Now You See It, Now You Don't!
TellZall's object for January is Crocks
Today, storing food is very easy. We have containers made from glass, rubber, plastic, and various metals. We can buy mayonnaise in glass jars, peanut butter in plastic jars, and soup in tin cans, and if we have leftovers, we simply place the food in an air-tight plastic container. We are very fortunate to have these conveniences today. People in the past were not so lucky.
For much of history, people relied on crocks to store and serve food.Potters made crocks out of clay. Clay was readily available in the United States of America, which made crocks and other types of pottery much cheaper in cost than other types of dishes, such as ones made from glass and china. Usually only the wealthiest people used glass and china dishes, and even these people relied on crocks to store many food items.
Crocks ranged in size from very small pieces that might hold only a few ounces of food or liquid to ones that could hold twenty-five to fifty gallons of liquid. Manufacturers usually painted a number on the side of the crock that indicated the gallons of liquid that the crock could hold. (Image two) Crocks usually had very thick, sometimes several inches thick, sides and bottoms, which helped keep food at a constant temperature inside the container, while the temperature fluctuated outside. Potters usually glazed crocks, making them waterproof and helping the containers to preserve food. While most crocks resemble jars today, these containers also came in other shapes. People usually tied a piece of cloth across the top of the crock after placing the food or liquid inside to seal the container. Sometimes people also covered the cloth in wax to make the container better sealed. Some crocks even came with their own lids made from pottery or glass. (Image three) Before being filled with food, crocks could weigh more than one hundred pounds.
Today, only a few companies continue to manufacture crocks. Most people use these crocks as decorative pieces in their homes and no longer store food in these containers. Collectors highly prize crocks made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and some of these antique crocks are worth thousands of dollars. Generally, the more ornate the design on the crock, the more valuable it is to collectors
So, the next time that an adult asks you to help clear the supper table, be thankful that we no longer use crocks for food storage today.
