Posted on 03/31/2016 12:54:26 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Italian archaeologists have found a site near Naples where the precursors of non-stick pans were produced more than 2,000 years ago.
The finding confirms that non-stick frying pans, an essential tool in any modern kitchen, were used in the Roman Empire.
The cookware was known as "Cumanae testae" or "Cumanae patellae," (pans from the city of Cumae) and was mentioned in the first-century Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria as the most suitable pans for making chicken stews.
However, the pans from Cumae remained a mystery until 1975, when Giuseppe Pucci, archaeologist and professor of history of Greek and Roman art, attempted an identification.
Pucci proposed that a pottery commonly known as Pompeian Red Ware which featured a heavy red-slip coating in the inside, was the "Cumanae testae" from historical sources.
Now Marco Giglio, Giovanni Borriello and Stefano Iavarone, archaeologists at the University of Naples "L'Orientale," have found evidence in Cumae to support Pucci's identification.
"We found a dump site filled with internal red-slip cookware fragments. The dumping was used by a pottery factory. This shows for the first time the Cumanae patellae were indeed produced in this city," Giglio told Discovery News.
Giglio and colleagues found more than 50,000 fragments of lids, pots and pans of various sizes and thickness, each featuring a very distinct coating.
"All the defective artifacts were dumped here. These pieces help us enormously to reconstruct the way the pottery was manufactured," Giglio said.
Many of the fragments featured the thick internal red-slip coating that provided a non-adherent surface, making the pots and pans ideal for cooking meat-based stews.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
Hey, anyone know, is there a sewing thread? Too tired to do a rimshot.
They’re good for one low temp fry then everything sticks to them. Mine is currently being used as a target.
Just saw this and thought of you and your wee menagerie.
Every time my wife and I visit one of those stupid places, we come out really heavy. ;-D
One really can't have enough cast iron cookware.
This is a symptom of some character flaw, I suppose.
Good to know, I gave one as a cheap Xmas gift at work (it was under $10), had a folding handle so it would stow in even a small drawer (or glove box, in some cases), and I almost picked up two, one to give away, one to try out.
Thx.
A banana python. What will they think of next?
I’m lucky in that when we travel to see the folks, we pass within a few miles of the true factory outlet in South Pittsburg, TN. “True factory outlet” in that the foundry is literally right down the street.
That’s fascinating; I guess there’s really ‘nothing new under the sun’. But I have to agree with the poster who said that cast iron was/is the best ;-)
-JT
I have a little green one with the fold-up handle; I bought it for just doing eggs for me, on mornings when the husband doesn’t want to cook breakfast. It works perfectly for eggs, fried or scrambled, and I always put it in the dishwasher with no issues.
-JT
I think that’s covered under ‘and related issues’. We just haven’t gotten there, yet.
-JT, FR Distaff Faction
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
