Grease Bowl

Essential Kitchen Accessory of Appalachia

Photo: R. Johnson

I happened into my 1904 built-in china cabinet this morning, while straightening the dining room in my old house. When I opened the upper-right door of the cabinet, I saw the dark-green glaze of the earthenware bowl used by my maternal grandmother for much of her life.

The object of my attention was a grease bowl. Before non-Appalachian readers…