Wow. Spending a measly 100 or 200 bucks for a skillet is that a big of deal that nearly every comment will complain about it? To each their own. A Honda or a Porsche. It's the same thing.
3
This reminds me of a funny story from a Christmas job I had at Sur La Table at Pike Place Market in Seattle years ago. We always had lots of tourists from all parts of the country that made their way to our store to shop and especially so at Christmas. A family came in and when I asked if I could help them, they said they were looking for a Lodge pan for a gift. We had several on display so I asked what type they wanted and extolled the virtues of cast iron pan cooking as I led them to the display. We chatted a bit on the way over and it was clear at this point that the family was from Boston. The father agreed he enjoyed cooking Sunday breakfast with his 10" cast iron frying pan he'd gotten from his Dad way back when. So, we arrive at the Lodge display and I do my little "ta da" hand gesture and ask if they see the type of Lodge pan they were looking for. They all look at each other, then back at me and then, using their hands with palms facing each other but about 24" apart, look back at me and say loudly "No, a LODGE pan". And I point and say "This IS Lodge" and gesture back at the display. Then they pointed up at a very large All Clad stock pot. "Oh, you mean a LARGE pan". It was pretty funny all around and they ended up buying a very tiny Lodge fry pan as a joke gift!
4
I wish I had started with a carbon steel pan. I have three cast iron pans, well seasoned and cared for. The CS pan developed a better, smoother, and more even patina which built up a lot faster. It's virtually non-stick. CI pans also do not provide even heat, they merely hold heat. I have to keep moving my CI pans around the burner to maintain even heat. I tested the pans with an infra-red surface thermometer and discovered a 60-100 degree difference from one side to the other. Not so with the CS pan. I'll take CS over CI any day of the week. My 10" CI pan cost $40.
4
Love to see these articles on cast iron cooking! So many benefits that go beyond just the great results you will have with the food you prepare.
One thing not sure about saw in the article.. the food absorbs very small traces iron. Not as much as a mineral supplement but definitely a wholistic way to maintain a healthy body.
Mostly what I love about iron is it's enduring quality. With care you will have it from one generation to next. Embrace your inner environmentalist!! And your not bringing ' non stick' into your home or contributing to the manufacturing of those products.
If weight is an issue there is a lightweight Japanese brand of iron pan, just as sturdy. To avoid ' promotion I'll not list brand name here but a quick search you will likely find it.
2
I received a cast iron skillet for my wedding. It is now 50 years old and perfectly seasoned - it sears a steak as well as it fries an egg. I have washed it with soap for years but it is dried on high on the stove top as my mother taught me. I also received a round griddle and skillet that were my grandmothers. Unfortunately, I have a glass topped stove and they are a tad warped. They are now doing duty on the grill where they work perfectly. When I finally get a gas stove, they will come back inside.
6
$300 figures for a cast-iron pan? These pans are not a better mousetrap, just a fancier one. For all the novice- or intermediate-level cooks out there thinking the key to good cooking are a more expensive pans, try this: buy a few simple pans, a couple of good knives, and spend the money you save on high-quality ingredients. Presto: better food on the table!
10
I agree completely. Instead of a $150 brand name non stick pan, go to a restaurant supply store and pay $20-$30, depending on the size. They will both work the same and wear out at the same pace. After a year or two, I replace them. You can buy 7 cheap pans for every all-clad, and they will perform the same, for the same amount of time.
3
I cook almost entirely with cast iron and have for decades. Poor man's Creuset, I call them. I particularly love the way it caramelizes everything, adding sweetness; also the way it acts like an oven on top of the stove. Can't help but be suspicious of these new expensive brands. I'm sure there are some differences but isn't the most expensive cast iron at Bed and Bath good enough? Also, why is there no mention of the additional iron added to one's diet by cooking with cast iron? Did I miss that?
2
Don't buy the hype. Those $16 Lodge skillets work every bit as well as the expensive brands.
17
I agree, Jethro. And, besides, most Lodge skillets come pre-seasoned today. If not, Alton Brown has a fool-proof method for seasoning a cast iron pan.
2
Thank you so much for this. If somebody sold a superior cast iron pan and it cost up to 50% more, maybe it would be worth considering. But some of these pans cost literally 20 times more than a Lodge one. That's just stupid.
1
Seasoning a cast iron pan or skillet is very simple. Turn your oven to 350-400, coat the pan with light oil, cook for at least 30 minutes and then turn the oven off. Let sit an hour or so and repeat a few times. You'll have a perfectly Seasoned pan. It's not brain surgery, it's SCIENCE!! Thanks to Serious Eats for this information.
6
I started collecting vintage cast iron many tears ago, old, disgusting looking pans could be had for a few dollars.
Like a lot of other collectibles, the prices went up because of eBay, everyone thought they had a treasure. I still purchase when the price is right though.
I learned how to clean and re-season, and my stash has become a non-stop source of gifts for neophyte cooks, instant heirlooms.
I suspect someone with a full beard will soon be making them by hand in Brooklyn.
Like a lot of other collectibles, the prices went up because of eBay, everyone thought they had a treasure. I still purchase when the price is right though.
I learned how to clean and re-season, and my stash has become a non-stop source of gifts for neophyte cooks, instant heirlooms.
I suspect someone with a full beard will soon be making them by hand in Brooklyn.
6
Hi. Perhaps someone already mentioned this in an earlier post, but if folks are interested in lighter, smoother cast iron skillets made in the traditional way, they should look into ones made in Japan. I own one made in Kawaguchi. You can read about Kawaguchi and its history of cast iron here http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/tablog/entries.en/2009/03/japan-brand-from-m.... Since they are cast in the traditional way and since they are trying to cast them as thin as possible and since Japanese craftsmen are perfectionists, the success rate of casting a product that they deem fit for sale is supposedly only 25%. Whatever that doesn't pass their QC is re-melted and recast. The skillet came pre-seasoned, but I stripped it and re-seasoned it. Once that was done it has been my go-to pan for anything from eggs, pancakes, stir-fry, etc. Also, the handle never gets hot during regular use on the stove top so no need for cooking with oven mitts! There are many fans of these skillets in the chef world and supposedly Williams Sonoma used to import them. When I asked a clerk at a nearby WS about them recently he raved about them saying that he owns one himself. Moments later his expression changed, and angrily, he said that WS astopped carrying them years ago because "ignorant Americans thought they weren't heavy enough." Go figure.
5
the links at this article don't work anymore. Do you have one for where you bought yours?
Google: "Kawaguchi skillet" Several listings including Amazon.
Torn about this. The Lodge manufacturing process is different and just inferior to the old Griswold way. So it is nice to see people bringing back the old techniques. But I'd be far more interested if these startups had more background in the associated fields. I've wondered for years why Lodge doesn't open a boutique plant---they'd make a killing with their name recognition.
In any event, the older I get the less I care about pans (although an antique copper saucier is a thing to behold). I'd rather spend the money on a great knife. Or food.
A variety of higher-end skillets mostly live in the cupboard, but the one I turn to most these days is a $15 aluminum Vollrath I picked up from a restaurant supply store a few years ago. You see them in high-end commercial kitchens all the time. Heats up evenly and lightning fast, browns nicely. Won't last forever, but who cares at the price? Plus it can be recycled and is made in Wisconsin. The handle will get hot after a while, and the aluminum will react with acidic braising liquids, but otherwise it's pretty much all-purpose. The cast-iron mostly comes out for cornbread, fried chicken, rillettes, etc.
In any event, the older I get the less I care about pans (although an antique copper saucier is a thing to behold). I'd rather spend the money on a great knife. Or food.
A variety of higher-end skillets mostly live in the cupboard, but the one I turn to most these days is a $15 aluminum Vollrath I picked up from a restaurant supply store a few years ago. You see them in high-end commercial kitchens all the time. Heats up evenly and lightning fast, browns nicely. Won't last forever, but who cares at the price? Plus it can be recycled and is made in Wisconsin. The handle will get hot after a while, and the aluminum will react with acidic braising liquids, but otherwise it's pretty much all-purpose. The cast-iron mostly comes out for cornbread, fried chicken, rillettes, etc.
2
I am a devoted cast iron pan fan. I have coveted old pans from junk shops and new pans I have seasoned and use regularly. I fry, bake, roast, and reheat food in these pans daily. But for Pete's sake: THEY'RE JUST PANS! The fetishizing drives me nuts - taking something so basic and elemental (almost literally) and turning it into a complex and curated fetish object.
