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I've been collecting ... and cooking on ... Griswold cast iron cookware and bakeware for over 55 years.
I started out with some pieces given to me as a youngster when I was camping out by a Louisiana family that had the pieces (grannie's?) since new and wanted to replace the kitchen cookware with new revere stainless/copper bottomed cookware because it was much lighter and not so fussy to keep clean. They thought it was funny to see me cooking with that old cast iron, but I showed them up with a bunch of meals I prepared for them using some recipes from old old old LA creole cookbooks my folks had gotten from before WW2. You simply cannot properly cook those old style slow cooking recipes after making a roux in the same pan without using well seasoned cast iron.
With all the farm auctions in our area, I've added a lot to my collection over the past 35 years. Probably have a few hundred Griswold pieces at this point, with many duplicates of the common size frypans. On display in our kitchen and pantry are specialty bakeware pieces, and many of the enamelware items. We've got just about every pattern of griddle, dutch oven, trivets, pan, pastry maker, and scotch bowls Griswold ever made ... in various series of casting production. Still looking for a lot that we don't have, too ... but at the "right" price at auctions or private sales.
About 18 years ago, I was lucky to run into an old hotel in Colorado that was being torn down and they were selling out the kitchen stuff ... two huge Chambers 12 burner/4 oven stoves and commercial size Griswold dutch ovens and huge griddles; I bought it all and re-sold the ranges/ovens to folks who wanted a big centerpiece in their home kitchens. The stuff was in beautiful condition and is my favorite for cooking large meals when we have company ... the oval roasters are big enough for 25 lb turkeys and will still fit into my wood cookstove ovens.
There is a big difference in the heat conductive/dissapating quality of the "iron" in the pans of yesteryear from Griswold and Wagner, and other manufacturers. Probably the best was "Wapak", but their pieces are pretty much in the hands of collectors or serious cooks who appreciate the uniform heating and light weight of their pans. If you do find a Wapak item ... they're distinctive because of the Indian head logo on the bottom ... BUY IT. You can't go wrong with cooking in one of these, they're a pleasure compared to almost any other piece of cookware.
Beware of modern cast iron, or inferior asian or middle eastern sand cast cookware. It's junk compared to the older good stuff. Even the modern Wagner isn't anywhere near as good as the old stuff, and the new Lodge cookware leaves me very cold. Seek out the old stuff from wherever you can ... get a collector's guide and become knowledgeable about the older casting marks and patterns, and you can shop eBay or the flea markets/auctions in your area and buy the right old stuff. There's thousands of tons of it still around, and it can be had for a reasonable price with the exception of a couple of very rare "collectable" pieces. Even then, a Griswold #9 Oval Roaster is still worth the $300-500 you'll spend on it compared to modern roasting pieces.
In comparison, we were given a set of high quality NSF commercial anodized cookware for a wedding present 15 years ago. It wore out in just a few years of our modest use, and that was with only cleaning it with a nylon scrubber if it needed to be scoured out. All of my Griswold is in excellent condition, and can do all of the cooking, canning, and baking that we do with our garden vegetables and produce. Tomatoes don't hurt our Griswold ... but ate the anodizing off the commercial cookware after a few years of making our own tomato sauces and paste for canning.
If you're not ready to make a commitment to Griswold cookware in your kitchen, you might look at modern Descoware or Le Cruset or similar iron enamalware at your local kitchen goods shop. I think this stuff shows up at Tuesday Morning or similar outlets for heavily discounted prices that you may find easier to justify than the larger old Griswold pieces. The iron is OK, and on a modern electric range will be uniform heating on the bottom ... it doesn't work as well as Griswold on a gas range or over a fire, but it's OK.
From a health standpoint, I'd rather have the modest amount of iron from cast iron cookware than any aluminum from bare aluminum cookware. Plastic non-stick also wears out, and you're ingesting plastic by-products from those miracle surfaces.
"Seasoning" a cast iron pan? fry spinach or collard or other leafy greens in a small bit of lard in the pan, and then rinse it out. For whatever reason ... it was explained to me years ago, but I've forgotten why ... it will immediately give a cast iron pan a very slick seasoned non-stick surface.
