[Sca-cooks] What does this Dripping Dish Do?

[Elise Fleming]

As mentioned, dripping pans were put under the items being roasted which 
were _in front of_ the fire, not on top of the flames.  There probably 
are more examples on my Flickr pages, but here are two.  Both are metal. 
  In the case of Hampton Court, the metal pans are larger than the 
ceramic one that Mercy found and would certainly have held up better to 
the continual use of a "factory kitchen".

Hampton Court: http://tinyurl.com/692z3ss - Note the position of the 
spits.  You can also see a lip on the left-hand side which would allow 
the pan to be tilted so the drippings could be poured off.

Another Hampton Court: http://tinyurl.com/6z52a6f and 
http://tinyurl.com/3shbcmy - Dripping, besides catching the juices of 
the roasting item, would also catch any of the basting liquid or spices, 
as in these pictures.

Ivan Day (noted food historian): http://tinyurl.com/65uykhf and 
http://tinyurl.com/5rjyb7o - These are from one of the classes he gives. 
  In the second example, you can sort of see a lower section (to the 
left as you look at the pan) where the juices collect, making it easier 
to dip out the liquid so the item can continue to be basted in its own 
juices.

Admittedly, these aren't shaped exactly like the pottery pans.  It would 
seem logical that the pottery items might have been used in homes during 
earlier periods than what Ivan's antiques represent.  The pottery pan 
would not have to be as large as that used to feed more than 600 people 
in a day as was done at Hampton Court.  I like the touch of the handle 
on the pottery example.  And I wonder if, on the left, there isn't the 
hint of a lip for guiding any drippings out of the pan.

Alys K.
-- 
Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
alyskatharine at gmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8311418@N08/sets/