For 26 years Lodge Cast Iron has sponsored the National Cornbread Cook-Off. Ten finalists are chosen from nationwide submittals to bake their best cornbread in Lodge skillets on the main stage to win some impressive cash and a new cooking range. A 4-H cornbread contest is also offered with cash prizes. We toured the Lodge facilities first and then joined the fun at the festival.
Joseph Lodge started his cast iron business in South Pittsburg in 1896. His Blacklock Foundry burned to the ground in 1910. Three months later, the intrepid Lodge Family was up and running again. The Lodge Museum was a wealth of cast iron knowledge and this wall of products showed they made more than just frying pans.
Lodge is the longest-running cast iron manufacturer in the United States. The skillet frying one egg logo was created in 1973.The World’s Largest Cast Iron Skillet weighs in at 14,360 pounds.
Lodge uses sand molding, which has been around since 680 B.C., to make its cast iron cookware. After a spin in the polish drum, products come out silver and shiny. Since 2002, Lodge seasons its cookware in the forge, which makes it black and rust resistant when consumers buy it.
Continuous updating has kept the foundry competitive. The current foundry is 127,000 square feet, and uses an induction furnace that operates over 2000 degrees F and can melt 22,000-pounds of metal in 45 minutes. Products that fail inspection go right back into the furnace creating very little waste. The foundry is open for free tours during the Cornbread Festival.
Corn broom characters greet us at the the entry to the 26th National Cornbread Festival in historic downtown South Pittsburg a block from the Lodge Museum and Foundry. For ten bucks on Sunday we’ll have access to over100 food and art vendors, carnival rides, cooking demos, visitors’ contests and 9 music acts.
A highlight for us is Cornbread Alley where nine non-profit organizations serve up classic southern recipes like: Lemon Squeeze Cornbread, Sweet Corn Blueberry Burst Cornbread and Pepperoni Skillet Cornbread. Eight dollars buys a plateful of generous portions, all served with welcoming smiles.
Dollars are stuffed in jars with the names of the charities and their cornbread to vote for the best overall. Our group’s favorite was the Big Apple Bash Cornbread, which was cake-like perfection. I’ve included all nine cornbread recipes at the end of this story.
The headline band for the closeout of the two-day festival was the Kentucky Headhunters. The hard-charging country and blues artists have delivered power chords and raucous vocals since 1986. They sent the enthusiastic crowd home humming and happy.
Page one of Cornbread Ally recipes at 26th National Cornbread Festival
Cornbread Ally Recipes