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Nordic Ware’s Humble Beginning

Home > MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds > Nordic Ware’s Humble Beginning

Founded in the Minneapolis basement of Dotty and Dave Dalquist in 1946, Nordic Ware is historically significant to Minnesota, and to the nation’s baking community.

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Editor: Britt Aamodt

Producer: Autumn Haeg

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

Founded in the Minneapolis basement of Dottie and Dave Dalquist in 1946, Nordic Ware is historically significant to Minnesota and the nation's baking community. Originally, they had started manufacturing Scandinavian cookware like crumb cake and rosette irons. Dottie had a love for designing easy to use cookware, and Dave had the background to build and engineer the products. They used aluminum, which was a perfect recyclable and rust-proof metal, making it an essential for every kitchen. In 1950, they introduced the bundt pan, inspired by European cake molds. At first, it sold pretty slowly, and it wasn't until 1966 when the pan was used in the Pillsbury Bake Off and won, that the cake tin boomed in popularity. Today, over 70 million bundt pans have been sold, and almost every Midwestern household has seen a bunt pan or two in their day. The company remains family owned, despite its growth far beyond the Dalquist basement. Nordic Ware has been committed to quality and sustainability and have produced items beyond baking and even collaborated with big names like Disney.

MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at MN90.org.