15
The only part about the "fetishizing" that makes any sense is if the pan is a family heirloom
1
Well, no the thinness makes sense too.
I'd been wondering why I have no problem lifting my grandmother's cast iron but modern cast iron just was so much heavier.
I'd been wondering why I have no problem lifting my grandmother's cast iron but modern cast iron just was so much heavier.
2
I just counted. There are 7 under the counter, from about 10 5/8" to a 9" chef skillet, 8" and 6 1/2", too. Wagner, Sidney, Griswold, USA and unmarked. A heavy cast iron lid that fit the big ones. One of the 10 inchers is extra deep. Then there are the cast iron muffin pans, the Wagner #1109A flat (slight lip) used for pancakes.
Before I married, I bought my future wife a set of enameled cast iron cookware made by a company called COPCO DENMARK. The enamel is chipped and pitted, now, 35 years later, but they're great for rice and stews. I sold some at some point a ways back.
Before I married, I bought my future wife a set of enameled cast iron cookware made by a company called COPCO DENMARK. The enamel is chipped and pitted, now, 35 years later, but they're great for rice and stews. I sold some at some point a ways back.
1
get a carbon steel pan. just as good as a cast iron, and more consistent.
11
My two Lodge pans work great! I'm glad I made the effort to work with them, clean them without soap, and dry them well each time.
3
When I redid my kitchen about 10 years ago, somehow my cast iron skillet got thrown out. It broke my heart. I had had it a very long time. I have gone looking for new ones but they are much too heavy for me to use, at least in a standard 10" size. I realized what a loss it was to be without one but I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for an old one....and even the new ones are not cheap, just cheaply made.
This, like so many other things, reflects how much our society has lost by going for profits over quality. Everything is made cheaply so corporations can maximize profits. Things break, they don't last, you waste money and effort, you add to the landfill that will be around for 1000 years. It's all so mean-spirited, really. More is not always more. Sometimes more is just greed.
I wish these new manufacturers great success. If they ever find a way to bring down the price, they will make many older cooks very happy.
This, like so many other things, reflects how much our society has lost by going for profits over quality. Everything is made cheaply so corporations can maximize profits. Things break, they don't last, you waste money and effort, you add to the landfill that will be around for 1000 years. It's all so mean-spirited, really. More is not always more. Sometimes more is just greed.
I wish these new manufacturers great success. If they ever find a way to bring down the price, they will make many older cooks very happy.
8
My husband has been collecting cast-iron pans, mostly Griswold and Wapak, for about 10 years. We now have 15 or so ranging from size 3 to 12. He has not paid more than $30 for any one pan, and often puts in a lot of elbow grease to bring them back to prime cooking condition. I was so tired of my pile of pans on the counter that I designed a wall piece where they hang by cast-iron hooks so I can choose a single pan at a time and not have to shift them all to get at the one on the bottom. They really are great to cook with, especially for something that you start on top of the stove and then finish in the oven.
The new ones are beautiful, but I doubt either of us will spend that kind of money on a new pan when the old ones work so well. However, I think it's wonderful that they are being made again in America.
The new ones are beautiful, but I doubt either of us will spend that kind of money on a new pan when the old ones work so well. However, I think it's wonderful that they are being made again in America.
7
I hang mine on wall hooks on a brick kitchen wall. Not only are they great to cook with, they make lovely rustic decorations. I don't know how many I have (I rotate them onto the wall from my shelves), but they all came down to me from my grandmother. I would guess that they're well over 100 years old, and have been used all of that time.
Taking care of them is a breeze. The most important thing to remember is to dry them thoroughly after using. I wash mine the same way my mother washed them when they were in her possession - hot soapy water, using an SOS pad if necessary (which is rare), and putting them in a warm oven for about a half hour to thoroughly dry before rehanging on the wall.
Taking care of them is a breeze. The most important thing to remember is to dry them thoroughly after using. I wash mine the same way my mother washed them when they were in her possession - hot soapy water, using an SOS pad if necessary (which is rare), and putting them in a warm oven for about a half hour to thoroughly dry before rehanging on the wall.
3
Years ago my Mother gave me a set of cast iron skillets when I set up my first apartment and I had fond memories of watching her cook everything from cornbread, chicken, steaks, and goulash in one. Mine got good used but being young I wanted the fancy new stuff and lugged the set around for years.
Was on a livestream cooking show two years ago and the cook mentioned them. I dug around and found mine and have never looked back. Properly seasoned skillets are not complicated and I reach for mine when making omelets, frying chicken, making light stews, scrambled eggs... you name it. Good fortune saved me from my own stupidity, especially when I read the price for these new ones.
Was on a livestream cooking show two years ago and the cook mentioned them. I dug around and found mine and have never looked back. Properly seasoned skillets are not complicated and I reach for mine when making omelets, frying chicken, making light stews, scrambled eggs... you name it. Good fortune saved me from my own stupidity, especially when I read the price for these new ones.
3
To those asking about how to season cast iron ... I submit the experience of 6 generations of Appalachia, now displaced. Don't. Just cook in it. It will season itself. To the chemist, you're building up layers of partially burnt fats and proteins. To our family, you just cooked in it and wiped it out. If something got burnt on, then you scrubbed it out with a spoon and a brillo pad, perhaps after soaking. No religion required, no modern accelerants required, perhaps the only magic was bacon, and, let's be honest, bacon is good for the soul.
13
I love cast iron, but arthritis in my right hand makes it hard to handle. I now use it only if it will make an important difference.
3
Every Cajun who cooks (show me one who doesn't) knows only the best gumbos, les sauces piquant, stews and any seafood are cooked only with cast iron. We also know you never get rid of them; they are left for heirs.
7
For anything potentially reactive and acidic, enameled cast iron is at least more fool-proof, if not outright better.
1
For a smooth cooking surface with similar thermal properties, why not consider carbon steel pans? The workhorse sauté pan of professional kitchens, carbon steel pans are similarly non-stick, slightly lighter, and more durable than cast iron.
4
My sons were members of a Boy Scout troop in Houston that had an 80+ year history they had dutch ovens that had been custom made for them at an old forge on the Ship Channel back in the 1950's. Each one is about 15 inches in diameter and about 4 inches tall with a snug fitting lid embossed with Boy Scouts Troop 30. They have 3 short legs, about 2 inches long to settle it above the coals. They are mirror smooth inside and well seasoned from over 60 years of use.
5
I love my cast iron pans--I really do. No one has mentioned the virtues of carbon steel pans in all these discussions. I urge you to get yourself a brand spankin' new 11"carbon steel skillet (my Matfer Bourgeat can be had for $50 bucks), scrub off all the rustproofing protectant applied by the factory, and then season it properly with flaxseed oil and a hot oven.These pans are smooth as glass right out of the box, weigh a lot less than cast iron of similar size, and they heat evenly to create perfect fried eggs and superb seared steaks! Room at the big table must be made for carbon steel; a billion wok chefs cant be wrong!
4
Lodge still makes a great product, and any careful cast iron consumer can wash in soap, scrub, and re-season as necessary. You can even revive those old, glossy smooth finishes on rusted cast iron with a little care and no need to spend $1500 for a perfect specimen. My favorite way to re-season cast iron when needed--if I have, for example, cooked a big pot of veggie soup or marinara sauce, and the acid content has threatened that shiny black surface--is to pop popcorn. Directions here, not as a shameless plug but because it's a fun way to take on a routine task:
https://ozarkhomesteader.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/old-fashioned-popcorn-...
You can also fry, fry a hen--or fish or fried pies, if that's more your style.
https://ozarkhomesteader.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/old-fashioned-popcorn-...
You can also fry, fry a hen--or fish or fried pies, if that's more your style.
2
I've purchased several Lodge skillets. The bottoms can be rough but I just take a piece of "fine" emery paper and a couple of drops of vegetable oil and sand the bottom with a circular motion for about 30 minutes. Ends up smooth as a baby's bum.
I season through use...bacon and pork chops a most rewarding method. Once seasoned, I have found I can achieve a lustrous gloss on the pan bottom using the following method: Once cleaned, put the skillet on low to medium heat and put in a splash of water (1-2 tbsp) and 1/2 tsp. of vegetable oil. Immediately swirl it around with an old rag. As the water evaporates, the gloss will appear but will not leave the pan bottom sticky.
