[Artemisia] kitchen-fu" cast iron and ovens

[Sondra Gibson]

Thanks!  I was curious.  

Gefjon

> -----Original Message-----
> > Subject: [Artemisia] kitchen-fu" cast iron and ovens
> 
> 
> On Wed, 2007-08-29 at 18:53 -0500,
> artemisia-request at lists.gallowglass.org wrote:
> > Totally serious question, I really am not sure - is *cast* iron
> > period???? 
> 
> Short form of answer: yes
> 
> Long form: most iron implements were wrought iron with its low carbon
> content and easy availability.  Cast iron comes in during the 
> late 15th
> C. with the introduction of the predecessors to the blast furnace in
> Germany and Spain.  It was used mostly to cast kettles and 
> cauldrons and
> was not suitable for tools because it was brittle in comparison to
> wrought iron.
> 
> And while I'm thinking about it: ovens indeed did exist in period and
> were not confined to just the manors of the rich, depending 
> on time and
> place.  For example, just about every Russian peasant had an 
> over, a big
> one, and the whole family would sleep on top of it during the winter.
> Every large town and city had one or bakeries and everyone of those
> would have had an oven too.
> 
> ttfn
> Therasia
>