Cast iron pans forever
Sunday is always my day to cook chicken and, without hesitation, I reach for my cast iron skillets. These beauties date back to the 1920s, were used in the cabins for many decades, and they are heavy! The larger one, measuring about 10” in diameter and 3” deep, weighs just under 12 pounds.
Virtually indestructible, these pans can be used for stovetop cooking and then transferred directly to the oven. I use them for everything from sautéing veggies to making the perfect omelette or pizza.
I have several made by the Wagner Company, then based in Sidney, Ohio, just north of Dayton. These pans bear Wagner's most iconic “stylized” logo. The single, large, fancy "W" for both words, along with "SIDNEY" and "-O-" standing for Ohio beneath, which was first seen around 1922.
Wagner was active between 1891 and 1952, and at one time dominated the cookware market, selling in Europe and the U.S. Wagner products are still manufactured today.
Griswold Manufacturing, founded in Erie, Pa., in 1865, was Wagner’s chief competitor. Miss Etta Moses, who worked for Griswold for over five decades, was given the job of handling letters asking for advice on using the company's products. In the 1920s she began publishing recipes and advice on cooking with cast iron using the pen name of "Aunt Ellen.” Her picture appeared in advertisements for the cook pot in magazines such as Good Housekeeping.
One is considered fortunate nowadays if by chance one of these iron utensils is handed down to them from the second to the third generation. It is on account of these wonderful cast iron skillets that you have such fond recollections of the food your grandmother used to serve. – Aunt Ellen
If you own one of these beautiful skillets, I hope you use and enjoy it every day like I do.
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