There was a black iron skillet in my mother’s kitchen that she always called the spider. “Fetch me down that black iron spider,” she would say when she was getting ready to start on one of her famous dishes –tuna fish casserole, for instance, topped not with potato chips but with baking powder biscuits;
or American chop suey, which surely must have had an Italian ancestry, made as it was with ground meat, tomato sauce and elbow macaroni. Or cornbread — no cornbread could ever fulfill its flavor potential, she declared, unless it was baked in that black iron spider.
Clearly the black iron skillet was one of the most useful implements in her kitchen. But why did she call it a spider?
The term is said to be purely American, and some say it’s purely Southern, which is patently ridiculous because my mother never went south of Delaware until later in life when she was rich enough to winter in Florida. You might guess that it’s a British term, but that doesn’t bear out either. One of the earliest references to a spider is in Lydia Maria Child’s “Frugal Housewife,” published in 1829. Child refers to a “spider or skillet” and a “griddle or spider” for making a type of scone that was flavored with cinnamon or cloves, and rosewater or lemon brandy. And Child was a rigorous old Yankee, abolitionist, early feminist and fighter for Indian rights. (She was also a poet, most notably of the Thanksgiving classic “Over the River and Through the Woods.”)
According to Alice Ross in her article “There’s History in Your Frying Pan,” the spider originally was made of cast iron, had a rounded bottom and three long legs. The long legs and round “body” gave the pan its arachnid-like look resulting in it being named a “spider”. These pans used in fireplaces.
Why a spider? Apparently, Griswold brass had a thing for Robert the Bruce, the Scottish king who fought to free Scotland from English rule. Meadows found internal company communications headed with the words “As the little spider brought success to Robert Bruce, so cooking utensils bearing this trademark brings success to all who use them.” You can buy cast iron collecting’s holy grail for $8,000 right now.
Pre-World War II cast-iron skillets are wildly collectible, but none come close to the draw of Erie’s legendary Spider Skillet.
If you weren’t aware, vintage cast-iron skillets can be highly collectible. And while there are many collectible pieces, there are none that have reached the status of Griswold’s famed “Spider Skillet.”
In a paper detailing the specifics of pre-1900 Erie skillets, Roy G. Meadows of the Wagner & Griswold Society determined the pan was produced between 1890 and 1891 and was quickly pulled from production. Also of note, the spider on the base was embossed, meaning it protruded from the pan rather than the typical inset logos. This means the spider stamp was liable to rub off when resting on the eye of a stove. The rarity from a short production stint and an easily obscured defining feature means prices for mint condition Spider skillets are astronomical — like this one going for $8,000 on Canadian Ebay.
Produced by Griswold Manufacturing in the late 19th century, the skillet bears a spider in its web stamped on the base (the “spider” is actually a smaller cast-iron skillet with legs coming off its sides). The origins of the Spider Skillet have eluded cast iron collectors for decades, as it’s the only skillet the famed maker ever put a spider on, and there was no official word as to why they did it in the first place.
Cast iron skillets: A sturdy classic
In my view, and I’ve given a lot of thought to this, the term spider is one of those words that lingers long after it has lost all sense or meaning. I think the original spider was a pan with a rounded bottom that sat on three legs so the cook could perch it comfortably on the hearth above the bed of coals or embers. It didn’t really look like an eight-legged spider but may have reminded colonial cooks of a peculiarly truncated arachnid. And the name stuck. Later, as flat-topped stoves became common and hearth cooking went the way of tinder boxes and sulphur matches, the earlier vessels were no longer useful and so evolved into flat-bottomed skillets or frying pans or . . . spiders.
In any case, a black iron spider or skillet, whatever you want to call it, is indeed useful, and a whole series of them, such as I have in my kitchen, even more so. My daughter the chef pointed out that restaurant chefs like to sear at very high heat, then move the pan over to a lower temperature to finish off a dish, often adding liquid in the form of wine or broth or even just water. This is difficult with an ordinary domestic cookstove unless you have an iron skillet. Because of the indestructible nature of iron, you can really get these pans hot, even in a home kitchen. (You can also put it in a 500-degree oven and leave it for 15 or 20 minutes to get it really hot.)
It’s a great technique with meat or fish, giving a nicely browned, often crisp exterior. In my family, we also make what we call “burnt vegetables” — strips or slices of vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, carrots, onions — vegetables that don’t have a lot of juice to ooze out. Slice them and dip the slices in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, then sear and brown them on a preheated black iron surface (the best is the kind of ridged iron griddle meant for grilling steaks), turn once and dribble with lemon juice before serving.
The pan doesn’t have to be searingly hot to be useful. In my small skillet, I fry or scramble an egg or two for breakfast over gentle heat and, because the skillet is so well seasoned, it’s just like using a nonstick pan. If anything does stick, a long soak in the sink (no soap, ever) will usually dislodge stubborn bits.
A deep skillet, such as my 12-incher, is great for deep frying. Southern cooks traditionally use this for Southern batter-fried chicken, but it’s just as good for battered fish or whole young spring-run smelts, lightly rolled in cornmeal before frying. And speaking of cornmeal, spider cake or skillet bread or Johnny cake, a quick bread made in the black iron skillet with yellow or white cornmeal, is an American classic.
I Found A Super Rare Cast Iron Skillet at Estate Sale – Did I Buy It? Cast Iron Haul Results!
FAQ
Why is a cast iron skillet called a spider?
What cast iron pan has a spider on the bottom of it?
What is the rarest iron skillet?
What cast iron pans are worth money?
Is Griswold’s ‘Spider skillet’ a vintage cast-iron skillet?
As it turns out, there’s quite the market for vintage cast-iron skillets. And when it comes to collectible skillets, not only is Griswold’s ERIE “Spider Skillet” the cream of the crop, it also comes with quite the story.
Where can I find Spider skillets?
Admins will post to other sites and send a warning to other collectors about a piece that could possibly be fraudulent. Spider skillets can be found possibly on number 7 and 8 skillets and teapots. Griswold management used the spider trademark on their letterhead for several years, before retiring the logo in the early 1900s.
What are the most iconic cast iron manufacturers?
Here’s a brief guide to some of the most iconic cast iron manufacturers and the logos that signify their time. Griswold skillets are among the most sought-after pieces of vintage cast iron cookware, and their distinctive markings make them a favorite for identification and collection.
When was Erie cast iron made?
Erie cast iron is one of the most sought-after vintage cast iron brands you can collect. Griswold used this logo between 1880 and 1907. Erie cast iron was manufactured between 1880-1907. Over the years, Griswold made slight changes to the Erie line. Such as the handle, Erie logo, and the pattern number in the center.