4 in 1 griswold

[texasrecurve]

At a flea market today I bought a cast iron dutch oven with a lid that also serves as a frying pan. On the top it has a large star and inside that it says "4 in 1" inside a cross. The lid and oven have a hammered finish. The seller told me it was a Griswold, but I can find no other writing on it that says Griswold or anything else. I can only figure out 3 uses, not 4. 1) frying pan 2) dutch oven 3) pot with lid. What is the fourth use?? Also, it is pretty clean, but I thought I would go ahead and spray it down with oven cleaner and put it in a plastic bag for a day or so. However, the clerk at the dollar store said, "no, no, don't use oven cleaner on it, that's not a good idea." How about it, good idea or not? Thanks for the help! I bought this to go in an expedition trailer since one item would serve more than one use.

[bobhenry]

4 FUNCTIONS

Bake , fry , deep fry, and boil ???? just a guess. I went looking but found nothing.

[Gary W]

The last old Wagner fry pan I got I put it in my self cleaning oven and turn it on. It came out looking like new waiting to be seasoned. Just food for thought.

[Joanne]

It sounds like a nice find regardless of whether it's a Griswold or not. Do you have any photos of the piece?

There are a lot of ways to clean old iron. I generally put it in the BBQ with the lid down then turn the heat all the way up. In an hour or so the crud has burned off. I let it cool slowly, then season it well. Gary W's suggestion for a self cleaning oven is a good one. If there's rust, then using electrolysis is a good technique. You can also put 1/2 cup of ammonia in a plastic bag, put the cast iron in, close up the bag tightly, and let it set for 24 hours or so. Then pull the iron out and scrub it.

I would guess that the clerk recommended that you don't use oven cleaner out of fear that the chemicals would get into the "grain" of the cast iron and leave a residual taste. I don't think I would use oven cleaner either.

Just my 02¢ worth.

Joanne

[texasrecurve]

Hey thanks for the replys. I think I will stay away from the oven cleaner, but do like the idea of putting it in a self cleaning oven. Don't have any pics, sorry.

[dguff]

I used the self cleaning oven one time to clean a heavliy crusted cast iron frying pan bought at a thrift store. It was a mistake. Way too much stuff to burn off compared to a normally dirty oven. I had smoke coming out of the door gaskets due to so much smoke inside the oven. The oven vent fan could not keep up and of course I could not stop the process in the middle of the cleaning cycle. It did work, the pan came out clean, but I would burn the crud off outside on a barbeque or other heat source before using the oven again.

Jerome

[Lizbeth]

I have used oven cleaner and it haint kilt me yet.

Electrolysis is the best, hubby bought me a new charger for my birthday. How romantic. I haven't set it up yet though.

I have the top of one of those 4 in 1s, it was a bargain so I bought it! I thought it might fit another hammered skillet I have but it didn't, I haven't tried it on any of the others yet to see if it's usable.

[Steve Stephens]

Though a lot of folks mistake the 4-in-1 piece as being made by Griswold, it's a Lodge piece first made c.1940 with a hammered surface then later with a smooth surface.

Go ahead and clean the piece with oven cleaner (lye based). Won't hurt it or you a bit. If pimientos are pealed in lye it surely isn't going to hurt you. I've cleaned many thousands of pieces in lye with no harm at all. Just rinse the lye off and you are good to go. I don't think cast iron cookware has pores anyway and have looked long and hard on the internet for scanning electron microscope photos of the surface of cast iron. I think any pores are closed unless the piece has been ground.