Dear Copper Pudding Molds,
Hey Lady! It’s been a while, right?! Man. What’s it been, 20 years? 30? You used to be hanging on the walls of every kitchen in America (or at least every kitchen that counted, RIGHT?). What happened to you? Now I see you laying around at the thrift store looking all dusty and used up. Your’e like, “They never even put me in the oven!” and I’m like, “I know, girl, I know.”
But remember the good times, okay? You were loved. You were so loved. I’ll be honest with you, actually, as a child, I used to feel really insecure about the fact that we didn’t have you hanging up in our kitchen. I was an 80s latchkey kid, watching waaaay too much television, and from what I could see you were evvvvvvvvverywhere, and I just didn’t understand how everyone else could have copper pudding molds, but we didn’t. It just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t. I mean, I don’t want to make you feel bad, but you weren’t there for me. It’s not your fault, but you weren’t. It’s okay, I know you were hanging out with everyone else. And I don’t blame you.
I mean, seriously. Look at you. Here you are on The Cosby Show, hanging out with the Huxtables, looking fine. Pans. Pots, even some measuring scoops above the spice rack. You can’t see it in this pic, but there were like another 5 of you hanging in the archway at the rear of the kitchen. You were upstaging everyone with your awesomeness, even Denise’s outfits. And that is really saying something.
And let us not forget your star performance on Who’s the Boss. Not even Alyssa Millano’s 6″ bitch-flip bangs could outshine you, Copper Pudding Molds. In this role, you played the part of decorative frying pans in a Connecticut farmhouse, owned by Angela Bower, a pioneering post-feminist career woman with a male housekeeper, played by the always delightful, Tony Danza. As the ultimate symbol of the domestic arts, you echoed the transition between gender stereotypes, harkening the dawn of a new era. This may have been your finest hour to date!
But, I must say, my personal favorite was your role in Mr. Belvedere. Again, not unlike Who’s the Boss, you laid the foundation for a wise-cracking male housekeeper, but this time, set in the turmoil of a typical American household. You stood for excellence. For tradition. If the Owens family represented the fractured and faulted new America, you represented a decidely staunch, established, and British perspective. Your presence was second to none on that show, even the theme song, which – let’s admit – was extraordinary.
With that said, imagine my surprise to see you again, playing a supporting role in what might be the most popular television series in Great Britain – or dare I say the planet – right now: Downton Abbey. 
There you are serving both master and servant alike, bringing function and form to all you do. Copper Pudding Mold, this is nothing less than a triumph! After all these years living downtrodden at the thrift store like Grizabella the Glamourcat, I for one am excited to see you on the upswing. In fact, I’m thinking, perhaps now is the time to make up for all those years as a kid when you never came to my house. Now is the time to celebrate you in all your 80s weirdness and wonder. Now is the time for your return to greatness!
Copper Pudding Molds, this is only a hello. A new begining.
See you soon!
So here’s my question – I found a bunch of these in our basement’s shady give away pile and thought that I needed eight lobster shaped pudding molds but googling informed me that maybe I should be making pudding in copper molds? Or anything for that matter (red velvet cake in the shape of a lobster seemed like a really good idea). What’s the word? Can we cook in these or are they just for looking at/hanging on the walls/upstaging my bangs?
Good question. Now that I have collected a few, I can tell you the metal used for the molds runs the whole spectrum. Some of them are clearly varnished (to keep the copper from tarnishing, I assume) – so I would definitely NOT use them in an oven. Others appear to be copper colored aluminum – I can’t imagine there would be a problem with that. Others look…something else. Some have clearly been used for cooking and are scratched/stained as any other tin bundt pan might be. Hard to say.
It appears to me that the ones with fancy hook hangers are the ones meant for hanging, and the ones sans hooks (or with a simple hole) are meant for cooking. But that’s just my observation. I’d do a dry run in the oven before introducing food in the picture. Good luck!
