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Gregg Wallace is in France at an enormous foundry that produces a cast iron pot every five seconds.

Gregg Wallace is in France at an enormous foundry that produces a cast iron pot every five seconds. He follows production of casserole dishes from the arrival of 20 tonnes of crude iron right through to brightly coloured orange pots. Along the way, Gregg tests his mettle by taking a sample of molten iron at 1,550 degrees Celsius. With only a heatproof visor and gloves as protection, he dips a ladle into a bubbling cauldron and pours the white-hot sample into a tiny mould. He also discovers that the coloured enamel they protect their pots with is made from glass.

Meanwhile, Cherry Healey is in South Africa visiting one of the largest iron ore mines in the world. Nine miles long by three miles wide, it produces a staggering 670,000 tonnes every day. Cherry rides in one of the biggest dumper trucks in the world. Seven metres tall and packing 2,500 horsepower, it collects 65 tonnes of freshly mined rock and dumps it in to a processing plant. Days later, the iron ore is taken away from the mine in a two-mile-long train. And Cherry is rooting out the science behind cooking the perfect casserole. It turns out that when it comes to cooking time, longer isn’t always better.

Historian Ruth Goodman takes a journey through time, learning how one-pot cooking evolved. From communal ovens during the industrial revolution through to 1970s slow cookers, technology influenced how people prepared simple meals. Ruth also visits the birthplace of the industrial revolution in Shropshire to discover how casting iron in sand moulds democratised our kitchens by producing affordable cookware.

58 minutes

Last on

Sun 25 Aug 2024 19:00
±«Óãtv Two

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:01

    Pierre Henry and Michel Colombier

    Psyche Rock (Malpaso Mix By Fatboy Slim)

  • 00:03

    Stereolab

    Emperor Tomato Ketchup

  • 00:08

    Imagine Dragons

    Natural

  • 00:10

    Royal Blood

    Little Monster

  • 00:11

    Royal Blood

    Little Monster

  • 00:14

    Hawkwind

    Silver Machine

  • 00:15

    Black Sabbath

    Iron Man

  • 00:22

    Daft Punk

    Aerodynamic

  • 00:33

    Sash

    Encore Une Fois

  • 00:35

    Daft Punk

    Contact

  • 00:39

    Vera Lynn

    Be Like the Kettle and Sing

  • 00:41

    Donna Summer

    Hot Stuff

  • 00:41

    Slade

    Cum On Feel The Noize

  • 00:42

    Donna Summer

    Hot Stuff

  • 00:42

    Stereolab

    Space Moth

  • 00:43

    ¸éö²â°ì²õ´Ç±è±è

    I Had This Thing

  • 00:46

    Michel Legrand

    Di-Gue-Ding-Ding

  • 00:47

    Little Mix

    Nothing Else Matters

  • 00:48

    Manu Chao

    Bongo Bong

  • 00:56

    Bad Sounds

    How Are You Gonna Lose

  • 00:56

    Air

    Kelly Watch The Stars

  • 00:57

    Air

    La Femme D'Argent

  • 00:58

    Daft Punk

    Around The World

Credits

Presenter Gregg Wallace
Presenter Cherry Healey
Presenter Ruth Goodman
Executive Producer Amanda Lyon
Executive Producer Sanjay Singhal
Producer Sam Bailey
Director Sam Bailey
Series Producer Michael Rees
Production Manager Samara Friend
Production Company Voltage TV
Director Steve Bonser
Music Steve Tait

Broadcasts

Learn more about the history of the factory and how it has evolved with an interactive from The Open University.

The fascinating stories behind the production of some of our favourite products.