SC - Good Broth

[LrdRas@aol.com]

"James F. Johnson" wrote:
> 
> It's made of two identical (except for a matching male/female lip)
> shallow oval 'bowls of unglazed terra cotta, roughly 22.5 cm long, 17 cm
> wide, 3 cm deep externally, 2 cm deep internally per oval. Each oval is
> held in a metal frame (much like a pair of old spectacles) with a hinge,
> closing the two halves together like a clamshell, along the long axis.
> Each half of the frame has a long handle that meets the other. The
> handles are covered in non-heat resistance plastic (ergo, the whole
> thing does not go into the oven like a clay baker.
> 
> Each half is imprinted with (and rough guess translations):
> 
> La cotta brevettata (the quick little cooker?)

According to the AltaVista translation site, "brevettata" means
"patented". It claims the phrase means "patented cooked one", which
could indicate that the clay is baked according to a patented process,
or it could simply mean Computers Are Stupid. Or it could mean patented cooker.

> La salute e nella cotta (the healthy, but better cooker/cooking)
> marchio depositato (registered trademark)
> 
> I wasn't able to find 'brevettata' in the dictionary.
> 
> Any idea what dish this might be used for?

Its shape might suggest a sort of crocque-monsieur mold type of thing
(although c.m.'s are normally deep-fried), basically what we might call
a sandwich press or sandwich grill. I remember my Mom having an aluminum
one that was used for grilled cheese sandwiches, and it would trim the
crusts and seal in the melted cheese goo in a sort of toast pie. This
_might_ be something like that. One of the great things about
terra-cotta cookware is that it can be seasoned like cast iron, to
become pretty much a non-stick surface, which might be the source of the
reference to being healthy: no need for oil. Seems like it might be a
little leaky for some kind of folding omelette pan (anybody remember _those_?)

I have a friend who spent most of her married life as a homemaker in
Rome (she's the one who assures me Mussolini did _not_ make the trains
run on time), I'll see if I can ask her.  
 
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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