Gettin' Sauced with Corning Ware - Cornflower Saucemaker Trio

It's been awhile since I have talked about the SauceMakers. 

Those really strange shaped pieces made by Corning Glass Works' Consumer Products Division starting in 1963 and discontinued at the end of 1974.  SauceMakers, according to the catalogs, were available in 1 quart (P-55/P-64) & 2 quart (P-65) sizes.  Be aware that not all SauceMakers are actually stamped with their model number (none of mine are - neither my Cornflower nor the 2 Wheat ones currently in my collection)   

The only SauceMaker to last through the entire 11 year production period was the 1 quart Saucemaker, which appeared in several patterns other than Cornflower; such as Wheat, American Oil & Floral Bouquet as well as All White.  The 1 quart started life in 1963 as the P-55 (no lid). By 1964, a lid was added to the piece and it was packaged as the P-64.  Both models were available until 1968, at which point, the P-55 was dropped all together and only the P-64 remained.

The 2 quart Saucemaker had a much shorter life span from 1964-1970.  This particular piece was always packaged with a lid as the P-65. While it's life span was shorter, it did manage to come in several patterns; Cornflower, Wheat and All White. 

Before I continue, it should be noted that the White Cookmates versions of the 1 quart (SM-1) & 2 quart (SM-2) SauceMaker were produced until about 1976 before being discontinued.


The small 1 pint SauceMaker is still a bit of a mystery.  It appears to have never been released to the market, though at least 8 have been accounted for at this point.  CMOG (Corning Museum of Glass) has one labeled as a Prototype P-5.

(Photo courtesy of Rakow Library - CMOG)

But what bothers me is that it has a lid.  Now the 1 quart P-55 was released first, without a lid. So wouldn't that mean that this one was produced later?  And if it was produced later, then why is it a P-5 instead of a P-63; following suit with the P-64 and P-65?  And just WHAT is under that sticker?  Is it really only a "-B" or is it some other number? Maybe P-54?

Needless to say, mine has nothing printed on it to give any clue as to what the model number is or whether it actually a prototype or not.  It has a lid and, because the lug is the same as a petite pan, uses a P-41-HG for a handle... (P-5? on Left)

The P-55/P-64 (right) & P-65 have standard P-series lugs and use the standard P-10-HG handle.

 (P-55/P-64 in back - P-5? in front)

(P-55/P-64 top - P-5? bottom)

None of the lids have the model numbers on them... Being P-64-C (1 quart), P-65-C (2 quart) and potentially P-5-C or P-63-C or even P-54-C (for the 1 pint) 

Thus are the mysteries of Corning Ware.  


Where is your Corning Ware??
~~

Mid-Centura Modern - My Centura Covered Casserole Collection

From the creative mind of Jerry Wright, the original Centura saucepan collection SCREAMS mid-Century Modern design.

Available in 1 quart, 1 1/2 quart and 2 quart, these saucepans/casseroles were designed to accompany the Centura dinnerware line (originally only available in coupe style, with no rim) and released in the fall of 1962 along with the dinnerware. They have their own special handle (601-H)....  Which is a slightly modified version of what was already being used on the traditional "square" Corningware.

The saucepans themselves are made of the "CorningWare" pyroceram formulation, however, the lids are made of some form of ceramic material that is neither Centura nor Corningware.  Sadly, this line was discontinued in 1967 to make way for "Buffet Server" styled Centura serveware (B-series).

Where is your Centura by Corning??
~~

Making a Saucy Trio - Corningware Saucemaker Eye Candy

Some totally gratuitous pictures of my Saucemaker Trio...  1 Pint, 1 Quart and 2 Quart. (Take a close look at the 1 Pint Saucemaker....  There are 2 leaves missing from the center flower that have been replaced by a single leaflet on the left side - Also, the 1 quart is missing a leaflet on the left flower, but the 1 pint and the 2 quart both have that particular leaflet) 

Just some food for thought on variations in the Cornflower design, depending on the piece.

Your going to start checking all your pieces now, aren't you?

None of my Saucemakers have P-#s on them....

They simply state the size of the Saucemaker.

That's all, nothing else.

Where is your Corningware??
~~

Not So Wordless Wednesday - 10" Gourmet Skillet and Saucemaker Oyster Stew

I know, Wordless Wednesday is about being wordless, but I cannot help myself.  I just gotta talk.....

I occasionally participate in Marx Food Challenges over on Culinary Alchemy.  It's a great way to be exposed to new ingredients and to "get my creativity on".   In the advent of the latest challenge, which was using Dried Mushrooms in an original soup recipe, I decided to "get my Corningware on" as well.

From the 2 quart Saucemaker  (P-65)

to a 10 Inch Gourmet Skillet (P-910-B)....

All served up in Centura Cornflower.... 

I had to post the recipe on Culinary Alchemy for the Shrooms for Soup Challenge.

