Neu Deel Cookin Ware

Ginnie

Thank you for your site. I apparently purchased a “giveaway or sample” piece of the Neu Deel line. It is 4.5″ across and is 2.25″ in height and depth. The motife is as the black and white rendering. Can I assume the neu deel is a play on FDR’S New Deal?

Miss E.

I do love this baking dish. How I would love such a beautiful thing. What’s that saying about form and function? This man not only thought of function – he thought of the beauty of it as well. And it has a dual function too. Treasure it, preserve it. You may have to bequeath it to a museum.

Blessings and bliss

ellen b

Have you cooked anything in it? It really is an interesting baking dish.

Sharon

I have never seen anything like that before. It is very interesting!

Kelli

What a neat history and the dish pattern is wonderful!

Kelli

Laura

I have one of the shallow dishes like this. Mine does not have a cover or if it had one, it got broke or something. I bought mine at an auction so I don’t know anything about it except that I like it. I was glad to find out about it. Thanks!

Max and Peggy

We have the dish that’s in the sketch but unfortunately, not the lid. It belonged to Max’s mother and was obviously a favorite baking dish. We heat it in the oven to keep rolls or bread warm during dinner or just keep fruit in it on the counter. It’s too wonderful to hide in a cupboard.

chuck

Great Information about these bowls, thanks! We have 2 pieces, a 10″ bowl, 3 1/2″ deep and the 10″ pie plate. I never thought of the plate as a top for the bowl. It does fit but not tight and leaves very little room in the bowl. The pie plate also has the brown rim with a white inside. Lots of crazing and brown from the oven but still looks and works great. Lots of washing has started to wear the outside pattern down and the inside crazing does begin to darken with use.
thanks

Lynn P

I have two of these dishes, both inherited from my mother-in-law. One is the pie plate pictured above and the other is 3 1/2″ in deep. They sound like what Chuck has. As Chuck noted above, the pie pan fits right into the top of the deeper bowl but diminishes the depth of the bowl by 1″ when used that way. When turned upside down, the pie pan makes an elevated dome over the lower bowl, but you’d have to be very careful, as there’s nothing to hold it in place but simple friction. It had never occurred to me that they were bought as a set, but I’ll bet that they were.

Mine are both in perfect condition. I had never paid any attention to them except to really appreciate their function (the larger bowl is fabulous for baked beans, spoon bread, etc), until I sent a pie to my next door neighbor yesteday. She brought the clean pie plate back, raving about it, and we “Googled” it to see what it was.

Pearl G.

I have all three pieces. The tall one, the shorter one and the (pie plate) cover. All in excellent condition. I use the shorter one often to cook baked beans or stews in the oven. I’ve also used the cover for quiche or pumpkin pies. I love them and received both from my grandparents who if they were alive today would be around 125 years old. I’m not sure how old the dishes are but they were used often in our family. I love them and was thinking of selling them but am not sure how to price them. I’ll have to ask my children again if they may be interested now that I know some of their history. It was great reading about them. Thank you so much.

Marcia K

Hi there,

I was googling the patent number on the bottom of the pie plates that I inherited from my mother, and found your website. I have two pie plates that are similar to your pie plate / lid, but mine have little tabs on the sides for lifting out of the oven, and also the dark brown glaze extends over the edge of the pie plate, around the rim.

My mother had inherited these from her grandmother, and can remember many pies from childhood that were baked in them. My mom was born in 1934, so it’s kind of neat that the patent was granted in that year.

We just made pumpkin pie and pecan pie in the heirloom pie plates, and enjoyed them during Thanksgiving. It’s nice to know more about them.

Thanks!
Marcia

Keren

I have a pie plate that is exactly like the one shown, except it has cook-rite economy on the bottom with the same patent number as shown above. Is this a newer version? It belonged to my grandmother.

Linda

I have the short version and it was heavily used by my family. It belonged to a New Eng. grandmother or a PA grandmother. In which area would it most likely have been sold and do you think it’s safe to use – lead etc.? Enjoyed your article.

Joe

Just received 3 pieces from my mom. They were here Grandmothers a while back. The pie plate, bean pot and a larger pot with missing handle. Do these items need any type of special care? Kind of like a cast iron skillet?
Can’t wait to try some recipes out in them.

Sandy

I was so excited to find your site. I have a bowl and pie plate/lid very much like the ones pictured. I was given these by my mother recently but she can’t remember where she got them. She lives in northern Illinois and was born in 1921. My bowl is 5 and 1/2 inches tall and almost 10 inches across with dark brown glaze inside and around rim and little tabs for handles but no hole for a bail. The plate is exactly like the one pictured. They both have stamped on the bottom Cook-Rite Cookin-Ware and Health Economy in a circle. Patent # 91285 but no Neu Deel. Thank You for this great information.

