
> >
> >> Corningware used to be pyroceram - a glass-ceramic material developed
for
> >> the nose cones of missiles. Now the stuff that I see (like their
French
> >> White line) looks like common pottery. If soaking won't remove
burned-on
> >> food, I use oven cleaner. It works well without any scrubbing.
> >>
> >If it is common pottery, oven cleaner can etch it. You ought to see the crockpot that I made soap
> >in a couple of times; the lye took most of the glaze off.
>
> Vox wrote "looks like," and the CorningWare site mentions 'from freezer to oven or m'wave to
> table' use that I recall as a prime selling point from old time ads. I don't have any strong pro
> or con opinions. The pieces I had just phased out of my kitchen and I never missed 'em. Nor have I
> seen them mentioned in cookware threads here.

I don't have any of the new stuff but when I last looked at Corningware in a store, it was
different. The mass was different - it seemed much lighter. Also, when you turn it over, there is an
area on the bottom that looks almost unglazed, just like stoneware dinnerware looks on the bottom. I
didn't realize you couldn't use oven cleaner on glazed potter but it does work fine on the old
pyroceram Corningware pieces.
 
Frogleg wrote:
>
> Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
> everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.

It's no longer being made in the original shape. In fact, the Corning outlet in our local outlet
mall has disappeared. What is currently available is largish casseroles, white, straight-sided, with
a vertical ribbed pattern outside, and they seem to be made of ceramic instead of the more glassy
pyroceram of the originals. I've never had luck with the original as a stove-top pan, but they make
convenient casserole dishes.

gloria p
 
"Puester" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Frogleg wrote:
> >
> > Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
> > everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>
>
>
> It's no longer being made in the original shape. In fact, the Corning outlet in our local outlet
> mall has disappeared.

Corning is gone from our outlet mall also.
 
Vox Humana wrote:
> "Puester" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>>Frogleg wrote:
>>
>>>Haven't heard this mentioned for a long time. Has it changed? I had a couple of pieces and
>>>everything stuck and burned on. It was *really* hard to clean.
>>
>>
>>
>>It's no longer being made in the original shape. In fact, the Corning outlet in our local outlet
>>mall has disappeared.
>
>
>
> Corning is gone from our outlet mall also.
>
>

I just looked at some new "Corningware" at the store; it is stoneware now, and it says not to use
stovetop nor in broiler. And I bet it will break if you go from the freezer to the oven with it.

Bob
 
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