"Cleaning" a really badly stuck cast iron pan? If hot water soaking won't clean it ... and try placing it over low heat with water in the pan for awhile to loosen the stuck food .... then place it into a hot campfire or in your oven on the "cleaning cycle". Re-season after it's cleaned out, and it's good to go.
Oh, and for you folks that would get into "collecting" and cooking with Griswold: (1) avoid the nickle plated pieces, they have a lot of problems, and (2) get a guide and use it to identify the pieces ... there's a lot of "fakes" out there, which you can usually spot from the poor castings or the unusually heavy weight for the piece, or from the wrong casting/mold numbers on a piece. Genuine Griswold is pretty light for it's size.
My wife tells me we're going to have one heck of a farm auction someday when she digs out all the boxes of Griswold she's stuck away up in one of our barns .....
Have fun and good eating ....
I totally agree on the Griswold, have Lodge and not near the quality....this is from a no-name on it cooked in the oven in the dutch oven-fryer...and works fantastic for this...would have never guessed...
I get so sad every time I see a thread like this. My grandmother had some that her mom had. She was going to give them to me. She got sick and went to live w/ my uncle and he THREW THEM AWAY.
I want to get some but have no clue where to start.
I have 5 or 6 very old pieces, various size skillets, a dutch oven and a comal for tortillas. All are well seasoned and slick with nature's own Teflon coating. 4 of them are ancient Griswolds.
My kids have demanded that I preassign them, so they don't fight over them when I'm gone. I'm just happy to know that they'll continue to be of use to my family for at least another 2 generations.
I get so sad every time I see a thread like this. My grandmother had some that her mom had. She was going to give them to me. She got sick and went to live w/ my uncle and he THREW THEM AWAY.
I want to get some but have no clue where to start.
If you want the real Griswold, then the best thing to do is get a copy of the collector's guide which should be available in the flea markets or antique shops in your area. This will give you the identification marks on the various sizes and types of genuine Griswold cast iron pieces; it may also have some guideline prices (but these are usually way out of date and from various local areas which may not be right in your area).
Now, as an informed buyer, go look at the cast iron cookware that's for sale in the flea markets, antique stores, goodwill shops, etc., in your area. Perhaps there's even an "antique row" of shops not too far away from where you live, or sometimes farm/household auctions in your area.
For starter pieces, the easiest to find, most common and reasonably priced will be the 4"-6"-7"-9"-12" frying pans. These are your basic workhorses in the kitchen.
Next, a "dutch oven" ... perhaps a 9" size with a lid. The lids are essential, make sure that it's fitting tightly to the pot. You can use these for anything you'd put into a pot, and can make soups, stews, or bake breads in these, or deep-fat fry food if that's your pleasure. I use them for making rice or boiling sphagetti, too, or for making sauces, candy, etc. Great for baking chicken, braising, or for slow cooking fish steaks. Super for making a roux based stew, as you can quickly cook onions and peppers in it, or make the roux, and then add the rest of the ingredients for a slow simmer. Gratineed potatoes, tamale pie, or other layered dishes (lasagna, etc.) come out just great.
A griddle is the next thing, if you like to make pancakes, eggs, bacon, or cook meats on a griddle, grill sandwiches, etc. We "roast" chilli peppers on these to get skins off ... either on the cookstove top or under the broiler.
After that, you can get whatever suits your fancy for cooking ... three legged dutch ovens made for cooking directly in a campfire, smaller/larger pieces, specialty bake ware (corn sticks, muffin pans, shaped cake loaf/bread pans, etc etc etc) ... I like the iron "scotch bowl" pieces for food prep, and they're nice because you can put them into the warming oven to slowly "sweat" onions, for example.
Don't forget they made buckets and pots in many shapes/sizes. We use the straight sided tall ones for making sauces, or as utility pieces around the wood cookstove for ashes or kindling. We've got a couple that were cracked and no longer suitable for cooking.
If you like to make waffles ... nothing beats their heavy duty waffle irons. Be sure you get the "ring" that supports the waffle iron with it. You don't need to get the collectable high priced "star and heart" pattern iron to get a good cooking iron, just get one of them and you're on your way.