Claire

Thank you for the information!
I bought my three piece set in 1970 at a church bazaar for twenty-five cents!
I was sure they were old because the patent number was so short, but now I have much more information.
I have baked in mine. I have broken the pie plate, but it may have been in an earthquake!
Thank you!

Nancy L.

hi shirley
i have just gotten the exact 3 piece set same as yours from my great uncles estate sale, it belonged to my great grandmother, i barely remember her, i am 53 she passed away when i was 4 all 3 pieces are in exc. cond. and i look forward to using them. thanks for all the info.

David D.

Hello Shirley, my grandmother gave my mother one just like yours and it is 8 1/2″ tall with pie lid but all the markings are the same but no pat # and is glazed in more of a cream finish inside but the outside is the same design.

Betty K

my dish is labeled cooking-ware health, neu Deel Economy. The wire handle has rusted off and the holes are plugged with rust. Do you think if i sprayed WD40 on the holes I could clean them out and put in a new wire? I’d like to use this dish for a bread recipe that calls for heating the empty dish in the oven at 400 deg, putting in the dough mixture, covering and baking for 30 min. i’m afraid the dish will crack. Thanks for any help with the handle.

Jeannie

I recently found one of these fabulous bowls and was delighted to find your site with some info. My bowl is 8″ tall and 10″ across. The handle is perfect. Mine has the full design pictured. Color is a bit different – lower part is a dark yellow and upper band is dark brown. The inside is the yellow. It does have a small crack in the bottom, but otherwise is in perfect condition. Do you have any idea on the value?
I also wondered where these were manufactured?

Jeannie

I mis-stated the depth of my bowl – it is 5″. Also the interior color is the light tan as in your photograph.

Sandi

I was so thrilled to find this, I inherited 2 mixing bowls and 2 pie plates from my grandmother – I remember them as being specifically for Thanksgiving and Christmas use – but I have never seen similar ones. Do you know if these are still sold anywhere?

Lisa

I have the 3.5″ deep dish and the pie plate. I would love to find the 8.5″ deep dish with a handle. Mine are glazed over a cream colored crackle on the inside. I found your site when I googled the information on the bottom. (Which is the same as yours). Thank you for all of the information.

Brenda

My husband and I have a dutch oven type bowl, as pictured above but without the handle. A matching pie plate, both with the dark brown glaze, fits on top of the bowl. Both are 10″ in diameter. My husband is 63 and his mother used the bowl for baked beans and the pie plate/cover for baking pumpkin pies his entire life. I have always baked pumpkin pies in the pie plate. The dutch oven is excellent for baked beans. We don’t know where my mother-in-law acquired this set, but, we love it. Ours says Cook Rite on the bottom of both with Pat# 91285. I cannot find it on the US Patent Office website, but, I wonder if this set is much older than the 1934 time frame, since many writers say this set has been in their families since before 1920. One website I found shows the set I have as being a casserole/Dutch Oven with the lid also usable as a pie plate. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful information.

Laurel

My husband’s parents, who dealt in antiques in a small way in their retirement in the 70s, had a four-piece set of these which are now among our treasured possessions; they may have been family pieces but I have no idea. The largest piece is 7 3/4″ high, 8″ with the pie-plate “lid”; nesting inside this is a 5″ deep piece, also with a bail; nesting inside this is a 3 1/2″ deep bowl (no bail). It was probably sold as a complete set, and bears the “Neu-Deel” name and trade-mark. The two larger pieces with bails have obviously been used over a flame, as they are blackened on the bottom. Not so the bowl and pie-plate/lid. The latter has a large chip on the rim…probably from falling off when being used as a dome lid? Otherwise the set is in perfect condition. Glad to see others love them as we do!

Marlene

The pie plate as I call it, belonged to my Mother-in-law some 45 years ago, she gave it to me right after I married her son. I used it for years until it got a crack across the bottom. I now use it only for a decoration. My plate says Cookin-Ware Health with the patent number 91285. It does not say Neu Deel anywhere.
Best pie plate I ever used.

Chris

I inherited the pie plate top and the 5″ bowl when my Grandmother died. The pie plate is cracked but holds together, so I just use it for a lid but nothing else. Mine is the dark brown glaze inside and out of both pieces. No one else in the family wanted them, but I LOVE them. I’m so happy to have the internet to finally search them out and discover some history. Thanks for posting this.

