August 1, 2015
Have you heard that the most recent craze for collectors is Pyrex? It’s been around since 1915 making those original pieces true antiques. Corning scientist Jesse Littleton is credited with inventing Pyrex after his wife asked him to bring something home she could use instead of a broken casserole. Apparently he thought that jars made of weather-proof glass designed for railroad lanterns might work, so he sawed the tops off several jars and brought them home. His wife was happy with not only how she was able to watch the food bake, but how evenly they cooked. While Pyrex is no longer being produced by Corning, having been spun off into a new company, World Kitchen LLC, in 1998, 75% of it is made in America, in Charleroi, PA to be exact.
The good news is that it doesn’t take a significant investment to start collecting Pyrex! Vintage pieces are available at less than $10. E-Bay is a valuable tool if you want to look at the many colors, patterns and styles of Pyrex available. Pyrex dishes come in a wide variety of types and sizes, from smaller, lidded refrigerator dishes to multiple shapes of casserole dishes, from oval to square. There are even Pyrex pie plates and nested mixing bowls. To be sure you’re buying Pyrex, look at the bottom of the piece or sometimes at the handles. Corning put a maker mark on most, but not all, of their Pyrex. If a piece is marked with something else, it’s likely not Pyrex. It won’t take long before you’ll learn to distinguish Pyrex shapes and patterns, so you can tell Pyrex just from sight. As for using your Pyrex, if you love a piece enough that you don’t want to risk anything happening to it, don’t use it. Never use Pyrex on a stove/cooktop or put it in a dishwasher. It’s likely, but not certain, that because the pieces were designed for cooking and storing food, they should be alright in the oven and refrigerator; however, I’d be cautious about using them in the microwave and freezer.
As for events in the Bluemont area, Great Country Farm, the Bluemont Vineyard and Dirt Farm Brewing are having a Peach Fuzztival this weekend with everything from peach pancakes to Cider Pork BBQ with Peach BBQ Sauce. All this can be washed down with Peach wine or Peach beer, DFB’s second seasonal beer. Check out the schedule on line at www.greatcountryfarms.com. What I want to see is the peach pit spitting contest!
Check out Farm to Fork Loudoun at http://www.farmtoforkloudoun.com/. This event that features locally grown and raised food ends Sunday. There are lots of participating restaurants to choose from, so presuming you eat dinner every day, you should be able to try at least two of them. J
We have no special hours to report for the month. Enjoy the end of the summer and stop by when you’re in the area. Bob would be happy for the company.
Lynne & Bob McCann