bastable

English

Etymology

Unknown. It is believed by some to be a corruption of Barnstaple, which was known for manufacturing metal pots. Compare Barnstaple oven.

Noun

bastable (plural bastables)

1. (Ireland) A cast iron pot that is suspended over an open fire, often with hot coals placed on the lid for more even cooking.
   • 1997, Diarmaid Ó Muirithe, A Word in Your Ear, →ISBN, page 61:

     There was no such thing as a bastable in those days.

   • 2001, Trevor Norton, Reflections on a Summer Sea, page 70:

     Erika cooked over a turf fire and roasted meat in a bastable perched over the flames.

   • 2006, Carla Blake, The Irish Cookbook, →ISBN, page 12:

     We'd always have it stewed in a bastable hung over the kitchen fire way back in those days.

Alternative forms

• bastible

Derived terms

• bastable cake