Pit cloth
The pit cloth is a non-slip cloth made of cotton or half linen . It is produced in the standard size of 50 cm x 100 cm and has a weight of 200 g to 400 g. A distinctive blue / gray or black / gray check pattern is characteristic. The strong pattern means that soiling is not so quickly visible. Grubentuch from half linen , which consists in half made of cotton and linen, is particularly robust and takes very good moisture.
history
The term “pit cloth” comes from the mines in the Ruhr area. The miners used the cloths in a variety of ways. They wrapped their meals in it for protection, as the high density of the cloths prevented the coal dust from getting through. Second, they used it to wipe sweat and coal dust from their faces. Finally, the buddies dried themselves off with it at the end of the shift. Therefore the color was originally black / gray so that the coal dust, which could no longer be completely removed by washing, was not visible.
Usage today
Due to its properties, the pit cloth is used in the hotel and catering industry as an all-purpose cloth, especially in the kitchen area. It is not only used as a tea towel for drying off, but also as a hand towel, drying cloth, and cooking apron. When folded, it can be used as a pot holder to hold hot pots and pans.