Bwahahaha! Mr Bevedere rules! Now I want to sit and watch him on youtube all day. Did you notice that the commercial after the theme song? It also featured copper pots on the wall. They are everywhere!
HA! I totally didn’t watch it all the way through — good catch. They ARE indeed everywhere!
I love this and the fact that you noticed these details as a kid. I watched a lot of TV, I didn’t notice the décor of these sets, but I did notice shows with modern décor like Too Close for Comfort and the gift shop on Facts of Life. Also, I like the use of Snapchat like drawings over your photos.
Jello. I have 5 molds hanging on the wall in my kitchen. I always liked them as “object darts” (as we say it, even though I know that’s not how it’s pronounced). I like jello, but I’m of the age where I can tell you where you’re going by what kind of jello you’re packing. Ever find those horribly awful 1970’s Betty Crocker food cards? Can’t make a fish mold without a fish mold. I’ve never thought to make pudding in them. I love being the person who comes to the party with a 3 tiered jello thing swaying on the plate as I walk in. I think they are neat just as decoration but, as I said, I have some age to me.
I never knew you could make anything but jello in those!! hello, new collection!
You know what you need to go with those, right? A set of copper cheese grater lights like Kitty Foreman had in her kitchen on That 70s Show. I love those things so much.
Seriously, you DO need Kitty Foreman’s cheese grater pendant lights! I want some of those things. They were uber cool.
But pudding molds…as in a baked concoction that eventually ended up more like a super moist and dense cakey confection, but not necessarily as sweet. There are different definitions of “pudding”, as in “figgy pudding” (as demanded by the carolers in the holiday song) that would have been like a cake with fruit inside, and most likely neither baked nor chilled at first—it was probably cooked in a water bath of some sort so it would set up, allowed to chill, and was then unmolded to show the shape of the fancy pan.
The aluminum molds from the mid-century era were great for cakes and many were made by the Mirro or Viking companies. I have an inherited collection that yes, have been used for cakes and French Creme desserts over the years. They’re a fun and relatively cheap item to collect, even if they aren’t always copper. Martha Stewart has a particularly impressive collection that was featured in one of her magazines a few years ago.
I LIKE one that was crushed/stepped-on/would be Rejected as a mold, for jello/anything else, because I want to pound it back into a shape that might [–if the diameter was sufficient ], be suitable as a helmet, over which I could fashion aluminum tape, for protection from DEW/ELF/Psychotronic weapons radio/radar signals, of the kind used by Stalkers/Stalking-groups against “T-I”s [ Targeted-Individuals }. If you know of any damaged molds/pans, please let me know. This is NOT a “joke”! “Me, tonight, and YOU/Yours, tomorrow”
Family Ties had ’em too, I think. Now THAT was a show! First childhood tv crush was Michael J Fox 🙂
So does this strange post mean you will be following up actual ideas on how to use the cooper molds?
This was just what I was looking for. My friend is collecting copper tins and as I find them I was amazed by the difference in the thickness of the copper. Also the difference in the weight of the copper. Oh!! and the difference in the price. I love finding them and listening to the stories that the seller has for each tin that I purchase. This article helped a lot – I didn’t know about the different uses for the tins.
I have about 30 lined and unlined copper molds. I am happy to sell them…if in pairs the pairs will be sold together.
These mold pans are not intended for baking but molding things such as pudding (not just the kind you think of that comes in the box here in America..think bread puddings, rice puddings, date puddings etc) and gelatin dishes (yes, you can use plain old Jello too). If you want something food safe to bake with you will need to find a mold that is steel. The copper ancestors were often lined with a lead based tin. Damage to the mold will add to the patina/discoloration of the copper. If you have a piece that has began to change color, I do not recommend using it (even if it’s cleaned) as the metal may be cracked or scratched somewhere opening your culinary world to the infusion of weak metals and the toxic salts they weep. When in doubt, make it a decor piece and enjoy it that way. Happy molding or decorating! Either way, they are very very pretty!