The history of Cast iron Cookware

Wheat originated in western Asia and has been domesticated and cultivated by humans for more than 10,000 years. Wheat was introduced from West Asia and the Middle East to Europe and Africa in the west, and to India, Afghanistan, and China in the east. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, European colonists introduced wheat to South and North America; in the 18th century, wheat was introduced to Oceania.

The plump wheat ears are crushed and turned into the starch we most often eat every day. We knead it into dough and steam it into white steamed buns; the West Asians flatten the dough and bake it into fragrant flatbreads; while the Europeans knead the dough around and bake it into a whimsically crispy exterior. Tender bread. Steaming noodles should be a unique feature of the Chinese!

Frying pans, stew pots, milk pots... In European cooking culture, cooking utensils seem to have more detailed distinctions to ensure the accuracy of each cooking process. Different from foreign countries, the traditional round-bottom cast iron pot of the Chinese people can conquer the world in one pot. It can not only fry, fry, stew, and boil, but also complete the unique Chinese stir-fry cooking method. Using the natural curved surface of the round bottom and adding a grate, you can complete the steaming process. A simple, unpretentious iron pot with an almost geometric structure gives the user unlimited space and imagination. In the hands of people who love life, countless delicacies are created, which is the wisdom of Chinese artificial creations.

The shape of cooking utensils determines people's attitude towards food and naturally also determines the cooking technology and richness of the food's taste. In ancient times, fire was the center of people's lives. People's lives revolve around fire, which brings warmth and light. People sit around the fire, roast, and share food, and have fun and rest. Roasting and grilling are probably the earliest cooking methods that people have mastered. You can get delicious food by putting food in a fire or using natural objects such as bamboo and wooden skewers. To this day, people's special enthusiasm for barbecue may come from people's first memory of the taste.

Planting cereals for food, millet, and other plant foods produced in primitive agriculture cannot come into direct contact with fire. When people separated the cooking of ingredients from fire, the prototype of cooking utensils appeared. People placed rice, fish, and other ingredients on stone slabs and cooked them over fire. The stone slabs were called "stone pans" and were the earliest cooking utensils. To this day, in Shanxi, there is a snack called "stone cake", which is the remnant of this ancient cooking method.

People have created richer cooking utensils based on the application of this natural thing. The concept of "chu" to describe the cooking process also appeared. From the word "kitchen" in Zhouwen, we can see the semi-open building, various cooking utensils, and hand movements.

The relationship between people and cooking has changed. The cooking method that used to be fire and food-centered has gradually transformed into a people-centered state. Stoves, sinks, chopping boards, tableware... surround the "kitchen".Three generations ago, Chinese cooking utensils were diverse and had independent names. For example, woks, tripods, and cauldrons are mostly used for stewing, woks are used to boil water or cook liquid foods such as porridge, and steamers are mostly used for steaming. The steamer cakes that are popular in Xi'an and Guanzhong areas are simply steamed cakes. Cooking utensils and food always existed as "ritual" utensils and systems at that time. The so-called "Aiming for the Central Plains" and the "six drinks, six foods, six meals, one hundred shame, one hundred sauces, and eight delicacies" mentioned in "The Rites of Zhou", food as a kind of ritual has strict regulations.

The introduction of rich and diverse delicacies into ordinary people's homes probably started with the popularization of cast iron pots.

A good cast iron cookware/pot will achieve an optimal state of heat conduction and heat storage through the ratio of raw materials so that the heat can be transferred evenly, the heat will be moderate, and the absorbed heat can be slowly transferred to the pot. In the food, it ensures that the food is heated evenly so that the food maintains its original taste. Over thousands of years, although the shape of cooking utensils has undergone tremendous changes. Deep in people's consciousness, a good pot is always a memory of stone cookware. It has a rough texture, close to stone frosting, and has an original and rustic appearance. It is thick, strong, and durable. It can store temperature and release it steadily and continuously to avoid the occurrence of scorching of ingredients.

Sometimes I would wander into a small shop I frequented, follow the menu of "Suiyuan Old Man", find the most suitable ingredients, and use my favorite cast iron pot to stew a pot of meat for two or three hours. The blue flame brings out the aroma of meat, and the alluring aroma of meat will slowly occupy the surrounding space. At this time, it is time for us to spend time with the utensils.The benefits of utensils and the beauty of life slowly spread as time passes and in the sound of the iron pot. I always keep opening the lid of the pot. In addition to paying attention to the heat, I actually hope that the aroma of the meat will fill the whole room immediately so that the aroma of the meat can also bring joy to my family.

In the past, I always thought that a fast pace was good, as it could solve some problems or complete some things quickly. However, after a long time, I realized that food cooked in 20 minutes using a pressure cooker could not be compared to food cooked in an iron pot in two or three hours. What about the food ratio? The two or three hours of waiting and expected happiness cannot be replaced by a pressure cooker. After serving the stewed meat and placing it on the dining table, the aroma filled the room, and the sunlight passed through the window, making the braised meat glow with a bright oily sheen. All of this is very much like the haiku poem by Matsuo Basho: the cherry blossoms in full bloom are floating in all directions, sprinkled in the bowl of carp and miso soup. How pleasant it must be to eat a bowl of braised pork under a tree full of petals!

Now, the sun shines on the braised pork-like petals. This is what life is like. Isn’t this how life goes by day by day? Use this simple utensil that has been passed down for thousands of years to cook a warm meal and share it with your loved ones. The utensils also perform their duties, silently accompanying us to count the days; time also has the warmth of life.