Mysteries of Corning Ware - The P-102? Teapot/Cream Pitcher

Since it is somewhat traditional, at this point in time, to reminisce about the previous year, I would like to focus on the biggest Corning Ware mystery to surface in 2017.
 
It took a bit of luck to secure one of the four that have appeared on eBay over the last 6 months, but I finally succeeded.  Of course, because Murphy is my Uncle, I promptly found a damaged one in a thrift store 3 days after the eBay seller had shipped the one I purchase.  So now I have 2 of them, or 1 4/5 of them, depending on how you look at it.

The mystery piece I am speaking of is this 2 cup "teapot" with the aluminum lid.

I placed "teapot" in quotes, because it really looks more like a cream pitcher, to me.  (like this metal one)

Especially with the way the lid is attached.

 (It hooks over a wire embedded in the Bakelite handle)

I kind of wonder if this is a product of the same phenomenon as the H-7 au Gratin/Deep Pie dish piece.

Which was really a Hospitality Industry item, but they do show up from time to time with Cornflowers emblazoned upon them, instead of the standard plain white.  Likewise, these cream servers/individual teapots may have also escaped their hospitality destiny to be flocked in blue flower.

I am guessing that they might be a P-102... But they could just as easily be an H-102 or just an H-2. Heck, they could have even been PL-102 if they were intended for the airlines.  Who knows.  I only have access to 2 documents regarding Hospitality items.  One document focuses on the warming buffet style servers and the other is about the H-7 individual pie dish (seen above).  As far airline items are concerned, I got nothing.  So your guess on this piece is just as good as mine.

Then again.....  It looks an AWFUL lot like the individual Pyrex carafes that were produced from 1958-1960ish.

Ponderous.... 

Where is your Corning Ware??
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Tea Time! - My P-series Cornflower Collection (Part 5)

I am not really that much of a tea drinker.  Oh, on occasion I enjoy a cup of fresh Ginger Tea or a antioxidant rich Green Tea. When it comes to black tea I love Earl Grey (such a classic) and first flush Darjeeling.   But I really don't brew tea very often.  But that does not mean that teapots gather dust.  Oh no.  They are usually employed to warm stock when I am making Risotto, or in heating milk for Hot Chocolate... Even warming Apple Cider.  Yes, they get a severe workout regardless.

Back Left: P-105 (8 cup)  Back Right:  P-104 (6 cup) with tea strainer   Front: P-103 (3 cup)

I also ran across the P-106-N a few weeks back (which is also a 6 cup) though this is technically a coffee pot.  The P-106-N originally came with a plastic cone that fit in the top for making "pour over" drip coffee.  Alas, bereft of the drip cone, it does duty as a teapot as well.

This is the Deluxe Tea Kettle (P-57).

Which, incidentally, has the same lid as the original Buffet Servers (B-1 & B-1 3/4), though the knob on top is different.

Magic Bananas!!!!  See?

The P-57 Deluxe Teakettle isn't really designed for brewing tea per se. It is a Kettle after all.  By definition (and design) a Kettle's sole purpose is to heat the water; water which is then taken to the teapot for brewing the tea. 

Though the tea strainer came with my P-104 Cornflower teapot, when I actually brew tea, I prefer to use my English Pyroflam teapot.

I think it's much more fitting.

Where is your CorningWare??
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Drip, Drop, Drip, Little Coffee Showers - Using a CorningWare 8 cup Drip Coffee Maker

I love me some coffee...  I adore coffee....  I love coffee so much that I collect coffee brewing paraphernalia.  I adore coffee so much that I work in a Coffee/Bakery shop.  I swear, coffee literally runs through my veins.  All this espresso exposure has given me a new appreciation for various extraction methods and how they can bring out the best, or the worst, in coffee.

Truth be told, aside from a beautifully freckled shot of espresso marked ever so lightly with foam (a real Macchiato), my favorite brewing methods, in order of deliciousness, are Siphon (Vacuum Brew), French Press, Moka Pot, Drip, and Chemex (which is technically drip, but a manual process with a thick paper filter)

Sadly, Corning never made an espresso machine.  While I have seen designs for one, they never actually produced a Siphon brewer, though companies like Silex and Cory contracted with Pyrex for their flame resistant glass parts.  They never tried to copy the Moka Pots from Italy either, though they did mold the glass for the Chemex brewer, again from Pyrex glass, but it was still not CorningWare.

