[Artemisia] kitchen-fu" cast iron and ovens

[Dr. C. M. Helm-Clark Ph.D.]

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