Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Cookware |
Founded | 1896 |
Founder | Joseph Lodge |
Headquarters | South Pittsburg, Tennessee, United States |
Key people | Mike Otterman, CEO [1] |
Website | www.lodgemfg.com |
Lodge Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of cast-iron cookware based in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. Founded in 1896 by Joseph Lodge, Lodge Manufacturing is one of America's oldest cookware companies in continuous operation. It is still owned and managed by the descendants of the Lodge family. Most cast iron sold by Lodge is produced in its foundry in South Pittsburg, which has been in operation since the company was founded.
Joseph Lodge traveled the US before going to work on the railroads in Cuba, before returning to Tennessee. Joseph built the Lodge Family home in 1877 and then open their first foundry in 1896 named the Blacklock Foundry. [2]
In 1910, the Blacklock Foundry burned down and when Joseph Lodge rebuilt, he re-named the company, Lodge Manufacturing. [2] [3]
Lodge Manufacturing is one of America's oldest cookware companies in operation. Joseph Lodge and his wife settled in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, a town of 3,000 people along the Tennessee River beside the Cumberland Plateau. [4] [5] The Lodge family has kept in Marion County in Tennessee and employing its residents. The towns population at 3,100, 400 of which are employed by Lodge.[ citation needed ]
In the late 1950s–1965 Lodge transferred its molding and casting process to a revolutionary automated system. In 1973, their iconic recognizable logo was created and is still used today.[ citation needed ]
In 2002, Lodge became the first cast-iron cookware manufacturer to season their products in the foundry. [6] [7]
In 2013, Lodge started their carbon steel cookware line making high-quality carbon steel cookware. [8] Lodge introduced a line of enameled cast-iron cookware in 2005; this was to match the ability of European manufacturers' abilities.
In 2017, Lodge opened their second foundry, increasing their manufacturing capacity by 75%. [9] The facility is a 127,000-square-foot foundry, which increased production by 75%. The foundry is located in New Hope, Tennessee. [2]
In July 2019, Lodge unveiled seven new cast-iron cookware products under the label Blacklock, a new lighter gourmet line of skillets and ovens. [10] In August 2019, Lodge announced the acquisition of startup FINEX Cast Iron Cookware, based in Portland, Oregon. [11] [12]
The Lodge Museum of Cast Iron, built in collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, [13] opened in October 2022. [14]
Original cast-iron cookware was made using sand and building the mold within the sand. Workers would then pour in iron. [2]
South Pittsburg is a city in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,106 at the 2020 census. South Pittsburg is home to the National Cornbread Festival.
Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware.
A Dutch oven or casserole dish (international) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminum, or ceramic. Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned, and these are sometimes called French ovens. The international name casserole dish is from the French casserole which means "cooking pot". They are similar to both the Japanese tetsunabe and the sač, a traditional Balkan cast-iron oven, and are related to the South African potjie, the Australian Bedourie oven and Spanish cazuela.
Induction cooking is performed using direct electrical induction heating of cooking vessels, rather than relying on indirect radiation, convection, or thermal conduction. Induction cooking allows high power and very rapid increases in temperature to be achieved: changes in heat settings are instantaneous.
The National Cornbread Festival is a celebration of cornbread and cornbread-related activities. The festival, held in South Pittsburg, Tennessee from 1997 to 2019 during the last full weekend in April, will resume in 2022. Among the attractions featured at the National Cornbread Festival are:
Le Creuset is a French-Belgian maker of cookware. They are best known for producing enameled cast-iron cookware. The company first manufactured their products in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in France in 1925, which are similar in function to a Dutch oven but with T-shaped handles. The Le Creuset Dutch oven is on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. as a part of the recreation of the chef Julia Child's kitchen. It has been widely reported to be her favorite cooking pot, though specialist sources hold that it was the Dutch oven of Le Creuset's less-remembered competitor Descoware that was her real favorite. The company also makes many other types of cookware and bakeware, from fondue-sets to tagines.
Heavy-duty cookware made of cast iron is valued for its heat retention, durability, ability to maintain high temperatures for longer time duration, and non-stick cooking when properly seasoned. Seasoning is also used to protect bare cast iron from rust. Types of cast-iron cookware include frying pans, dutch ovens, griddles, waffle irons, flattop grills, panini presses, crepe makers, deep fryers, tetsubin, woks, potjies, and karahi.
