(no subject)
I've mentioned my Aunt Fay before here, and I still think about her a lot even though she's been gone over a year. Such an inspiration in so many ways.
About ten years ago, just before my aunt moved to Florida, we went to visit her in Brooklyn, where she cooked for us and we had good food and company. As she was starting to go through her things to figure out what she needed and didn't, she was going through her cabinets, and found this huge cast iron pan. She looked at it and said "I bought this for a recipe, and never really used it again. It's big and heavy and probably not worth bringing to Florida. Do you want it". I said yes, and we've been using it ever since, and every time I do I think of her.
The weird thing is I assumed, for whatever reason, that she had bought it recently. Today when I saw something in my Google Reader feed about seasoning cast iron, I decided to do a little research on the Griswold company.
Turns out the last time Griswold cast iron was made was 1957. So this pan is at least 50 years old, maybe more (although less than 70 or so from what I can see). In fact there's whole societies devoted to collecting Griswold cast iron. Cast iron is also one of those antiques that's worth the most if it's been actively used and seasoned. I guess this pan is worth $50-100 to a collector.
This pan rocks, especially on the new stove, and I'm so glad I have it. And I'm even more happy now, except for that I may never know when she exactly bought it and how long it had been in her kitchen.
About ten years ago, just before my aunt moved to Florida, we went to visit her in Brooklyn, where she cooked for us and we had good food and company. As she was starting to go through her things to figure out what she needed and didn't, she was going through her cabinets, and found this huge cast iron pan. She looked at it and said "I bought this for a recipe, and never really used it again. It's big and heavy and probably not worth bringing to Florida. Do you want it". I said yes, and we've been using it ever since, and every time I do I think of her.
The weird thing is I assumed, for whatever reason, that she had bought it recently. Today when I saw something in my Google Reader feed about seasoning cast iron, I decided to do a little research on the Griswold company.
Turns out the last time Griswold cast iron was made was 1957. So this pan is at least 50 years old, maybe more (although less than 70 or so from what I can see). In fact there's whole societies devoted to collecting Griswold cast iron. Cast iron is also one of those antiques that's worth the most if it's been actively used and seasoned. I guess this pan is worth $50-100 to a collector.
This pan rocks, especially on the new stove, and I'm so glad I have it. And I'm even more happy now, except for that I may never know when she exactly bought it and how long it had been in her kitchen.