Update and Thoughts on Pitchers

Before & Now

Our house is slowly being put back together. Thank heavens we have another place to stay.

However

We will soon be tearing that up......but only partially. We've been planning a kitchen re-do for some years and finally, finally got down to it. Of course, practically the day we signed the contract was when the flood happened. So some fast reshuffling had to go on.

I must remember to take some before and after pictures.

Anyway

In reference to the previous post, I was thinking about pitchers. What makes a good pitcher?

I immediately thought about balance and function. First, a pitcher must feel right when you pick it up. It shouldn't be too small or too large depending on what you plan to put in it.

Almost goes without saying.

A pitcher must feel right when you pick it up--not too heavy on the bottom that you feel you cannot pour it without ease. A lot of that has to do with how high the handle sits on the body. Too low and it feels uncontrolable; too high and it feels like you cannot pour it all out. Luckily most pitchers are made well so the problem rarely comes up.

The handle should have as good heft to it, one that gives you the confidence that control will be easy.

The body must be big enough and light enough to hold the quantity of liquid needed. Nothing is worse than a pitcher that isn't large enough to contain all that you want in it.

And last, but most important, the spout must pour well. You must be able to aim the liquid to the target with confidence. Not too stingy; not too generous, the spout must also be designed to contain the liquid without the threat of spillage.

I've often wondered why pitchers have traditionally been made with no lid. Of course, fitting one would be tricky, but do-able. You would think keeping bugs out might be a good thing. Wine, fruit juice, beer--they all are attractive to bugs. The German beer mug is one example and the Mediterranean net-work cover is another, but an integrated lid just didn't seem to happen.

Some of the best examples of well-made pitchers are the old wash stand sets used in the age when indoor plumbing was absent. They were made of all shapes and adornments, designed to hold large quantities of hot water. And the decorative designs are legion.

Today, pitchers are not used that much. As a matter of fact, one show I was in brought a surprise when a very young child looked at a pitcher and asked his mom what it was. Juice boxes, canned drinks, milk cartons, plastic bottles have just about pushed the pitcher out of modern life.