fabulous Farberware Electric Skillet

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dalangdon:

Great find- you'll be very happy with it.

I have the identical electric skillet, bought recently for $9 and change at the local Goodwill. It was quite dirty, but it worked, so I took my chances on the cosmetic condition, since I collect Farberware and know a few restoration tactics. It turned out to be nearly pristine under the kitchen schmutz.

Farberware is great stuff, if you have the original aluminium-clad version (I'm not nearly so fond of the new cap-base version made in Thailand, though I own a piece or two). My electric skillet replaces a Sunbeam I'd used for years; it's all the difference in cleanability and performance.

By the way, your lid knob and probe control date this as pre-1980s. Looking at the temp chart on your handle, I'm guessing mid-1970s. I was in the housewares biz for years, and the Farberware was considered as good as it got.

Again, congratulations. P.S.- These aren't cheap on eBay.
 
Bronx

dalangdon:

No, Farberware was headquartered in the Bronx until the 1990s, on Bassett Ave. That designation is not a reliable indicator of age. For a time, there was a second plant in Yonkers, and pieces marked with that name are assumed to be older. There is a date code on every piece of Farberware; it's the two letters above the Farberware stamp, put there for warranty verification purposes. But no records seem to exist that could decode the date stamps for collectors; Farberware is now owned by a completely different company and the cookware is now made in Thailand.
 
That is a very nice skillet, Dan. Have you made anything in it yet? There are some things that I really like to make in them. I have a great peanut brittle recipe that works beautifully with the controlled heat in an electric skillet and this stainless would be much easier to clean! You were lucky to find it for such a good price. The estate sales here seem to think these, or any shiny electrical object should sell for close to the original retail price or a ridiculous, arbitrary amount dreamed up by people without a clue that they are actually having a glorified garage sale.
 
Dan, I hope that you enjoy your Farber skillet. Some Wenel or Semichrome polish will bring the surface back to a nice shine--with a lot of buffing.

I have a huge amount of Farberware, stove top and electric; all bought in the mid 70s. In the stove top line, the skillets are great, but the plain aluminum bottoms on the sauce pans, dutch ovens and stock pots are not as efficient. The bottom is slightly concave so that it will flatten when heated. It works great on the fry pans. But if you have water or liquid in the pans, the base does not heat up sufficiently to flatten out so the center of the element is glowing orange in that area instead of conducting the heat right into the bottom of the pan. I would have thought that the new stainless steel plates on the base of the pans would keep them flat for better heating.

I have the 10 inch electric skillet with the low cover, the 12 inch electric buffet server with the high dome lid, the 5 qt electric DO with high dome lid and the 3 qt electric saucepan which is fabulous for popcorn for one. It pops corn fast and keeps it warm while I eat it. When I have to take food to a party, I use the buffet server or the DO. I can cook the food in them and they look very nice on a buffet while keeping the food warm.
 
Tomturbomatic:

I've come to the classic Farberware party a little late- I recently had to give up my Farberware Advantage (Kelly Beard owns it now) due to arthritis. The Advantage was simply too heavy, so I began collecting the aluminium-clad.

I have found it to be extremely efficient, both pots and pans. In fact, I sometimes have to use Flame-Tamers to maintain a simmer. I have three pieces of the new cap-base Farberware- a 3-quart saucier, a 10-inch saute pan, and an 8-inch saute pan. Efficiency is about the same, but the new base is a booger to clean. There is a very deeply impressed Farberware logo on the bottom of each piece that just LOOOOOVES to pick up grease and burn it into the lettering of the logo. Since I likes me some clean cookware, it's been a bit of a struggle to maintain.

You might also like to know that I've experienced compatibility problems between American Farberware and the new stuff made in Thailand. The sizes are ever so slightly different, with the result that parts are not always interchangeable. The new double boiler and steamer inserts don't fit the old stuff; I had to return a Thai-made double boiler insert bought for my three-quart saucepans and look for a vintage one. The Thai insert was a tiny amount too small, and would not sit firmly on the saucepan. Other consumers report the same problem.

However, I'm so pleased overall that I have about two dozen pieces, and I'm looking for more. My favourite pieces are the two 12-inch skillets I have- one with the low dome lid and one with the high dome lid. Great for sauteing.
 
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