Be sure to verify that the bottom of the cookware is still flat and not rusted away, or that the interior is pitted from rust. Better to buy a piece that is crusted with years of burnt on stuff than one that's all cleaned up and damage is showing.
The versatility of the cookware is the ability to have a uniform temperature across the surface, and to be able to go from stovetop to oven to broiler to campfire to portable stove as needed for one's cooking. Do not store food in cast iron, however, as it may react and rust.
You may also have a collector's group in your area, which may have an annual "convention" and show. These are also great places to buy the items you want. Perhaps you may find a "friend" in the group who would be happy to assist you to finding the pieces you want, or help you purchase them. I'm enough of a farm auction "junkie" that I look forward to helping friends with their first time auction experiences ... and I enjoy discovering the treasures to be found, so it's fun for all; sometimes we even find what my friend is looking for and win an auction at a good price. Sometimes ... we don't, or the cast iron cookware at an auction is junk, or way overpriced when the dealers get into the bidding ... but it's part of the fun and experience. Sometimes I've found pieces at a flea market booth that were way undervalued and super deals .... or way overpriced and not seriously for sale. A lot of "dealers" don't know the difference between junk cast iron and the quality stuff, and it's all priced at top dollar .....
Another source would be eBay. I've done well on some items there, and I've also been ripped off with obvious fakes and reproduction pieces (most of which the seller took back, but I was out the shipping both ways). IF I didn't know what I was looking for with the piece in my hands, I wouldn't have been the wiser. Some sellers act like they're experts, but still have sold me blatant fakes, so this is really a "buyer beware" source of Griswold pieces. I wouldn't advise buying here for daily use cookware unless you get it at a very good price and know what you're buying ... and have a seller willing to stand behind your purchase with a full refund if the item isn't as represented.
I've also had eBay sellers not pack stuff properly and had it broken in shipment ... even with USPS insurance, they only insure the purchase price value of the item, and not the shipping cost. It takes a long time to get an insurance settlement from the shippers, too.
Yet another source of quality cast iron enameled cookware, as I mentioned in a prior post, would be Descoware or LeCruset. If it's on sale at one of the discounters, it may be a very good value. Almost as good as Griswold, the iron will not heat quite as uniformly ... but the enamelware doesn't need seasoning or the careful cleaning of the cast iron surfaces. It is, however, somewhat fragile and easy to chip with metal cooking tools or by impact from another piece of cookware. I've got Descoware from an uncle that must be 100 years old from his Belgian grandmother, and it's still perfect, although a little "crazed" in the cooking surface (which doesn't affect it's cooking and non-stick qualities), and it's a pleasure to cook on ... and makes a great food presentation due to the colorful cookware.
Have fun with the process ... locating and buying the cookware, and then enjoying cooking with it.
I get so sad every time I see a thread like this. My grandmother had some that her mom had. She was going to give them to me. She got sick and went to live w/ my uncle and he THREW THEM AWAY.
I want to get some but have no clue where to start.
Go to estate/auction sales around you or try rummage sales. sunsprit gave an awesome detailing post as well. The older ones don't even compare to the Lodge made today. I always told my family if we have a house fire I am grabbing my passed down cast iron skillets if I can on the way out.
If you want the real Griswold, then the best thing to do is get a copy of the collector's guide which should be available in the flea markets or antique shops in your area. This will give you the identification marks on the various sizes and types of genuine Griswold cast iron pieces; it may also have some guideline prices (but these are usually way out of date and from various local areas which may not be right in your area).
Now, as an informed buyer, go look at the cast iron cookware that's for sale in the flea markets, antique stores, goodwill shops, etc., in your area. Perhaps there's even an "antique row" of shops not too far away from where you live, or sometimes farm/household auctions in your area.
For starter pieces, the easiest to find, most common and reasonably priced will be the 4"-6"-7"-9"-12" frying pans. These are your basic workhorses in the kitchen.
Next, a "dutch oven" ... perhaps a 9" size with a lid. The lids are essential, make sure that it's fitting tightly to the pot. You can use these for anything you'd put into a pot, and can make soups, stews, or bake breads in these, or deep-fat fry food if that's your pleasure. I use them for making rice or boiling sphagetti, too, or for making sauces, candy, etc. Great for baking chicken, braising, or for slow cooking fish steaks. Super for making a roux based stew, as you can quickly cook onions and peppers in it, or make the roux, and then add the rest of the ingredients for a slow simmer. Gratineed potatoes, tamale pie, or other layered dishes (lasagna, etc.) come out just great.
