Corning Ware Profile: P-4 Covered Baking Dish

The style of the 1½ quart P-4 casserole is quite different from classic square Corning Ware cookware.  It is rectangular with flared sides, and quite deep for its size.  The origins of this unusual piece can be traced to 1963, when it was sold with a specially designed hot-plate in the Corning Ware Electromatics line. 

There are other Electromatic bases for square Corning Ware skillets, but the one made for the P-4 was more sophisticated than the rest.  Together, the set was called the Self-Timing Saucepan, and advertisements carried the tag line: "set it and forget it!"  The unit was capable of sensing when the correct temperature was attained, then would turn off automatically after a specified cooking time.

Floral Bouquet, Corning Ware P-4, 1½ quart casserole.

The Self-Timing Saucepan concept seems to have been short-lived, but production of the P-4 casserole continued and it would be sold singly and in bakeware sets with a new name: Covered Baking Dish.  With a narrow rectangular footprint, it isn't the most optimal design for stovetop cooking.  Names like 'skillet', 'saucepan' or 'saucepot' are given to the more familiar cookware shapes.

The design improvements for Corning Ware in the early 1970s seem to have by-passed the P-4.  Its tab handles are the smaller size, as found on all casseroles manufactured pre-1972, but this is true of every P-4 even though they were made before and after that date.  It is not known exactly when the P-4 was discontinued, but it disappeared sometime between 1980 and 1985. 

(Photo: Country Festival P-4)
            
Patterns available:  

Blue Cornflower
wheat design (gold)*
stars design (blue)**
Just White
Floral Bouquet
Blue Medallion
Green Medallion
Spice O' Life (L'Echalote)
Spice O' Life (Le Persil La Sauge)
Country Festival
Wildflower

* - official pattern name unknown, items with a gold-coloured wheat design typically are prefixed with 'W', so this piece will be marked W-4, not P-4.  This pattern was available in 1969 & 1970, but exact starting and ending dates are not known.

** - official pattern name unknown, the design consists of eight five-pointed stars of different sizes, the three largest stars are within solid blue circles.

There are two versions for Spice O' Life, and the distinguishing feature between them is the choice of French phrase.  There are differences in the arrangement of the vegetables as well.

Overhead view, P-4 casserole.

Blue Cornflower P-4 casserole.

Photo:  Backstamp of P-4 casserole, marked P-4-B.  The Pyrex lid for this piece is marked P-4-C.  Corning's naming convention consistently uses 'B' for bowl and 'C' for cover.  The stamp also states the dimensions in inches.

Related Articles:

What about the French phrases on Spice O' Life?
Wildflower
Spice O' Life
Blue Cornflower
Country Festival Brochure 
1968 Corning Ware Advertisement