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The Lodge Company has been crafting cast-iron cookware for more than 120 years, since Joseph Lodge settled in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and started the Blackrock Foundry in 1896. However, most of their wares aren’t quite as large as the skillet recently seen traveling down a highway.
People traveling on I-59 in Tennessee got a firsthand look at the cast-iron manufacturer’s largest item ever on Jan. 12. Reported to be the world’s largest cast-iron skillet, a pan that measures longer than 18 feet from one handle to the other and weighs 14,360 pounds was transported through Tennessee on its way to its new home.
The company posted a clip of the massive cookware on a flatbed trailer rolling down the highway.
“If you were driving down I59 yesterday, you might have seen something special headed north,” tweeted Lodge Cast Iron. “The World’s Largest Cast Iron Skillet made its way to our campus to find its home in the Lodge Cast Iron Museum that is currently under construction.”
If you were driving down I59 yesterday, you might have seen something special headed north! The World's Largest Cast Iron Skillet made its way to our campus to find its home in the Lodge Cast Iron Museum that is currently under construction. Learn more: https://t.co/ccaO9ysccD pic.twitter.com/eYO1VQH06g
— Lodge Cast Iron (@LodgeCastIron) January 13, 2022
Lodge announced that it plans to open the Lodge Cast Iron Museum in late summer 2022. The location will allow visitors to learn about the history and behind-the-scenes manufacturing of cast-iron products as well as cast-iron cooking tips and culture.
The giant skillet, which could whip up about 650 eggs under the right circumstances, will be one of the museum’s attractions. In addition, visitors can check out rare cast-iron collections and hear stories about the people behind them.
The 18-foot skillet isn’t Lodge’s only unusual cast-iron creation. They also have a “pan fam” — a family of figures made from cast-iron cookware — at their factory store. Lodge posted a video of the artist who designed them:
“In 2021 we celebrated 125 years of Lodge Cast Iron, and as we look ahead to 2022 and the next 125 years, we’re thrilled to be bringing the Lodge Cast Iron Museum to South Pittsburg,” CEO and President of Lodge Cast Iron Mike Otterman said in a statement. “Covering everything from the history of cast iron to how it’s used today, the museum is an exciting opportunity to celebrate our community and share Lodge with the world through this unmatched experience.”
Of course, if you stop at the museum, you will have the opportunity to visit the Lodge Cast Iron Factory Store at the same location to pick up some cast-iron cookware of your own. The chances are good that you won’t need a flatbed to bring it home.
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