Luckily, aside from the Percolators which Corning is famous for, they decided to make some additions to their successful line of teapots.  Thus it was that the P-104 (6 cup) and the P-105 (8 cup) were partnered up with Pyrex Glass water globes with stainless steel plate and basket attached to the bottom to form a semi-manual drip coffee mechanism.

Tis a thing of beauty if you ask me.  Not that Corning's Percolators aren't pretty... I have 5 of them, but everyone knows how to use a percolator.  I still use one when I go camping. (though I will admit my dad has this interesting Coleman drip coffee maker thing that sits on the Coleman stove and somehow it drives a pump that moves water up a tube and drips it over the grounds into a pot, just like an auto-drip, but without electricity.  It still blows my mind.)  But, I am digressing.........

So how does one go about using one of these things?  Well, let me give you a run through.

This particular set consists of a P-105/P-118 teapot that is technically 8 cups as in 2 quarts or 64 oz... The Pyrex glass globe is marked as 8 cups, however, the cup measurements on the globe are actually 5 oz "coffee cups" so what you end up with is about 40 oz of finished coffee, which is really about "6 cups" if you measure them as 8 oz.  Did that make sense?  There is a stainless steel basket that screws to the bottom of the globe to hold the coffee grounds, and a black plastic Water Flow Control Valve that prevents the water from flowing into the grounds prematurely. (this piece is REALLY important)  These above globe parts can be used with any of the P-105 teapot regardless of pattern. (though I am not sure how many different patterns were printed on the 8 cup P-105 teapot)

So, let us begin...  First, fill the teapot with fresh, clean, cold water and place it on the stove over medium-high flame.

Place a thermometer (any kind will do) into the pot so you can monitor the water temperature.  First rule of good Coffee is clean equipment, second rule of good Coffee is fresh clean water at the right temperature.  The water should be about 203-207 degrees and absolutely positively never ever any hotter than that, or your coffee will be over-extracted and bitter. (This is the same as for French Press)

Once the water gets to about 150-170 you can begin with the assembly of the rest of the brewing mechanism.

First, wet the grounds basket with water. (this will prevent some of the finer grounds from sifting down into your brew, though it doesn't stop all of them)

I usually use 1 slightly rounded Tablespoon of Auto Drip grind per cup of coffee I am brewing.  Thus, to make a full pot it takes 8 slightly rounded Tablespoons of Coffee. (This is Peet's Major Dickenson's Blend)

Rinse the Globe with hot water to condition it, though it is made of Pyrex, and perfectly safe to pour 207 degree water into, but I like to at least heat it up slightly so the water in the globe stays at about 202-205 while brewing.

Screw the filter basket onto the bottom of the water globe.

OK, grab the Water Flow Valve.....  This little chunk of black plastic is VERY important... I see a lot of these globes listed on eBay without this valve piece.

Place the Water Flow valve into the globe to prevent the water from filtering through the grounds prematurely. (you'll see what I mean in a little bit)

Now your drip mechanism is all ready to go.

When the water has reached 203-207, remove the teapot from the flame.

Pour the water into the globe up to the 8 cup mark (the black plastic Water Control Valve keeps the water IN the globe and not all over the counter)

Pour any extra water into the sink.

Using the built in handles at the top of the water globe, move the globe onto the hot teapot.

Tilt the Water Flow Valve to one side to break the seal and lift it out of the globe, allowing the water to begin trickling through the Coffee grounds and into the CorningWare Teapot. 

I cannot stress the importance of the Water Flow Valve enough.  While it's true, that you could set everything up and simply pour hot water from a different kettle into the mechanism and let it drip through, the CorningWare teapot the coffee is dripping into will not be hot. (unless you heat it up as well)

That is the key to success with the CorningWare Drip Coffee Maker, heating the water in the teapot heats up the pot itself and, being CorningWare, it holds on to that heat during the drip cycle, assuring you a piping hot cup of coffee that is between 190 and 200 degrees when all is said and done. Which is still PLENTY hot.... Hot enough for a Law Suit, as McDonald's found out.

It will take about 4-6 minutes for the water to drip through the grounds... and what you are left with, is a pot full of deep, dark & rich elixir.

Yes, I know, it's not technically 8 cups... But the globe "cup" markings are "coffee cups" being about 6 oz instead of 8oz, so you end up with about 48 oz of coffee.  Any more and the bottom of the basket would be setting in the liquid and that would lead to over extraction and a bitter, muddy flavor.  

mmmmmmmmm I really wish you could smell this right now.