A griddle is the next thing, if you like to make pancakes, eggs, bacon, or cook meats on a griddle, grill sandwiches, etc. We "roast" chilli peppers on these to get skins off ... either on the cookstove top or under the broiler.
After that, you can get whatever suits your fancy for cooking ... three legged dutch ovens made for cooking directly in a campfire, smaller/larger pieces, specialty bake ware (corn sticks, muffin pans, shaped cake loaf/bread pans, etc etc etc) ... I like the iron "scotch bowl" pieces for food prep, and they're nice because you can put them into the warming oven to slowly "sweat" onions, for example.
Don't forget they made buckets and pots in many shapes/sizes. We use the straight sided tall ones for making sauces, or as utility pieces around the wood cookstove for ashes or kindling. We've got a couple that were cracked and no longer suitable for cooking.
If you like to make waffles ... nothing beats their heavy duty waffle irons. Be sure you get the "ring" that supports the waffle iron with it. You don't need to get the collectable high priced "star and heart" pattern iron to get a good cooking iron, just get one of them and you're on your way.
Be sure to verify that the bottom of the cookware is still flat and not rusted away, or that the interior is pitted from rust. Better to buy a piece that is crusted with years of burnt on stuff than one that's all cleaned up and damage is showing.
The versatility of the cookware is the ability to have a uniform temperature across the surface, and to be able to go from stovetop to oven to broiler to campfire to portable stove as needed for one's cooking. Do not store food in cast iron, however, as it may react and rust.
You may also have a collector's group in your area, which may have an annual "convention" and show. These are also great places to buy the items you want. Perhaps you may find a "friend" in the group who would be happy to assist you to finding the pieces you want, or help you purchase them. I'm enough of a farm auction "junkie" that I look forward to helping friends with their first time auction experiences ... and I enjoy discovering the treasures to be found, so it's fun for all; sometimes we even find what my friend is looking for and win an auction at a good price. Sometimes ... we don't, or the cast iron cookware at an auction is junk, or way overpriced when the dealers get into the bidding ... but it's part of the fun and experience. Sometimes I've found pieces at a flea market booth that were way undervalued and super deals .... or way overpriced and not seriously for sale. A lot of "dealers" don't know the difference between junk cast iron and the quality stuff, and it's all priced at top dollar .....
Another source would be eBay. I've done well on some items there, and I've also been ripped off with obvious fakes and reproduction pieces (most of which the seller took back, but I was out the shipping both ways). IF I didn't know what I was looking for with the piece in my hands, I wouldn't have been the wiser. Some sellers act like they're experts, but still have sold me blatant fakes, so this is really a "buyer beware" source of Griswold pieces. I wouldn't advise buying here for daily use cookware unless you get it at a very good price and know what you're buying ... and have a seller willing to stand behind your purchase with a full refund if the item isn't as represented.
I've also had eBay sellers not pack stuff properly and had it broken in shipment ... even with USPS insurance, they only insure the purchase price value of the item, and not the shipping cost. It takes a long time to get an insurance settlement from the shippers, too.
Yet another source of quality cast iron enameled cookware, as I mentioned in a prior post, would be Descoware or LeCruset. If it's on sale at one of the discounters, it may be a very good value. Almost as good as Griswold, the iron will not heat quite as uniformly ... but the enamelware doesn't need seasoning or the careful cleaning of the cast iron surfaces. It is, however, somewhat fragile and easy to chip with metal cooking tools or by impact from another piece of cookware. I've got Descoware from an uncle that must be 100 years old from his Belgian grandmother, and it's still perfect, although a little "crazed" in the cooking surface (which doesn't affect it's cooking and non-stick qualities), and it's a pleasure to cook on ... and makes a great food presentation due to the colorful cookware.
Have fun with the process ... locating and buying the cookware, and then enjoying cooking with it.
so much knowledge, teaching the old bird new tricks...or givin new ideas...
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