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Nice finds ! You never pass up a trivet when you see one .
I have wondered for some time how those shallow gem pans were used. Can someone elucidate? (My $50 word--haha!)
One of the most common uses for this baking pan is its namesake, the gem. A very simple form of bread, gems consist of very few ingredients. They can be used as meal accompaniments, desserts, or snacks, depending on the recipe preferred. Gems may also be referred to as gemcakes.
The term Gem comes from small cakes that resemble gems. There was a kitchen housewares company named Gem that sold a pan that was generically referred to as a Gem Pan.
A Gem can be referred to as a muffin but a muffin is not necessarily a Gem. They were first popularized in the 19th century and were always made with Whole Wheat Graham Flour and baked in heavy cast iron gem pans.
Nathaniel Waterman of Boston, Massachusetts is believed to be the first person to patent the design of the Gem Pan in 1859. It was also referred to as an Egg Pan. The cast iron pan featured cups, or wells, that were connected together to promote the conduction of heat through the iron.
I've never seen that page before, but funny how it says almost exactly what this one does, just with a little different wording: http://www.castironcollector.com/gems.php