I season through use...bacon and pork chops a most rewarding method. Once seasoned, I have found I can achieve a lustrous gloss on the pan bottom using the following method: Once cleaned, put the skillet on low to medium heat and put in a splash of water (1-2 tbsp) and 1/2 tsp. of vegetable oil. Immediately swirl it around with an old rag. As the water evaporates, the gloss will appear but will not leave the pan bottom sticky.
The summer after my freshman year of college, a girlfriend and I found a summer sublet across the Charles at Harvard Business School. Its regular occupant was a VERY sophisticated business student – – with a king-size water bed (very cool at the time); "action photos" of himself all over the walls; and a kitchen full of unfamiliar foodie-level implements. Everything was in gorgeous condition.
One thing puzzled us, though – – the weirdly greasy, slick cast-iron skillet in the cupboard. Well, she and I got to work on that with cleanser, detergent, and Brillo pads. With elbow grease and determination, we managed to destroy what we later learned was a layer of cast-iron seasoning cultivated over generations!
One thing puzzled us, though – – the weirdly greasy, slick cast-iron skillet in the cupboard. Well, she and I got to work on that with cleanser, detergent, and Brillo pads. With elbow grease and determination, we managed to destroy what we later learned was a layer of cast-iron seasoning cultivated over generations!
5
I bought a new Lodge a few years ago thinking "Yeah! Heritage! Made in the USA! Affordable!" and was perplexed why everything I cooked in it stuck. Then I looked online and the lore is that you have to break it in and season it more. People wrote that the seasoning "fills in" all of those horrid gaps of the pebbled, rough surface.
Nope.
It will not ever make it as smooth as an old polished skillet. Also, new Lodge pans are NOT made the same as the older Lodge pans which will have a nicer finish.
Another consideration is what the article mentioned: older cast iron is lighter weight. Because cast iron is inherently heavy that makes a big difference. I have tendonitis and can't maneuver new cast iron.
Since I returned the new Lodge I have bought vintage skillets at yard sales and bought a 1920s cast iron waffle iron on ebay. They are things of magnificent beauty that produce the best waffles, steaks, eggs, even cakes I have ever made! The non-toxic non-stick surface is unlike any modern non-stick surface without the worry of carcinogenic outgassing. Most modern day non-stick pans can't safely go above medium-high heat (read the fine print on the labels).
Nope.
It will not ever make it as smooth as an old polished skillet. Also, new Lodge pans are NOT made the same as the older Lodge pans which will have a nicer finish.
Another consideration is what the article mentioned: older cast iron is lighter weight. Because cast iron is inherently heavy that makes a big difference. I have tendonitis and can't maneuver new cast iron.
Since I returned the new Lodge I have bought vintage skillets at yard sales and bought a 1920s cast iron waffle iron on ebay. They are things of magnificent beauty that produce the best waffles, steaks, eggs, even cakes I have ever made! The non-toxic non-stick surface is unlike any modern non-stick surface without the worry of carcinogenic outgassing. Most modern day non-stick pans can't safely go above medium-high heat (read the fine print on the labels).
7
I have had the same experience with a newer Lodge skillet. While it works great for frying, Despite the careful seasoning I have done, it will never have the same non-stick finish of the older pans. I'm seriously considering getting one of the artisanally made skillets. Williams Sonoma carries the Finex.
3
I have 2 cast iron stovetop grill pans that have become rusty along the way of my using them even though I did my beat for this not to happen. Grill pans w all the groves are a lot trickier than a flat pan. My half dozen flat pans are in A1 condition. Any suggestions for restoring the grill pans because I loved the grill marks they produce and cannot bear to use a coated cast iron pan. Thanks
3
Use steel wool and an acidic paste like ketchup to clean the rust. Do not attempt to re-season with spray oil, which will just flake off. Use a very light coat of highly refined solid oil, like Crisco, and bake at 450 degrees for an hour. Rinse and reapply. Always dry your cast iron carefully to avoid future rusting. Your stove top is the best place to do this for your grill pans. Good luck!
2
You can't hurt those pans. Use any brush or spray on rust remover, which is the same thing as any product labeled "naval jelly". For burnt on stuff, use oven cleaner. You can also put the pan in a self cleaning oven and run the cleaning cycle. Use steel wool pads if necessary. Once the pan is down to just cast iron, start the seasoning process, which is the same thing as just cooking with fat. Fry a lot of bacon. You really can't go wrong.
Celine, I am not sure how deep the rust is on your pans, but try scrubbing it off with a steel brush or very rough sponge. Once you have the rust off, or at least the majority of it, coat the pans with olive oil or coconut oil. Rub the oil in with paper towels, let them set for a while and then rub off the excess. Some rust might come off with the excess oil. Repeat as much as needed to get rid of the rust. Then coat with some oil after use a few times. Hope that works, good luck. Just use your best elbow grease!
2
I ditched my modern skillets about 30 years ago when I started using, loving what I thought were my great grandmother's iron skillets. Researching the bottom marks I discovered they were too old to be hers, therefore they must be my great-great-great grandmother's. I also have my grandmother's well oiled rolling pin, which is another story.
8
I'm happy to see cast iron cookware being crafted in American foundries. Cover that cast iron with enamel and you've got the best cooking option on the planet. Iron is wonderful for certain features, but can affect the taste of the ingredients in the pan. Once the iron is covered with enamel ( a glass product) the tastes are pure, especially true if cooking with anything acidic like tomatoes, which can aid metal leaching into the food. Now all cast iron enamel pots and pans sold in t;he U.S., even by American companies, are made in China, or elsewhere in S.E. Asia, and the quality is sorely lacking. The exception to this is a French brand. The American product was so good that my mother's 50 year old enamel dutch oven is only now beginning to show its age, probably abetted by my over zealous scrubbing. Hope these new cast iron companies will explore the potential of coating their product with good enamel.
8
Yes, the chemistry of tomato acidity acting on cast iron is understood and well established. HOwever, it doesn't seem to manifest itself IF the cookware is properly seasoned. I have often made any number of tomato sauces in my cast iron cookware without any hint of an off taste. My guess is that the seasoning layer prevents direct contact with the iron.
I have no data but I would expect the enamel coating on the Le Creuset cookware would be an impediment to heat transfer and negate one of the major desirable characteristics of cast iron. It is also grossly overpriced. It does look good though.
I have no data but I would expect the enamel coating on the Le Creuset cookware would be an impediment to heat transfer and negate one of the major desirable characteristics of cast iron. It is also grossly overpriced. It does look good though.
The heat transfer of my Le Creuset pans and Dutch oven have divine heat transfer. I make the most tender and succulent salmon, the best you've ever tasted, with my Le Creuset Dutch oven. Preheat oven to 400 for 10 minutes. Place fillet in Dutch oven with 1/2 cup wine and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, cover immediately and place in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit while you make a aioli or other sauce. Perfectly delectable salmon!
2
No, you are absolutely wrong. Lodge still makes their original cast iron products right there in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, between Chattanooga, TN, and Huntsville, AL.
Leeching of iron is actually a bonus for some people.
Leeching of iron is actually a bonus for some people.
About 45 years ago we moved into an apartment whose previous tenant had abandoned a 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet [with no name] that we are still using. I've added a couple of Wagners [12 inch and 8 inch] that I found in a church thrift shop for maybe $10 total.
5
Why not truly create a personal tradition rather than opting for the ersatz version available to any fool willing to spend $280 on $15 worth of cast iron?
Here's how: Buy a good, American, Lodge skillet for about $20. Add to your shopping cart a simple angle grinder, sanding discs, goggles, dust mask and gloves. All of this will set you back under $100 including the pan.
For the next day, use your new tools to sand the inside of your Lodge skillet to a mirror finish. (There is lots of information on YouTube.) Clean the dust from the pan, season, and cook!
True, your arms will be sore, your clothes filthy, and your face will be as black as those Appalachian miners who labored to buy those now antique Griswolds and Sidneys. But, isn't that part of the American tradition?
Here's how: Buy a good, American, Lodge skillet for about $20. Add to your shopping cart a simple angle grinder, sanding discs, goggles, dust mask and gloves. All of this will set you back under $100 including the pan.
For the next day, use your new tools to sand the inside of your Lodge skillet to a mirror finish. (There is lots of information on YouTube.) Clean the dust from the pan, season, and cook!
True, your arms will be sore, your clothes filthy, and your face will be as black as those Appalachian miners who labored to buy those now antique Griswolds and Sidneys. But, isn't that part of the American tradition?
