Nearly every American has likely seen the classic white cookware with the blue cornflower design on the side. Even if you are too young to have ever owned a set of these CorningWare dishes, your mother and grandmother probably cooked with them when you were growing up.
These dishes are known for being durable and for being able to withstand extremely hot and cold temperatures without breaking, changing color or affecting the taste of the food. This is what made them so popular in American households for decades.
Most people do not know that these dishes only came about because of a mistake made by Dr. S. Donald Stookey, an employee of Corning Glass Works, who had an accident in his lab. While testing a piece of glass that was to be used for a television show in 1952, Stookey accidentally baked the material at 900 degrees Celsius, which is two times hotter than the highest temperature a normal oven produces. Stookey was stunned to see that the glassware kept it’s shape, and he was even more surprised when it did not break after he dropped it.
Corning started selling this glass to the military until 1958, when they when they decided to use it to make a new line of cookware. The dishes were incredibly popular for decades, but eventually interest in them went on the decline and stores stopped selling them.
Recently, interest in this glassware has been rekindled on sites like eBay, and manufacturers have taken notice!
You’ll be happy to know that Corelle Brands, which manufactures the dishes, has just announced that they will be releasing a full collection of the beloved blue-and-white cookware to mark its 60th anniversary! This means that you will soon be able to buy this full set yourself again!
On top of all that, the glassware is going to be sold for affordable prices! I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely going to be buying this for myself!