Your cocotte bore evidence of the passage of time, a life well lived, meals savored, love shared and a family built. No scrub brush could ever take that away. All of the “char” remains, even if you cannot see it. And it’s beautiful.
I have a 22 year old Dutch oven of similar make. Like yours it’s blackened and scarred. A gift from my mother part of me wants to try and restore it and indeed I have attempted it with various potions, but today part of me is reassured I should leave it. Let it keep gathering chapters from our kitchen perhaps x
however... the cooking class I just attended with its sparkling copper pots did remind me there was a place for shine in certain circumstances...I have a pot that was my mother's that is a deep brown. in there somewhere there is copper. it's the fine line of laziness and preservation?
I also love the blackened pot before shot, it tells so many stories. But it won't take long to build them back up. Oww, I am so keen to start a cookbook club, such a great idea Lindsay, thank you!
They are so fun! Sometimes we all cook from the same book, sometimes we pick an author and cook from one of their books. Last summer we exchanged preserved foods, one time we just ate cake 😍whatever seems right at the time xoxoxo
LOVE, love, love the gathering of friends on behalf of their favorite cookbooks. I'll have to give some thought to which of mine would rise to the top for that kind of occasion. I think I might be a tattered Joy of Cooking fan, too. Despite my love of the well-loved, given the opportunity I'd have cheered from the sidelines on freeing your cocotte from its patina. Leave that ruggedness to the raw cast iron. Let her sweet, clotted cream color shine!
Elizabeth - it is a push and pull, the thrill of discovery (clotted cream!) and the patina of life. I get the same thrill from weeding the gout weed from the garden, and heck, organizing my drawers. Doesn't happen often but it does feel good. And like the patina of life, I love so many of my cookbooks. It's so hard to choose!
Surprisingly emotional!!! I think it reminds me a little of a crystal i used to have. A friend recommended that you ‘cleanse’ crystals periodically and he put it in a cold running stream. I’d swear I felt it die! Slowly, painfully. Neither it nor I ever fully recovered.
Some things are better off showing their age, carrying a little discolouration, signs of a life well lived. I hope that your relationship with your beloved pot is not damaged and that it serves you well for years to come.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us. Sending heaps of hugs and best wishes. 🤗🤗
Thank you Beth! It is so hard to wash away precious things. And now I am thinking about my son Charlie, who used to carry his well worn sheepskin everywhere when he was little. one time he had it on his lap on a long drive to his grandmother's house, and ... got sick all over it. So when we arrived I washed it and hung it to dry and when I gave him back his clean 'sheepy' he pushed it back and said, that's not mine! his smell was gone.
Oooooohhhh…. These little pains we carry around with us. They too make us what we are. Life is such an interesting tapestry. Take care dear soul. All the best.
I absolutely adored reading this, Lindsay. Those marks tell many stories, over many chapters, and even though some of them may have been scrubbed away, it’s just made room for the newer ones to leave their own marks and continue the cocotte chapters 🧡
Your cocotte bore evidence of the passage of time, a life well lived, meals savored, love shared and a family built. No scrub brush could ever take that away. All of the “char” remains, even if you cannot see it. And it’s beautiful.
Agree wholeheartedly Dana.
What is your favourite cookbook?
I have a 22 year old Dutch oven of similar make. Like yours it’s blackened and scarred. A gift from my mother part of me wants to try and restore it and indeed I have attempted it with various potions, but today part of me is reassured I should leave it. Let it keep gathering chapters from our kitchen perhaps x
Leave it! ❤️❤️❤️
however... the cooking class I just attended with its sparkling copper pots did remind me there was a place for shine in certain circumstances...I have a pot that was my mother's that is a deep brown. in there somewhere there is copper. it's the fine line of laziness and preservation?
Try mixing some baking soda with a bit of hot water, let it soak overnight . Then scrub:)
Oh good tip- and more environmental than other options. Thanks!
I also love the blackened pot before shot, it tells so many stories. But it won't take long to build them back up. Oww, I am so keen to start a cookbook club, such a great idea Lindsay, thank you!
They are so fun! Sometimes we all cook from the same book, sometimes we pick an author and cook from one of their books. Last summer we exchanged preserved foods, one time we just ate cake 😍whatever seems right at the time xoxoxo
LOVE, love, love the gathering of friends on behalf of their favorite cookbooks. I'll have to give some thought to which of mine would rise to the top for that kind of occasion. I think I might be a tattered Joy of Cooking fan, too. Despite my love of the well-loved, given the opportunity I'd have cheered from the sidelines on freeing your cocotte from its patina. Leave that ruggedness to the raw cast iron. Let her sweet, clotted cream color shine!
Elizabeth - it is a push and pull, the thrill of discovery (clotted cream!) and the patina of life. I get the same thrill from weeding the gout weed from the garden, and heck, organizing my drawers. Doesn't happen often but it does feel good. And like the patina of life, I love so many of my cookbooks. It's so hard to choose!
My enameled French and inherited copco pots bring so many memories and stories of food and love. Keeping all the layers of time and love🖤
layers of time and love. But as s I said above to Sally, I am learning to strike the balance between laziness and preservation!
The joys of life’s caramelled history.
Caramelled History - that could be a wonderful title of a book.
Now there’s a thing 🧡
Surprisingly emotional!!! I think it reminds me a little of a crystal i used to have. A friend recommended that you ‘cleanse’ crystals periodically and he put it in a cold running stream. I’d swear I felt it die! Slowly, painfully. Neither it nor I ever fully recovered.
Some things are better off showing their age, carrying a little discolouration, signs of a life well lived. I hope that your relationship with your beloved pot is not damaged and that it serves you well for years to come.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us. Sending heaps of hugs and best wishes. 🤗🤗
Thank you Beth! It is so hard to wash away precious things. And now I am thinking about my son Charlie, who used to carry his well worn sheepskin everywhere when he was little. one time he had it on his lap on a long drive to his grandmother's house, and ... got sick all over it. So when we arrived I washed it and hung it to dry and when I gave him back his clean 'sheepy' he pushed it back and said, that's not mine! his smell was gone.
Oooooohhhh…. These little pains we carry around with us. They too make us what we are. Life is such an interesting tapestry. Take care dear soul. All the best.
I absolutely adored reading this, Lindsay. Those marks tell many stories, over many chapters, and even though some of them may have been scrubbed away, it’s just made room for the newer ones to leave their own marks and continue the cocotte chapters 🧡