15
Franco,
I could not agree more! For the cost of one decent Wagner or Griswold Size 8, you can by a set of four or five Lodges and have at it with your angle and disc grinders! The result? An arsenal of beautifully smooth and flat cast ironware ready for flaxseed oil and a lifetime of TLC! It's not hard--I'm a klutz and I got wonderful results! Sorry Finex.......
I could not agree more! For the cost of one decent Wagner or Griswold Size 8, you can by a set of four or five Lodges and have at it with your angle and disc grinders! The result? An arsenal of beautifully smooth and flat cast ironware ready for flaxseed oil and a lifetime of TLC! It's not hard--I'm a klutz and I got wonderful results! Sorry Finex.......
7
But Franco, will your technique result in a pan that is "lighter, thinner and with a smoother cooking surface" as was produced by the older casting methods? The characteristics that appeal to me are the lighter and thinner ones. And do your dust masks really trap all those metal particles and keep them out of your lungs? I guess I'm one of those "fools" whose willing to pay a fair price for the results of the labors of others -- it it's worth it. These skillets sound as though they might be. And they're made in this country, another plus.
2
Better yet, rent the tool.
2
I've got Le Creuset, All Clad and Lodge cookware. All good, but the Lodge is my favorite. No need to spend crazy money on bare cast iron unless you just really feel the need to spend money on artisanal things and also like going to legal speakeasies.
Three cheers for Lodge here.
Three cheers for Lodge here.
8
Agree. I have a Lodge 6 quart dutch oven which is very versatile. Why would anyone pay 4x more for the Le Creuset? I am no gourmet cook and can't tell the difference.
2
With any luck, the folks at Lodge are following along here and will leverage their existing capabilities to launch a nice "heritage" line of smooth-surfaced skillets for a reasonable markup over the mass market brand. I'd buy a few. Too bad about the johnny-come-latelies.
8
Seems obvious to me. This is how capitalism is supposed to work. They could make the pans the cheap way they do now, which makes a heavier pan apparently, but simply grind the cooking surface. It shouldn't cost more than a few dollars more a pan. I've always wondered why they stopped doing the grinding, an obvious improvement. The process could even be automated with a robot if the investment is worth it.
2
I have three sizes of cast iron skillets, a cast iron Dutch oven and cast iron griddle. No need to spend these huge amounts of money on these new "artisanal" items. My Dutch oven and medium skillet I've had since I was a boy scout some 50 years ago. The small and large skillet I got, maybe, 20, 30 years ago. When needed, they all traveled in their own custom cardboard box surrounded by old newspapers. They are all in regular use. My wife just made a frittata in the medium skillet, finishing it off in the oven. Keep potholders and mitts handy when working with them. I see brand new Lodge products available in my neighborhood hardware store.
4
The cast-iron love has been around for a few years, so even in the Midwest, it's hard to find a good deal on antique skillets anymore. Most individually range from $25-80, even through Craigslist/junk stores.
Note to prospective buyers of new: I got a chance to handle a Finex recently at a Williams-Sonoma, and while it had a lovely smooth bottom, the inner sides were just as rough as the new Lodges, the wire-wrapped handle was difficult to pick up, and it really was quite costly. So, I'd still recommend vintage pans (Griswold, vintage Lodge, Wagner, Wapak, Mi Pet) if you're willing to reseason them.
There's a neat intangible feeling that comes from reviving a pan that is 100 years old and frying up some chicken for Sunday dinner.
Note to prospective buyers of new: I got a chance to handle a Finex recently at a Williams-Sonoma, and while it had a lovely smooth bottom, the inner sides were just as rough as the new Lodges, the wire-wrapped handle was difficult to pick up, and it really was quite costly. So, I'd still recommend vintage pans (Griswold, vintage Lodge, Wagner, Wapak, Mi Pet) if you're willing to reseason them.
There's a neat intangible feeling that comes from reviving a pan that is 100 years old and frying up some chicken for Sunday dinner.
8
talk about sticker shock! stick with the lodge!
6
My pioneer aunt taught me that a well-seasoned cast iron pan can & should be washed with soap & water. The 'trick' to maintaining that seasoning is to put the still-wet pan right back on the (low) heat. When the water has evaporated from the pan, the heat will have caused oil to rise back to the surface of the pan, continuing the pan's excellent contribution to the cook's prowess in the kitchen. This works beautifully. NEVER leave a cast iron pan to air dry.
21
There seems to be a bumper crop of highly valuable old cast iron skillets residing in the basements of grandmothers according to all the tall tales generated from this column! An inexpensive Lodge skillet is all one needs and with hardly any effort it will last a very long time.
4
It's not cast iron vs stainless steel. Use the pan best suited for the food being prepared. I have a well used collection of second hand cast iron and Revere ware sauce pans. I throw the best Tex-Mex Italian Barbeque Wang Dang Doodle.
4
I reserve judgment on the Lodge vs. artisanal debate but I will say that cooking with cast-iron on an induction cooktop is amazing. It's a rare phenomenon when the oldest technology and the newest work so beautifully together!
9
"Those pans were cast by now-famous makers like Griswold, Wagner, Sidney" >> I may be wrong, but I don't think Sidney was a separate cast-iron brand. It is a synonym for Wagner. Wagner was based in Sidney, O. and Griswold was Erie, Pa. Both companies frequently used their locations in labelling their goods.
5
Maybe somebody else has mentioned it. but to clean my cast iron skillet, especially after pan broiling a steak (which I like to caramelize with a dusting of sugar) I use a couple teaspoons of salt and a damp sponge or paper towel. the salt acts as an abrasive. cleaning but not scratching the surface of the skillet.
3
At 71, still using my grandmother's Dutch oven given to me by my mother. Besides making the best spaghetti sauce in it, we get a small dose of iron each time.
8
As I age, and appreciate many of the aspects of this time of my life, there are, as in any stage of life, a few things to regret - for me, most of them physical.
My eyesight isn't what it used to be and I can't cut a rug as gracefully as I once did, but my single greatest regret is the arthritis in my hands that is making it harder and harder for me to wield my old, often used, well seasoned and memory filled - but oh, so heavy - cast iron skillets.
I need to figure out a way to just leave them on the stove after a good meal, and devise a way to clean them there, ready - reliable - to produce the next sizzle on the slab bacon, the next scald on the fried chicken, and the next memory. I simply will not give it up. Try that with a no-stick pan, kids.
My eyesight isn't what it used to be and I can't cut a rug as gracefully as I once did, but my single greatest regret is the arthritis in my hands that is making it harder and harder for me to wield my old, often used, well seasoned and memory filled - but oh, so heavy - cast iron skillets.
I need to figure out a way to just leave them on the stove after a good meal, and devise a way to clean them there, ready - reliable - to produce the next sizzle on the slab bacon, the next scald on the fried chicken, and the next memory. I simply will not give it up. Try that with a no-stick pan, kids.
10
I think that a smallish (3" throat) "C" clamp from the hardware store, put on the rim opposite the handle with it's body "up" and the screw pointed out, would give you a reliable way to use both hands. Unless, of course, someone already makes something like this as a product. I wouldn't try to drill and screw on a second handle as cast iron can be too brittle to take it.
4
I cook with cast iron for just about everything with the exception of foods high in acid (e.g., tomato based dishes, mostly). I use Lodge skillets almost every day either in the kitchen or on the grill. In addition, I did participate in Field Company's funding and am pleased to help them out. It's fascinating to follow the process and to see if a small company can build a better mousetrap. The only requirement for both companies: their products have to be made in the US, which they are.
9
"The cast-iron pots — skillets, spiders (which sit in the embers of a fire) and Dutch ovens — made in the United States from the 18th century through the first half of the 20th, were different from today’s: lighter, thinner and with a smoother cooking surface."
I wonder if Ms Moskin has ever lifted, felt the interior surface, or cooked with a Lodge pan. Lodge pans, at least the ones that I cook with, have a rough cooking surface which, with just a little butter or coconut oil on it, is non-stick.
I wonder if Ms Moskin has ever lifted, felt the interior surface, or cooked with a Lodge pan. Lodge pans, at least the ones that I cook with, have a rough cooking surface which, with just a little butter or coconut oil on it, is non-stick.
6
I think she's saying that older pans are lighter, thinner and smoother, as opposed to the modern pan which is heavier, thicker and coarser in its finish.