Cherri

I “saved” 5 pieces of the Cook-Rite Cook-n- Ware Health Economy stoneware from being given away. My Grandmother passed away at the young age of 96 just 18 months after her husband 99. As I was going through some of the things at their house I came upon these pieces. I loved them and took them home. My original concern was whether the paint used back then was safe but happened upon your website and now know a little more. Thanks for posting this information!

Angela

I was given this pie plate and bowl from my mother…I haven’t used it for anything but decided to look up the info on the bottom of the mixing bowl. This must’ve belonged to my great grandmother and I am delighted that there is so much information on it. I have the pie plate and mixing bowl, they fit together beautifully. They are practically brand new, I don’t think she cooked much! Thanks for the posts!

Sumac

Hi Shirley et al, i just scored this stoneware bowl and pieplate set at Goodwill in north Idaho for $2.99. The set is in perfect shape- bowl is 3 1/2″ deep x 10 wide with matching pie plate/lid. Dark brown inside glaze, raw outside with NO design or decoration.No patent # and the only writing is COOK-RITE on the embossed bottoms. I would never guess to use the pie plate as a lid for baking beans, this will be most excellent. Also there are no tab handles, but the set is really in incredible condition, except for the dirt in the bowl. I think the previous owner was using it as a plant pot and base! I was so thrilled to find your site, thank you for being here w/info on these heirlooms!

Audrey M.

Just purchased a 6″ tall and 10″ across stoneware COOK Rite bowl at a second hand store for $15.00 It has the unglazed outside with the lip and inside of dark brown glazing. As I collect crock bowls, thought this was so unique with the fruit, leaves and vegetables on the outside. It was washed in the dishwasher and came out beautifully! Wondering if the bowl was ever soaked in water before baking anything in the oven? (as the outside is unglazed) Thanks for this website….very interesting and gratifying to know the history!

Max

I checked on the patent website; it said patent in 1969. Imagine, just four years after the Civil war ended! There was also a patent renewal and I’m guessing that is the one that said neu-deal in the 1930’s, because, hello! That was the era of the NEW DEAL. My mother-in-law gave me these peices which she had inherited from her mother. My MIL was born in 1900 and we know her mother was born in 1876. BTW, use m ine for pies, and they alwasy come out of the pan so easy!

Paula

Thanks for all of this information! I have the dutch oven style bowl with bail handle as featured in the sketch, along with the pie plate lid. They belonged to my husband’s grandmother, who was born in 1893. Like Max, I thought the Neu-Deel reference on the pot referred to the 1930s New Deal initiative. My mother-in-law told me that these were the ONLY items she can ever remember her mother buying from a door-to-door salesman when she was a child. The top makes an excellent pie plate, but I have never baked anything in the pot. With the encouragement from others’ experience, I might give it a go!

Marcia

I also received the small pot and two lids from my aunt some 46 years ago. I have the instruction booklet that came with the neu-Deel.
They say to use the solid stove lid under each piece. This prevents scorching and permits you to obtain full benfit of their patented bottom.
They say to always cook over very low flame. They say remember, they never burn -do not stick-easily cleaned and import no taste or color.
Can cook Roast chicken, vegetables, presweves, baked apples , rice.
Enjoy

Barbara

I have a cook-rite under the same patent, same design on the outside of the bowl. It’s by far my favorite item in the kitchen. It was used by my mother-in-law as a bread making bowl so I assumed the lid was turned upside down when the bread was rising which would then be a completely glazed surface inside. Can’t wait to try it as a pie plate. This one is in mint condition. I use it to serve the mounds of mashed potatoes at thanksgiving and use the lid to keep them warm. I actually love the manufacturing imperfections. I don’t know what the process was for making, glazing and firing the bowl and lid but it was done amazingly well to have lasted this long. Saw an eBay posting that said they were made from 1875-1900.

Ron F.

My cook-rite bowl is approx. 5 3/4 tall, 10 inches in diameter, and was purchased by my wife’s grandmother during the depression. My grandmother in law always referred to it as her Dillinger pot due to the fact that only after a salesman came by there rural Kentucky farm and sold her a set of cook-rite cook ware that she noticed his photograph in the paper, and the photograph was that of the notorious/ famous gangster John Dillinger! The story of the Dillinger pot has been well known through out the community for decades. John Dillinger was known to go to the Southern states when things got to hot for his gang, and sell cook ware until things cooled off up North. Life long Chicago residents have confirmed this story but I am making a trip to the John Dillinger Museum in Crown Point, Indiana in a few weeks to verify this!