Click any of these pictures, they will take you to the post.  A feast of Oyster Stew and Corningware.  :-)

Where is your Corningware??
~~

Villainous Vitrification - Turning your Corningware into Obsidian

So, the other day, while I was struggling to clean a particularly stubborn stain from the inside of a 2 quart teapot (P-105), the proverbial "light bulb" went off over my head.

This teapot is pristine on the outside, not a mark, not a scratch.... nothing.

Inside, however, is a different story.  Oh, it's clean....   Especially after I finished with the Barkeepers Friend and then heated up Oxyclean in it and let it soak for 24 hours... But there were still grey "spots" in the bottom.  Thinking they might be hard water stains, I then soaked with CLR for 24 hours.  They were still there.  So, in desperation I decided to try the Pfaltzgraff Cleaner, even though I was pretty sure that they weren't utensil marks... How would you get utensil marks in the bottom of a teapot?  Especially round blotch utensil marks.  Well, the Pfaltzgraff cleaner didn't do anything either, the spots are still there......

So, I took a closer look at the 2 annoying spots in the bottom.

Closer...

A little closer..... 

THERE, that's close enough.  Can you see it too?  Is it translating well in the photos?  The "grey" looks like it's slightly translucent.  You can still see "white" swirled around within this translucent spot.   My working theory is that these are spots that have vitrified.

OK, maybe I should take a step back for a second and do a little explaining.

When you melt something like, say Sugar, on the stove and it becomes an amber liquid, then you pour said liquid onto a sheet pan and allow it to cool, you have not only formed a hard caramel, you have "vitrified" sugar.  Basically, creating sugar glass.  This happens with rocks as well.  Obsidian, for all intensive purposes, is a vitrified "rock".  ALL rocks, when exposed to intense heat, will vitrify to some degree.

All it really means is that something is melted and cooled in such a way that it remains in an amorphous state instead of re-crystallizing.  Some amorphous mixtures allow more light to pass through them than others.  Such is the case with a mixture of Sodium Carbonate (Soda), Calcium Oxide (Lime), and Silicon Dioxide (Silica Sand); better known as Soda-Lime Glass.

Corningware is based on the DE-vitrification of glass.  Meaning, that it is purposefully crystallized to make "Ceramic-Glass".  This, however, happens after the glass has first been formed and is in an amorphous state. 

The difference is that the glass used to make Corningware has been "seeded", in this case with Titanium Dioxide, so that when the glass piece is heated treated, after the initial forming, the Titanium Dioxide forms millions of little nuclei.  This nucleated glass is heated again and crystals form around the nuclei.  The amount of crystal growth depends on the temperature it is heated to and the duration of the heating.  There you have it, the purposeful de-vitrification of glass.  Pyrex Opal Glass uses some of this same principals but the crystal content is significantly less than that of Corningware, being less than 10%.  Pyrex Tempered Opal Glass (as in mixing bowls and such) are also not formed of Borosilicate, it's a tempered Soda Lime Glass (always has been) and, I believe, it is seeded with Tin Oxide.

In the case of this teapot, I think that it was boiled dry one too many times on the stove, and these areas have UN-crystallize, turning back into glass. Basically, its vitrified.  At least in those spots.  Mind you, this is made of "Borosilicate" low expansion glass to begin with, so I don't think it really harms anything.   It just looks weird on the inside.

As far as why it is ONLY on the inside and not on the outside, I think that has to do with the way that heat moves through and radiates from an object... There were, more than likely, minerals in the water that was being boiled dry that may have had something to do with it as well.

But my theory doesn't extend any further at this point, and I honestly think I pulled a muscle in my brain as it is.   ;-)

Where is your Corningware??
~~

A Weighty Proposition - Vintage Corningware vs. New Pyrex

I have heard, from several people, (my mother included) that Corningware is too heavy for everyday use.  This may be true, but I think it's a relative matter.  Not to sound like a chauvinist, but I am a male and I use a lot of copper and cast iron.  So to me, Corningware seems fairly light, or at least, not any heavier than a copper pan.  Granted, it's not as light as aluminum, that's for sure.  I'll be honest though...  The idea of cooking in aluminum freaks me out.  I simply do too much acidic cooking (Tomato, Citrus, Vinegar, Wine) to be able to get away with aluminum cookware.

Non-stick coatings freak me out even more.  True, there are new ones that are "supposedly safe", but I am still not completely convinced. Part of me thinks it's just an excuse to put a "Green" label on an aluminum pan and charge more money for it.  Let's face it, the amount of cheap cookware/bakeware (made in China) on the market boggles the mind.  Most of it will have to be replaced in 2-4 years.  Such a waste of room in the landfill as well as the consumer's money.

That is why I love my Corningware; as "heavy" as some of the pieces may be.  It's non-reactive, non-porous, doesn't stain (unless mistreated), it's easy to clean (though I don't do much shallow oil frying) and acts a lot like cast iron. 