4
And Mr. Myhrvold is dead wrong. I spent 40 years as a process scientist in the food industry. We always preferred cast iron or plain steel to stainless steel as a heat transfer surface because of its far better thermal conductivity. Depending on grade (304, 316, etc.), the thermal conductivity of SS varies from 16-24 W/m-K while cast iron is over two times greater at around 55
16
I have seen no comments on the proper way to make a good cast iron cornbread. Proper cornbread contains a mix of cornmeal and flour, mostly cornmeal, self-rising for both, or else don't forget the leavening agent; it contains buttermilk and a little salt, but never sugar; it contains one more egg than you think it needs; and it must have a well-seared crust from the cast iron pan it was baked in. Mix up the batter and let it sit for a while on the counter. Once the batter stands, you might discover that you need to add another dash of buttermilk to perfect the consistency. It should be a little thicker than pancake batter. Meanwhile, put a spoonful of shortening or lard in the bottom of a cast iron skillet; cooking oil or bacon grease are also acceptable. Place the skillet in the oven with just the said oil or fat, until it is so hot the oil just starts to smoke. Take the skillet out using a thick potholder and circle the oil around in the skillet so that it coats the side walls of the skillet. Pour in the batter: you will see and hear a satisfying sizzle. Place it back in the oven and bake the cornbread. You can either serve it in the pan, or turn it over on a plate once it cools and it will fall right out to reveal the glorious crust. Slice it like a pie and serve it with greens, pinto beans and pickles or, as my grandmother in Tennessee used to do, crumble it up in a glass of milk or buttermilk and eat it with a spoon like cereal.
15
JMK, I'm going to try your cooking method, for sourdough cornbread (recipe from an old second hand 1972 bread book, my own sourdough starter). Thanks for the pre-heating tip!
Only in America could you find "The Field Company, run by Chris and Stephen Muscarella (neither of whom is trained in metallurgy, casting, or cooking )" who will sell you an item worth $25 for $1500.
It is comforting to know that the founder's thinking will not be contaminated by actual knowledge of the products they will be making.
Buy Lodge cast iron products and thereby reward a hardworking, honest US manufacturer.
It is comforting to know that the founder's thinking will not be contaminated by actual knowledge of the products they will be making.
Buy Lodge cast iron products and thereby reward a hardworking, honest US manufacturer.
38
Based on this article, I compared my Wagner pan from the 90s to my old Griswold. Other than a smoothness on the Griswold that I attributed (perhaps incorrectly) to age, I can't see any difference.
1
$150, not $1500; but point still taken.
$5 at a garage sale and reseason it yourself.
$5 at a garage sale and reseason it yourself.
4
Au contraire! I have been cooking on cast iron for at least 35 years. We have an all cast-iron kitchen with almost every known piece of cast iron cookware commonly available. A lot of it was obtained at garage sales for pennies. All of our stuff is well-seasoned and never sees soap. Fried eggs slide off the surface like a waxed ski on ice.
AS previous posters have said, the Muscarellas are just trying to glamorize a relatively inexpensive line of cookware so they can market it to Preppy City and justify the expected value of potential bridal shower gifts. The Lodge products are perfectly adequate. Only a masochist would pay $300 for cast iron cookware.
Furthermore, while surface smoothness may be a minor assist in minimizing sticking, it's hardly necessary. I have a very rough surfaced dutch oven - I believe it was made in Norway - and food sticking is not a problem. The key is in maintaining the seasoned surface. I foolishly bought my wife a very expensive set of All-Clad copper bottomed, stainless cookware for Christmas. We both prefer using our cast iron.
Finally, there's nothing wrong with using a lecithin-based spray on cast-iron cookware if one has been lax in maintaining the surface or one is unsure of the quality of the surface. On the other hand, re-establishing the surface only requires pouring a little cooking oil in the pan, heating it to the smoke point and then wiping the entire hot surface with a paper towel.
AS previous posters have said, the Muscarellas are just trying to glamorize a relatively inexpensive line of cookware so they can market it to Preppy City and justify the expected value of potential bridal shower gifts. The Lodge products are perfectly adequate. Only a masochist would pay $300 for cast iron cookware.
Furthermore, while surface smoothness may be a minor assist in minimizing sticking, it's hardly necessary. I have a very rough surfaced dutch oven - I believe it was made in Norway - and food sticking is not a problem. The key is in maintaining the seasoned surface. I foolishly bought my wife a very expensive set of All-Clad copper bottomed, stainless cookware for Christmas. We both prefer using our cast iron.
Finally, there's nothing wrong with using a lecithin-based spray on cast-iron cookware if one has been lax in maintaining the surface or one is unsure of the quality of the surface. On the other hand, re-establishing the surface only requires pouring a little cooking oil in the pan, heating it to the smoke point and then wiping the entire hot surface with a paper towel.
10
You cook differently in All-Clad (or any SS pans) than you do in cast iron. They have different purposes, but both (my All-Clad and my cast iron) are the only pots & pans in my kitchen.
2
Julie, I was slowly coming to that conclusion. I blieve that the enhanced conductivity of those copper bottoms requires more moderate apllication of heat. I may have been overdoing the heat (flame) application. Thanks for your input.
Joe
Joe
3
The Muscarellas' Field skillet is $100. It's right there in the middle of the article.
We should be celebrating what they're doing, not criticizing. They grew up cooking with cast iron passed down to them, had the freedom to ask questions and learn about what made their inherited pans different even though they were not in the trade, had the freedom to find other people who were looking for certain types of pans, had the freedom to learn metallurgy and casting, took that chance, had the freedom to raise money to supply a demand, take a risk with their careers, and now they're fulfilling their passion, carefully making something that can be passed down for generations. What could be more noble? What better example of what living in America and the Internet can allow 2 brothers can do? We should all be so lucky in our lifetimes to work with our hands on a passion. They're giving us choice, what looks to be a well researched and hopefully will be a well-made product. I, for one, appreciate that they will have added knowledge to the collective consciousness about how this type of cast iron pan is crafted and enabled a Midwest foundry to make more of these going forward.
Plus, a little competition for Lodge never hurt.
We should be celebrating what they're doing, not criticizing. They grew up cooking with cast iron passed down to them, had the freedom to ask questions and learn about what made their inherited pans different even though they were not in the trade, had the freedom to find other people who were looking for certain types of pans, had the freedom to learn metallurgy and casting, took that chance, had the freedom to raise money to supply a demand, take a risk with their careers, and now they're fulfilling their passion, carefully making something that can be passed down for generations. What could be more noble? What better example of what living in America and the Internet can allow 2 brothers can do? We should all be so lucky in our lifetimes to work with our hands on a passion. They're giving us choice, what looks to be a well researched and hopefully will be a well-made product. I, for one, appreciate that they will have added knowledge to the collective consciousness about how this type of cast iron pan is crafted and enabled a Midwest foundry to make more of these going forward.
Plus, a little competition for Lodge never hurt.
2
Deserved lonevity and ever renewed popularit.Cast Iron cooking utensils are one of the best ever developed!I find them paricularly useful for, inter alia, baked potatoes,rosts and bread in winter which, with a fire place on, makes them also extemely economical to use.double pleasure
4
And I gave the Paul Revere cookware to my son, after many good years of use, scouring and beautiful thin stainless steel with the copper bottoms. They were the best.
4
now they are thin and poorly made. what a shame.
2
I have a griddle I've used for many years; I had other iron pans, but they've disappeared from the attic storage boxes, probably victims to many moves over the years. I wish I could have had my mothers, they're also long-gone. But we recently restocked with several sizes of Lodge skillets from Walmart which are coming along nicely with their patina. Part of the motivation for this was that we had been using a nice set of high-end teflon pans collected over recent years which all seemed to lose their non-stick ability after awhile. I took this up with the pan saleslady at a very expensive kitchen shop who told me the trick was to never get them too hot, which in many ways defeats cooking many of the things you normally would in them.
A few points: First, cast iron pans are heavy and more difficult to maneuver than lighter non-stick pans, especially for older folks. Two, they are much easier to burn yourself due to the iron handles. Three, make sure you buy cast iron made in the USA; I understand the quality of the iron in pans made in China is suspect. And four, it is difficult to adapt to not giving the pans a good soapy scrubbing after you've cooked something messy like chicken in them.
A few points: First, cast iron pans are heavy and more difficult to maneuver than lighter non-stick pans, especially for older folks. Two, they are much easier to burn yourself due to the iron handles. Three, make sure you buy cast iron made in the USA; I understand the quality of the iron in pans made in China is suspect. And four, it is difficult to adapt to not giving the pans a good soapy scrubbing after you've cooked something messy like chicken in them.
