Enamel has been around for decorative and functional use for centuries. Vitreous enamel is akin to ceramic glaze — it is most commonly the result of fusing powdered glass (or less often a glass paste or spray) to a metal or ceramic substrates. Enamel is bonded to metal in kilns at a high temperatures, somewhere between 1400 and 1640°F.
Enamelware Cup, circa 1920
“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” — Mark Twain
At 16, a late bloomer by some standards, two friends and I admitted we’d never really been drunk. Wanting a quick remedy, my friend had just the fix in his mother’s garage: “Her last boss gave her a case of some French Champagne when she left last year, I think it’s getting pretty old now anyway.” Drinking premier cru champagne from coffee mugs, we spent several hours perusing our favorite periodicals and commenting on the finer aspects of this new favorite beverage. The next morning, the pile of Playboys and empty ’85 Mumm Grand Cordon bottles attested to one simple truth: people should drink more Champagne.
Marilyn Monroe holding a Coupe Glass
In the days before ripe Chilean tomatoes in the snowiest of winters, year-round beets, and the never-ending zucchini season, if you had a hankering for a summer vegetable in the middle of January, you had to wait six months. That is until 1810, when canning was invented and along with it, the possibility of anticipating your winter desires two seasons ahead.
Image by Nina Lee, 1952, Courtesy of LIFE Magazine
I say aluminum, you say (if you’re the rest of the world) aluminium – let’s call the whole thing off! At this point you would have to have your head buried in bauxite (aluminum in its naturally occurring form) to not be aware of the impact aluminum has had on the modern world.
Frozen Fried Shrimp Dinner with Tangy Cocktail Sauce for Extra "Home Style" Touch
I’m getting the feeling that for many household products, aluminum was the standard before plastic had it’s big breakthrough. These aluminum cups were popular in the 1940s and ’50s in the same settings where today plastic is the number one material of choice: barbecues, parties and picnics.
Bascal Aluminum Tumbler, 1950s
I was excited when I found this 1950s aluminum ice cube tray. I couldn’t help but imagine a wealthy Palm Springs divorcee lounging poolside, brightly colored fingernails on her sun-leathered hands, levering ice cubes for a Tom Collins. The best thing about using aluminum is that it makes ice much faster. Plastic and rubber trays are quite inadequate, as they act as insulators between the freezing cold and the water.
1950s Aluminum Ice Cube Tray with Lever
One of nature’s very useful materials, horn (Ox, Buffalo, Stag, Ram and Bison) has historically been utilized in a number of applications. As seen here, it’s a material particularly suited to spoons. A true connoisseur of caviar and soft-boiled egg eating will tell you, nothing taints the flavor like metal, and horn offers an unrivalled purity of taste.
Since I am still in search of a good butcher in LA (alas, none to be found!) – I am finding myself delving further into the dissection of strange and exotic cuts of meat – at home. A recent purchase of a meat grinder (more on that soon!) has lead to a whole lot of chopping and cutting, slicing and dicing and a new search – for a superior place on which to cut.
American Meat Institute Advertising 1940s
Click on Image To Enter Store
Cranbery Jam
The dead of winter isn’t exactly known for its bounty, but being cooped up indoors with snow flurries outside makes canning — with its pots of boiling water and multiple, time-intensive steps — seem like an ideal winter activity. There may be heads of cauliflower and kale around, but in general, low-acid vegetables are riskier to steam can than high-acid fruits.
Wife of Jim Norris with canned goods, Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940, by Lee Russel. Image from Library of Congress
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