Seems modern humans first appeared about 200,000 years ago, but record keeping didn’t begin until about 6,000 years ago. That means about 97% of human history is lost.
Soon man learned that his body had to have food and drink to survive. He got tired of eating raw meat, leaves and grass so he told his wife, or mate, to start preparing his food over the fire.
Man would start out by using a stick stuck through the meat to halfway roast it over the flames of his fire. This was a trial-and-error method. Man found out very quicky if he liked his meat rare, medium -well, well done, or burnt.
Sometimes stones were pre-heated to keep food warm and even used to form an early type of oven. Some stone ovens were built above ground while others were large pits dug in the ground and lined with stones. The pits were then filled with hot coals and ashes. The food was wrapped in wet leaves, placed on the coals and covered with earth. This method allowed large pieces of meat to be slowly and evenly cooked. The meat was more flavorful and digested better. Even through our last century this method of cooking hogs to make good old pit-cooked BBQ still existed.
The next advance in cooking was wet cooking or boiling in water. Vegetables and root crops were cooked in this manner. Even containers made from bark, wood, or animal hides could be used for boiling food as long there was water in the container. Later containers were made of clay or pottery.
The clay pottery was used for many years until a type of metal was invented. These pots and pans made from copper, tin, or cast-iron were highly valued and handed down from generations to be used over and over.
Even though some of our forefathers came to this country with just the shirt on their backs many brought essential items like wooden bowls and metal pots.
As folks moved from east to west or north to south in our country a lot of the pottery containers were broken and thus the cast iron pots and frying pans were the mainstay of the pioneers.
Just like our forefather’s weapons had to be cleaned and oiled so too did their cast iron pots and pans. To keep the cast iron pots and pans from rusting they had to be what folks called seasoned. This was done by washing the pots out clean, drying them out, and then wiping them down with bear or pork grease. Every now and again this empty pot was heated over the fire-coals after being seasoned to maintain an even cooking surface within the pot.
As technology progressed aluminum pots and pans came on the scene along with gas and electric stoves.
Today, man has invented all types of materials to make our cooking utensils cook better and faster but to me there is nothing better than a well- seasoned cast iron skillet for cooking.
To sum up this column, I’ll just ask this question: Had you rather eat pinto beans cooked in an aluminum pot on an electric stove or slow cooked over an open wood flame in an old cast-iron pot?
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