5
In my day, we worried about stereo components. Same consumer neurosis, different object.
13
I was a manufacturer's representative for Lodge in New England for 10 years. You will not find a company with a greater commitment to quality American manufacturing. They are a family business and they treat everyone as family. Bob Kellerman runs a great business...the fine people of South Pittsburg, Tennessee make a phenomenal product and Bob would be the first to tell you that without them none of their innovations would be possible. Cast iron, good cast iron, is without question the healthiest nonstick cookware. Give someone you love a gift that lasts a lifetime, gets better with age, and supports American manufacturing. Y'all ain't lived until you've been to The National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg!
26
It would be an even better company if they dug-out/ recreated the old skillet lathe that was used (before machine molding) to mill the interiors of the pans.
I hope you didn't swallow the story of the rough surface being "necessary to permit pre-seasoning". The rough surface was a consequence of cost-saving to compete with foreign manufactured cast iron. The pre-seasoning line is good spin, though.
I hope you didn't swallow the story of the rough surface being "necessary to permit pre-seasoning". The rough surface was a consequence of cost-saving to compete with foreign manufactured cast iron. The pre-seasoning line is good spin, though.
9
Cast iron waffle maker is the best too.
5
I never knew cast iron waffle makers existed! I wonder where one finds them? We eat whole grain sourdough waffles every Sunday morning, and our modern waffle maker is slowly giving up the ghost. Maybe we should look for some cast iron ones?
Stovetop ones. Look on etsy.
1
We read about in the Cook's country review https://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1199-stovetop-waffle-...
I recognize a snake oil salesman when I see one. Properly prepared and seasoned modern pans, which can be had for as little as 10 dollars will work perfectly well. There are countless ways to prepare modern pans which can found on the Internet. If you want to waste your money on these artisanal pans to fool yourself go ahead. The price difference is simply not worth it.
5
NONE of the widely available, inexpensive cast iron pans have a smooth, milled surface, and as such can never be as slick as an artisanal pan. HOWEVER, you can still find (at least until this article was published) excellent, smooth antique pans for $10-15/ each. My daily users are an antique "3-notch" Lodge #5 and a #8.
3
I tried using cast iron pans many times in the past but only had success when Lodge came out with their pre seasoned line. It totally changed my way of cooking. My 12 inch lodge never gets put away. It stays on my stove and I cook everything from eggs to cast iron pizza, fish, tofu, whatever in it. I have slimmed down my cookware closet and have little need for most other pans. Although I love new kitchen products I can not imagine buying a cast iron pan for hundreds of dollars when my Lodge pans are perfect. I have purchased these pans for all of my children for their health benefits, ease of use, and quality of recipes cooked in them.
8
Question: Why is cast iron so scarce in Europe? Everything sold in stores there seems to be non-stick, lightweight, junk? Is all the good stuff in grandma's house?
If you cook regularly, cast iron is easy to maintain. Just use it.
Buy it at a junk/antique shop.
Don't pay more than $12 unless it's a nice lidded dutch oven, then pay up to $25. [I've even found great stuff in the garbage.]
If the pan hasn't been used in decades and is nasty, just scrape and sand it down, apply vegetable oil, and put it on the stove at high heat. Quite literally burn off the oil. The smoke will go away eventually. (Maybe put a fan in the window if you live in a small apartment.) It might take 3 coats (coat, burn, repeat). It will develop a shiny black surface that feels almost like plastic. [I used to do the oven thing, but if found it quicker and easier to do it on the stove top.]
Maintain by using it and wiping on some oil (especially on the handles) once in a while.
I hand-wash mine like any other pan. I use soap, but not a lot. If the pan looks dry, just add oil. Washing with salt and sand is way too much trouble. A spatula to get the hard stuff scraped off (which is rare if it is well maintained) and a dobbie pad with a squirt of dishwashing soap.
Cast iron should be easier, not harder to use.
The only drawback is the weight when you are trying to toss/flip stuff.
If you cook regularly, cast iron is easy to maintain. Just use it.
Buy it at a junk/antique shop.
Don't pay more than $12 unless it's a nice lidded dutch oven, then pay up to $25. [I've even found great stuff in the garbage.]
If the pan hasn't been used in decades and is nasty, just scrape and sand it down, apply vegetable oil, and put it on the stove at high heat. Quite literally burn off the oil. The smoke will go away eventually. (Maybe put a fan in the window if you live in a small apartment.) It might take 3 coats (coat, burn, repeat). It will develop a shiny black surface that feels almost like plastic. [I used to do the oven thing, but if found it quicker and easier to do it on the stove top.]
Maintain by using it and wiping on some oil (especially on the handles) once in a while.
I hand-wash mine like any other pan. I use soap, but not a lot. If the pan looks dry, just add oil. Washing with salt and sand is way too much trouble. A spatula to get the hard stuff scraped off (which is rare if it is well maintained) and a dobbie pad with a squirt of dishwashing soap.
Cast iron should be easier, not harder to use.
The only drawback is the weight when you are trying to toss/flip stuff.
5
There's a ton of cast iron in Europe! It's just that Le Creuset, and a number of other European companies, primarily produce ENAMELED cast iron. Also, variations in cooking styles, EU vs US, lead to a prevalence of particular styles of pans. More skillets in the US, more casseroles/ dutch ovens, and au gratins in EU.
3
I received a Lodge enameled cast-iron Dutch oven for Christmas. It's fantastic! It's easy to use and clean. I've given it as a gift since and always get a call after the recipient has used it the first time. You can't help but be thrilled with the results no matter what you cook in it.
1
I have a Lodge, an Emeril and a few no names, best steak you can cook is on a preheated cast iron frying pan. My wife never uses soap, I often do, scrubbing out whatever non stick there might be as my mother did, you want non stick just add butter, olive oil, whatever. They have never, ever let me down but my kids can get their own, I want mine buried with me.
3
My husband and I have used one or the other of our 4 cast iron skillets and our cast iron Dutch oven everyday for 45 years. We love them and they look as seasoned as we do these days.
8
A cast iron skillet is as valuable to a kitchen as a sharp knife.
Besides retaining heat very well a cast iron pan can be heated to very the high temperature needed to fry a steak - just never use the same cast iron pan for fish.
Using a detergent to clean cast iron cook ware is an absolutely faux pas. Rinsing the pan when still hot will not ruin it and it will not warp.
Besides retaining heat very well a cast iron pan can be heated to very the high temperature needed to fry a steak - just never use the same cast iron pan for fish.
Using a detergent to clean cast iron cook ware is an absolutely faux pas. Rinsing the pan when still hot will not ruin it and it will not warp.
Actually, you can warp a cast iron skillet with high heat, and I have found many in that condition. With the exception of boiling, cast iron shouldn't be used with more than medium-high heat. You can use detergent (very sparingly) on occasion. If you're going to pour water into hot cast iron pan, the water better be the same temp, or slightly warmer, or you risk warpage, or even breakage.
3
One of the pleasures of divorce is "giving up" the silverstone and going back to my cast iron cookware.
My ex-wife used to try to season the teflon pans. that's one of the reasons we're divorced.
A good dog and an iron skillet. Life is good again.
My ex-wife used to try to season the teflon pans. that's one of the reasons we're divorced.
A good dog and an iron skillet. Life is good again.
11
It took a while for us to really appreciate my grandma’s three Griswolds, but they’re our “go to” pans for everything from baking to frying. As for cleaning, as a kid I remember her sticking them in an outside wood fire until they were red hot – it completely carbonized anything left stuck to them. She’d re-season and they were good to go for another ten years.
5
Ive been using cast iron all my life-indestructable! if a pan has crusted food, simply wash with baking soda and water or soak n same, then oil well when dry. Easy!
2
Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry would agree: "Keep my skillet good and greasy when I'm gone!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBaJw8-JPc4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBaJw8-JPc4
4
There seem to still be plenty of smooth bottom cast iron skillets and dutch ovens available at thrift shops. It seems just wrong that something so basic and inexpensive is now made and sold at ridiculously high prices. And why, I must ask, would anyone be concerned with the fact that you don't wash cast iron pans - they are heated every time you use them so how could any bad bacteria or anything else bad survive? I wipe mine or scape them when something burns on and they often have quite a bit of bacon fat or other grease on the from the last use. Very convenient!