And THAT, my friends, is how to use a CorningWare Drip Coffee Maker.  The 4 cup globe and 6 cup pot are similar in execution... The water flow valve is designed a little different, but the premise is the same.  Because the filter basket hangs down into the teapot, you can really only make about 4 cups of coffee with the 6 cup teapot.

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??
~~

Wordless Wednesday - 2 Quart Teapot and 8 Cup Drip Globe

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Drip Drop Drip Little Coffee Showers - Corningware Drip Coffee Maker

I originally posted this July 7th 2009 on Culinary Alchemy.  It pre-dates the creation of Corningware 411, but I feel that it should be included here due to it's particular subject matter.  It will continue to reside on Culinary Alchemy in it's original form, since it was part of the "Coffee Talk" series, but I have revised it just little before posting it on here.  I have recently discovered, through my research for this site, that the term "Drip-O-Lator" is a registered trademark of Enterprise Aluminum Company.  Thus I have removed all references to this product.  I did, however, choose to leave my comments regarding Percolated Coffee intact.... It was 4 years ago after all, and though I have changed my tune a little since then, it's STILL not my preferred method of brewing.  What can I say, I am a hard core Vacuum Pot & French Press guy.  That's just the way it is.

But enough of that.... Here are the instructions for usage of a Corningware Drip Coffee Maker (P-114).......

July 7th, 2009
Coffee – a dessert time beverage for some, a ritual of friendship for others, and a morning necessity for almost everyone else. It’s one of the hottest commodities on the planet, only shadowed by crude oil. I was originally preparing an exposé on Coffee, but once I started looking around the net I realized this approach has been done a million times already and there really isn’t anything of value I could add to the superfluity of information available. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…… Let’s get a little more specific…

I am going to talk about brewing methods… I have several available to me, for I am one of the people who fall into all three categories… It is a dessert essential, a joy when congregating with friends and the necessary catalyst for my morning transformation from “swamp thing” to a human being.

For this first method, we are going to have to travel back in time to a dark point in American coffee culture… the 1960s…. a time when the sinister percolator ruled the household and mud was served daily… and even worse… people liked it. (shudder) It truly was a bleak time in American history. The percolator is the worst possible way to make coffee for several reasons.

• The water can, and usually does, boil– This is too hot for proper extraction and makes for acidic highly caffeinated coffee.
• Once the extraction begins, the water saturated with “coffee” is heavier and falls to the bottom of the percolator, reheated to a boil and in effect burnt… then it ends up being shoved back up through the tube, to run back through the grounds again… Blech! (shudder)

Repeat after me…. Percolator is BAD….. (OK, maybe not SO bad)

But dawn was breaking in the mid 60s… It was not the messiah of coffee brewing, but it was a step in the right direction… for the theory is similar to that of espresso… One pass through the grounds.   In 1965 Corningware released a new gizmo for coffee preparation…. The Drip Coffee Maker. Now this is not to say they were responsible for a “Star Turn” in the saga of coffee extraction methods. That was already the province of Italy where Espresso was already being pulled from beautifully crafted machines. But, America was “waking up” to the realization of what coffee could be…

What the heck is a Corningware Drip Coffee Maker you ask? Well, it’s basically a manual version of what most people set every night before going to bed. (P-114)

It comes in several parts… So let's begin and I’ll walk ya through it.

First, water must be heated in the kettle (P-114-B or P-104) on the stove to between 200 and 205 degrees. NEVER use boiling water for coffee… not even with a French Press (Future post)

Meanwhile, place coffee in the bottom receptacle (I use about 1.5 TB per cup for drip)

The glass bowl screws down onto the bottom receptacle. (P-114-U)

Now this little plunger thing (flow control valve) prevents the water from flowing from the glass bowl into the coffee ground receptacle.

Once the water is ready, carefully pour the hot water into the glass bowl. (P-114-U)

Place the whole assembly into the pot. (P-114-B or P-104)

Pull the plunger to allow the water to drip through the grounds

and into the pot below. (P-114-B or P-104)

After about 4 minutes, (I usually whistle a little tune while I am waiting)

you have yourself a pot full of coffee.

Ah…

with just a little half and half to create a “Paper Bag Brown” color…

Awesome!!!

In case you are curious... The particular pattern (Wheat) on my tea/coffee pot was originally planned as the standard design for Corningware, but in the company's haste to get the product to market, the cornflower was used instead and it eventually became the brand symbol of Corningware. Later, the wheat pattern was revisited and released on a limited number of pieces (I have seen a pie plate on eBay and I have a 4 quart roaster)

Cin Cin!!
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Where is your Corningware??
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