Cousances was a brand of enameled cast iron cookware. originally manufactured by a foundry in the town of Cousances-les-Forges in northeastern France. The Cousances foundry began making cast iron pans in 1553. Four centuries later, in 1957, the brand was acquired by Le Creuset. Cookware under the Cousances brand continued to be manufactured by Le Creuset into the early 1980s.
Revere Ware is a line of consumer and commercial kitchen wares introduced in 1939 by the Revere Brass & Copper Corp. The line focuses primarily on consumer cookware such as skillets, sauce pans, stock pots, and tea kettles. Initially Revere Ware was the culmination of various innovative techniques developed during the 1930s, the most popular being construction of stainless steel with rivetlessly attached bakelite handles, copper-clad bases and rounded interiors for ease of cleaning. Over the next 40+ years, Revere Ware would introduce new series to position itself in competition with other manufacturers at various price points, or for specific specialty markets. In the early 1960s the profitability of Revere Ware began to level off. Coinciding with new series introductions, cost-cutting measures were implemented in the manufacture of the traditional cookware. The bakelite handles were changed from two piece to one, and the thickness of utensil walls and copper cladding were reduced.
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically 20 to 30 cm in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared, more vertical sides and often with a lid, is called a sauté pan. While a sauté pan can be used as a frying pan, it is designed for lower-heat cooking.
Seasoning is the process of coating the surface of cookware with fat which is heated in order to produce a corrosion resistant layer of polymerized fat. It is required for raw cast-iron cookware and carbon steel, which otherwise rust rapidly in use, but is also used for many other types of cookware. An advantage of seasoning is that it helps prevent food sticking.
The Vollrath Company is an American company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin that manufactures stainless steel and aluminum equipment and smallwares, and deep draw stainless steel items, for commercial and institutional foodservice operations.
Griswold Manufacturing was an American manufacturer of cast-iron kitchen products founded in Erie, Pennsylvania, in business from 1865 through 1957. For many years the company had a world-wide reputation for high-quality cast-iron cookware. Today, Griswold pieces are collectors' items.
Staub is a premium French enameled cast iron cookware and bakeware manufacturer that was originally headquartered in Turckheim, Alsace, France. The first piece, a cocotte or coquelle, was designed by Francis Staub in 1974 in a dormant artillery factory. Pieces are manufactured with cast iron covered with double-glazed enamel. The enamel coating makes the cookware rustproof, and easy to clean. Staub's cocottes have nubs on the interior of the lids, which enables condensation to collect and drip down to baste foods uniformly as they are cooking.
The Wagner Manufacturing Company was a family-owned manufacturer of cast iron and aluminum products based in Sidney, Ohio, US. It made products for domestic use such as frying pans, casseroles, kettles and baking trays, and also made metal products other than cookware. Wagner was active between 1891 and 1952, and at one time dominated the cookware market, selling in Europe and the US. The purchasers of the company in 1952 continued the brand, and Wagner products were rarely manufactured after 1998. The brand's trademarks were sold, and the purchasing company closed in 2008. The original items are prized by collectors.
Zwilling J. A. Henckels AG is a German knife-maker based in Solingen, Germany. It is one of the largest and oldest manufacturers of kitchen knives for domestic and professional use, having been founded in June 1731 by Peter Henckels. It is also one of the oldest operating companies in the world. The brand's namesake was Johann Abraham Henckels (1771–1850), who renamed the brand after himself under his leadership. J. A. Henckels is one of the leading manufacturers of chef's knives. Since 1970, Zwilling is fully owned by Werhahn KG. The following brands belong to the Zwilling Group: ZWILLING, HENCKELS, Miyabi, BSF, Demeyere, Staub, Fontignac, Ballarini, Flammkraft, and Santos Grills.
United States Stove Company is an American manufacturer based in South Pittsburg, Tennessee that produces residential wood burning and pellet burning stoves and sells stove accessories and parts. Founded in 1869 by John S. Perry and S.L Rogers, the United States Stove Company is one of the largest manufacturers of both wood and pellet stoves in the United States, with its headquarters located in South Pittsburg, Tennessee.
The Columbia Steel Company, sometimes shortened to Columbia Steel, is an American steel company headquartered in the state of Oregon. It had its origins in 1901, but did not officially organize under its current name until 1909.