3
Hey kids check out Blanc Creatives in Charlottesville, Va which hand makes pans out of carbon steel instead of cast iron. Very similar qualities to cast iron but more malleable and won't break if you drop it. Corry Blanc won Garden and Guns' 2015 Best in the South Award for home stuff.
We have a Lodge skillet bought at the visitors center at the plant when my wife and I with the kids moved to Tattersee 10 years ago.
This was after Katrina took the Lodge we bought in '79, when we got married. Naturally it came with us when we moved to what we thought was civilization in NC.
It's still in the seasoning process and will probably be just right when our grandchildren start cooking.
We have a Lodge skillet bought at the visitors center at the plant when my wife and I with the kids moved to Tattersee 10 years ago.
This was after Katrina took the Lodge we bought in '79, when we got married. Naturally it came with us when we moved to what we thought was civilization in NC.
It's still in the seasoning process and will probably be just right when our grandchildren start cooking.
This article prompted me to take a look at the $5 estate sale pans I adore and use almost every day. Turns out they are Griswold Iron Mountain pans from around 1940 and sell on Ebay for a couple-a hundred bucks. But if you want them you're going to have pry them from my cold, dead hands.
8
Go to any farm or estate auction and see what happens when they bring up from the basement the old cast-iron pans that laid forgotten for decades under the work bench. The bidding goes wild.
1
Cast iron pans are great. We cooked a frittata with one tonight. From the stovetop into the oven for a few and cleanup a snap. I am not sure why anyone needs a $165 "artisanal" one when you can get good ones at yard sales or Goodwill for a few bucks. Artisanal paper clips and lightbulbs next.
5
When, for lack of water, one must clean a pan, look to the earth: sand or dirt. scour it out, smooth it off. How soon we forget what needed to be done.
5
Thanks for the reminder Jane.
When I was a kid, we use to do just that, to saveon water whenever necessarry.
Our leader had told us so, and being a city slicker of sorts, I had some doubts.
I still remember the amazement at how clean it came out.
I tried once back at home, with some dirt from our backyard.
Didn't go over so well......
When I was a kid, we use to do just that, to saveon water whenever necessarry.
Our leader had told us so, and being a city slicker of sorts, I had some doubts.
I still remember the amazement at how clean it came out.
I tried once back at home, with some dirt from our backyard.
Didn't go over so well......
4
I love my standard 10-inch, and use it all the time, and have for over 30 years. Years ago I found a huge one, about 16 inches across -- it's not as seasoned, but is coming along. I used to have a small one too, but that one got away....
1
I too have a very large old pan handed down from my grandmother (born in 1901) to my Dad and now me. I don't know what kind of stove it was originally intended for, but it is so wide I cannot seem to get it hot all the way to the edges on my very ordinary gas stove. Perhaps it was intended for some wood campfire where the heat source was broad.
1
Is it a frying pan or a Dutch oven? If a frying pan, it would have been used for chicken. You put the pieces toward the middle when they need more heat.
Yup, they are great. But if your back is weak, don't put them in the bottom of your cabinet! And if you have a glass cooktop, they aren't advised.
Personally, I prefer the porcelain clad ones, I've had some Le Creuset and similar pans for 40 years.
Julia Child used the Dutch brand Dru, if you were watching Julia Julia closely. Very pretty colors and embellished with little painted leaf like patterns.
Personally, I prefer the porcelain clad ones, I've had some Le Creuset and similar pans for 40 years.
Julia Child used the Dutch brand Dru, if you were watching Julia Julia closely. Very pretty colors and embellished with little painted leaf like patterns.
2
It's depressing to think that some people are so removed from ordinary life that they latch onto cast iron cookware as some kind of fad. Talk about growing up under a rock.
4
Go to a yard sale and pay $.50 cents for them...
2
Not any more...they've been "discovered". I was at the estate auction of a friend and they brought up from the basement several very old iron skillets and the bidding went crazy - I couldn't understand it until a guy leaned in and said that the people driving the bidding were from the city...
What's next, "artisanal" hammers?
What's next, "artisanal" hammers?
3
Anything made today does not nor will it ever have the craftsmanship or style of Hollow Ware made in the 1800s to early 1900s. I threw out my Lodge pieces when I found an arc logo Wagner. Very nice quality. I have some nice users but I've moved on to style.
www.pinterest.com/stkpc
www.pinterest.com/stkpc
I have my grandmother's Griswold. It is over a hundred years old. I'm a vegetarian and have found that vegetable oils don't create as non-stick a surface as animal fats. If the surface gets crusty-gunky - horror of horrors! - I use some mild liquid detergent and scrub it with a plastic scrubbie. Since I use a bit of olive oil in most of my cooking, this is not a problem. The omlets slide out. I've also found that nothing cooks a loaf of bread like a cast iron loaf pan. I also have a new large cast iron griddle. The new Lodges are great and lifting them is a workout.
My point: don't obsess. If you need to clean the pan, clean it. Just don't remove the surface with steel wool.
My point: don't obsess. If you need to clean the pan, clean it. Just don't remove the surface with steel wool.
4
Julia,
Just to inject a note of science into this pan-fest. Myhrvold is correct, cast iron's thermal conductivity is pretty much similar to mild steel, maybe a third or a quarter of aluminum, and an eighth of copper (hence clad cookware), but the ability to hold heat, which is technically specific heat, is about the same for other metals in use, except aluminum, which is about double. The deal here is that this ability relates to mass, or weight, so that the very heavy cast iron, while not different than, say, thinner mild steel, is just more mass. That is, you'd get the same effect from thick steel, thick aluminum, or thick stainless. Nathan, obviously interested in the exotic, might develop better performance without the weight by using sodium or lithium cored steel, which is not as much a joke as it might seem, and might help with weak wrists. Works for some industrial products.
About the biological issues of always cooking on a surface of char, over porous cast iron of unknown composition, I have no particular opinion, other than that we seem to frequently be told that carbonized meat is a bad thing. But tasty.
Just to inject a note of science into this pan-fest. Myhrvold is correct, cast iron's thermal conductivity is pretty much similar to mild steel, maybe a third or a quarter of aluminum, and an eighth of copper (hence clad cookware), but the ability to hold heat, which is technically specific heat, is about the same for other metals in use, except aluminum, which is about double. The deal here is that this ability relates to mass, or weight, so that the very heavy cast iron, while not different than, say, thinner mild steel, is just more mass. That is, you'd get the same effect from thick steel, thick aluminum, or thick stainless. Nathan, obviously interested in the exotic, might develop better performance without the weight by using sodium or lithium cored steel, which is not as much a joke as it might seem, and might help with weak wrists. Works for some industrial products.
About the biological issues of always cooking on a surface of char, over porous cast iron of unknown composition, I have no particular opinion, other than that we seem to frequently be told that carbonized meat is a bad thing. But tasty.
2
I've long used cast iron pans of all shapes and sizes. Nothing better and nothing unnatural.
3
I have a modern Lodge Dutch oven and an "antique" one. Both are easy to use and care for. In the winter I often cook in my fireplace with them and other vintage cast iron pots that have been reclaimed for cooking. There is simply no better way to cook over coals than cast iron.
3
I use my cast iron deep skillet, 12 inches, with cast iron lid, almost every day for a variety of jobs. Easy to use -- good resulta -- and easy to clean. It is Lodge, bought in a local hardware store -- very reasonably priced. I suppose it's possible that a $200 or $300 skillet would do a better job -- but I doubt it.
9
I am a confirmed foodie and become care for my Father for the past 6 months.
In his pot cupboard I found a cast Iron frying pan.
It works very well. I can get it very hot sear food.
When my daughter destroyed it's non stick surface I was able to recover the non stick surface. Filled the pan with salt and heated it over night.
The best characteristic of Cast Iron pans is there physical stableness with heat they do not bend or buckle
In his pot cupboard I found a cast Iron frying pan.
It works very well. I can get it very hot sear food.
When my daughter destroyed it's non stick surface I was able to recover the non stick surface. Filled the pan with salt and heated it over night.
The best characteristic of Cast Iron pans is there physical stableness with heat they do not bend or buckle
5
Did anyone mention Lodge's big rectangular griddle? It fits over two burners and is great for pancakes. I think all the talk about seasoning the pans is misleading. These things are easy to use and clean. Especially for non meat eaters. Just wash them in hot water. I hang them up and they dry almost instantly. And it's almost impossible to damage them.