But that brings me back to my original point.  I got to wondering.  I know the 5 quart Casserole (P-84-B, A-84-B) is heavy.  It IS a 5 quart monster, after all.  But I got to pondering the baking dishes.  In particular the 9x13 (P-21) and the huge 10x15 (P-76-"B") and my French White roaster (F-21) which is not 9x13, as the number would supposedly indicate.  I believe that at some point in the late 70s the A-76 (previously P-76-"B" (the "B" was not always present) was dropped from the line and the dimensions of the A-21, which was the P-21 before 1972, were altered to be 12.25x10.5 so it now fell in between the original 2 pieces.  Handles were added as well, and the suffix of "-N" was placed on some pieces. (I saw this on the bottom of my mom's Shadow Iris piece) This may have had something to do with the switch to "metric" about that time cause the bottom of my French White (F-21) has "4.5 liter" printed on the bottom, but I am not sure.

Anywho...  Now that I have confused everyone with strange alpha-numeric codes... Here are more neuron numbing numbers... LOL

I grabbed the Pyrex... (I do not own any "Vintage" Pyrex glass baking dishes... At least I don't think so.)

Sure enough, the 7x11 piece (2 qt) weighed in at 2 lbs 4.9 oz.

While the 9x13 piece (3qt) weighed in at 3 lbs 14.2 oz (just shy of 4 lbs)

Then the 10x15 piece (4qt) came in at a whopping 4 lbs 13.7 oz.  This is the heaviest of ALL the pieces I weighed... Including the French White Roaster. (F-21)

The Corningware P-332 (7x11 "2qt") was a little on the heavier side for it's size. (I borrowed my youngest brother's because I don't have this size) At 3lbs 9.1 oz it's even heavier than the 10x15 4qt (P-76-B).

My P-21 (9x13 "3qt") Corningware dish weighed in at a only 2lbs 7.9 oz (only slightly more than the Pyrex 2qt 7x11)

Heck, my P-76-B (10x15 "4qt") weighs less than the Pyrex 10x15 AND the 9x13, coming in at a mere 3 lbs 8.8 oz

Now, my F-21-B (4.5liter) French White roaster does weigh in at a more hefty 4lbs 5.2 oz, but it still weighs less than the 10x15 4 quart Pyrex baking dish. (not by much though)

So, in essence, for the most part, the Vintage Corningware baking dishes ("P" model numbers at least) weigh less than the Pyrex bakeware that is still on the market.  P-332 is the exception to the rule, of course.  Though I, personally, don't use that size all that often, if at all.  (As is evident, since I don't actually HAVE that particular piece and had to borrow my brother's for this little exercise in weights and measures.)

Pyrex is no longer "actual" Pyrex anymore, being made of tempered soda-lime glass instead of borosilicate.  World Kitchen's excuse for the switch is that tempered soda-lime glass is lighter and more break resistant.  I am not buying it.  And the numbers don't lie.  It's actually heavier than my borosilicate vintage Corningware, for the most part.  I would be curious to find some vintage borosilicate Pyrex and see if the vintage pieces are lighter than the newer soda-lime ones.

I think it's time for me to retire all of my newer Pyrex baking dishes to the Goodwill and just stick with the vintage Corningware.

Pyrex has left the building!  (not my opal glass mixing bowls or refrigerator dishes though, I'm keepin those.... They are vintage pieces and I don't think those were ever made of borosilicate glass anyway)

Where is your Corningware??
~~

Super Secret Saucemaker - 1 Pint Saucemaker

Well, another "find" found it's way into my hot little hands.

The most interesting thing is that I cannot find it in any of the books I have on Corningware, nor can I find it anywhere on the internet.  My guess is that it's either a "super secret squirrel piece" that was being tested by a group of consumers, or it was a promotional item.  I'm really not sure.

I see the 1 quart (P-55-B & P-64-B) and 2 quart (P-65-B) models all the time. (OK, I see the 2 quart size less frequently, but they are out there)   I had no idea that this piece ever existed and evidently neither do any of the Corningware dedicated blogs and sites, nor did any of the authors of Corningware Collectors Guides.  So in the interest of disseminating as much information as possible to everyone, THIS is my "find".

Corningware 1 Pint Saucemaker 

in Cornflower

As you can see, it's significantly smaller than my 1 Quart Wheat Saucemaker.

It requires a Petite handle (P-41-HG) instead of the regular handle (P-10-HG) used on the 1 & 2 Quart sizes.

It's marked inside up to 2 cups/16 Oz.

There is no model number on the back, like all my others.  It simply says "1 PT. Saucemaker".

The lid has no numbers on it, which I think is a little odd.  My 1 Quart lids has an A-6 on it.

Be that as it may, I am excited to have found something that seems to be unknown.  As far as using it?  Well, I can think of no better crucible for making browned butter.  :-)

Where is your Corningware??
~~