14
I love the griddle. Also use the other side that has raised bars, George Foreman grill-style, to sear steaks when cooking them indoors. But I also bring the griddle car camping to make pancakes on the 2 burner coleman fuel stove.
2
I asked for this griddle (reversible to a grill, right?) ten years ago on my wedding registry and it's far and away the item I use the most from our wedding gifts.
3
Also you add iron content to foods that are long-simmered in cast iron pans.
9
When my husband and I began dating back in 1971, he'd just gotten his own apartment, purchasing two cast iron pans from the hardware store. They sit on my stovetop as I type this comment. I used one tonight to sauté veggies for pasta. This morning, my son used it to make bacon. Tomorrow, who knows - maybe the chicken dish pictured in the article.
I purchased another, middle-sized cast iron pan two years ago, and also have two cast iron Dutch ovens from Le Creuset (not the coated ones - though we have a few of those, too, including the omelet pan that my late father-in-law used in college - these are plain black cast iron.)
I'm sure we will leave these cast pots and pans to our son - who may pass them on to his kids. I have a closet full of pots and pans, but these are the ones that we use. I guess we are 19th-century holdovers!
I purchased another, middle-sized cast iron pan two years ago, and also have two cast iron Dutch ovens from Le Creuset (not the coated ones - though we have a few of those, too, including the omelet pan that my late father-in-law used in college - these are plain black cast iron.)
I'm sure we will leave these cast pots and pans to our son - who may pass them on to his kids. I have a closet full of pots and pans, but these are the ones that we use. I guess we are 19th-century holdovers!
13
My faith remains with a Lodge skillet. Can't beat 'em!
15
I treasure my great grandmother's cast iron frying pan. It's probably over 100 years old and a thing of beauty. The article failed to mention another use of cast iron pans; more than one person has kept one under the bed in case they heard a bump in the night.
12
Something not mentioned in the article that newbies should know: don't cook any acidic dishes, such as tomato or vinegar or citrus based, in a cast iron pan. It will remove the seasoning. For seasoning, natural polymerizing fats will season a pan, but also flaxseed oil. And, like all other pans, don't subject them to extreme heat changes or they will crack and-or warp badly. Avoid dropping them, as they may crack or shatter.
As an aid to marital harmony, their cudgel capabilities are unparalleled. Bong! Ding!
As an aid to marital harmony, their cudgel capabilities are unparalleled. Bong! Ding!
8
I have concrete floors. If I drop the skillet, I am likely to destroy the floor and not the skillet.
2
I cook tomato sauces in my cast iron skillet and never had any problems whatsoever.
2
It would have to be a rather poorly seasoned pan to not be able to stand up to chicken piccatta or a batch of bolognese sauce. My 20-year-old pans get used for these with no damaged to the well seasoned surface. I always wipe the pans with a bit of oil and heat them dry on the cooling burner.
4
LODGE has stuck around for 120 years, turning out a supreme product, treating employees well, and keeping the local economy going. I'll stick with LODGE.
66
Great points, thank you. We don't need a 'fashion' in cast iron pans--that's exactly what they're not about. My lodge pans cook everything beautifully, from crepes to beans to ribeye steaks to my Thanksgiving apple pies to the most wonderful toffee I've ever had in my life. It was like magic watching that butter and sugar caramelize and bubble in that thick black pan. And once you've baked a fruit pie in a cast iron pan you will never go back. The crust gains a subtlety of texture and depth of taste you would not get with anything else.
12
I live abroad, but have brought many Lodge cast iron pans back to Switzerland in my luggage. We hope to do a US trip next summer, and I hope that we can visit Lodge.
5
Exactly. They're also a textbook example of the good employer. I hope they're not undermined by new, less stable companies marketing themselves as fashionable and superior. Lodge for me! Me for Lodge!
6
Ever since my dog died, the iron skillet became my reliable friend.
8
My Iron skillets have been passed on to my children and they love them ,I kept one .The old ones are better by far than the new.
If you find an old crusted up one ,or if yours gets to crusted ,put it in a fire and burn it off ,clean with clear water and if necessary use a light sand paper .Now clean it again with water and rub with any oil that you have and heat it to cure it again .Try to never use soap to clean it and always keep your skillets oiled.a paper towel to clean and oil works great.
P.S.
My son baked his first chicken in the dutch oven that I gave him.
All smiles and great chicken ,one needs no water ,or very little.
If you find an old crusted up one ,or if yours gets to crusted ,put it in a fire and burn it off ,clean with clear water and if necessary use a light sand paper .Now clean it again with water and rub with any oil that you have and heat it to cure it again .Try to never use soap to clean it and always keep your skillets oiled.a paper towel to clean and oil works great.
P.S.
My son baked his first chicken in the dutch oven that I gave him.
All smiles and great chicken ,one needs no water ,or very little.
8
I love my cast iron pots and pans. The only downside is that as I age, their density and consequent weight make them harder to use. (Of course, I'm sure it's some arcane gravitational effect, nothing whatever to do with loss of muscle strength.)
It would be useful if someone would develop a means of bonding a thin layer of cast iron to some low density metal with good thermal conductivity like, say, aluminum. Food would see cast iron as its cooking universe. Chef would schlepp a light, mostly aluminum thing around the kitchen and be able to use favorites for a decade or two longer.
This cannot be all that much of a materials science challenge. Nathan Myhrvold, what say you?
It would be useful if someone would develop a means of bonding a thin layer of cast iron to some low density metal with good thermal conductivity like, say, aluminum. Food would see cast iron as its cooking universe. Chef would schlepp a light, mostly aluminum thing around the kitchen and be able to use favorites for a decade or two longer.
This cannot be all that much of a materials science challenge. Nathan Myhrvold, what say you?
18
I still use the cast iron griddle that my grandfather used to make pancakes for my mom. I think he got it from my great grandmother. My newest cast iron pan was twelve bucks at Wal*Mart twenty years ago. When my daughter was frying chicken cutlets in that pan the other night she commented how much she liked it and wanted to know if it was expensive. There is no reason to buy expensive cast iron, except to impress your friends with your disposable income.
13
I'm surprised no one has brought up the toxicity of using Teflon pans at high heat. As the owner of a 17-year old African Grey parrot, I can't have Teflon in the house. We use cast iron for everything, and my son has grown up using it.
21
Okay - now I feel REALLY guilty about the two cast iron skillets that went to Goodwill last week. I already have 4 plus a pan for corn sticks and I simply did not have room for, or need these duplicates. If I'd known I should have looked at the bottoms of the two pans to see if they were valuable. All my skillets either came from my mother (born in 1908), or my father's old family home (grandparents born just before the Civil War). Oh well, someone will get a bargain.
12
I'm glad to see Moskin expose the myth that cast iron pans cannot be washed with soap. A well-seasoned pan will not be damaged by ordinary cleaning. What you cannot do is let water or other liquid (especially something acid like tomatoes) stand in the pan, hence the need to use something abrasive to remove stuck-on food quickly. Don't use soap-impregnated steel wool. Try an ordinary stainless steel scrubber—no expensive chain mail needed. And you probably won't even need soap.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the importance of getting the pan (and any oil or fat you use) hot before adding other ingredients to ensure nonstick pergormance. If you pour beaten eggs into tepid butter, they will stick, no matter how well-seasoned the pan. If you want slow-cooked eggs, you will need to scrub the pan out when you've finished cooking.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the importance of getting the pan (and any oil or fat you use) hot before adding other ingredients to ensure nonstick pergormance. If you pour beaten eggs into tepid butter, they will stick, no matter how well-seasoned the pan. If you want slow-cooked eggs, you will need to scrub the pan out when you've finished cooking.
13
[[Karissima Tucson
Don't use soap-impregnated steel wool. Try an ordinary stainless steel scrubber—no expensive chain mail needed. And you probably won't even need soap.]]
Try Trader Joe's dish soap, which is very gentle, and ScotchBrite scouring pads.
Don't use soap-impregnated steel wool. Try an ordinary stainless steel scrubber—no expensive chain mail needed. And you probably won't even need soap.]]
Try Trader Joe's dish soap, which is very gentle, and ScotchBrite scouring pads.
1
A solid dutch oven, a cast iron skillet, two top quality sauce pans and an excellent knife with a fine blade. The good life.
28
Oh, dear. Now the fashion industry has fastened itself on cast iron cookery. What stupidity.
6
"Thermal mass" is a weird term for Nathan Myrvold to use for what I learned as specific heat but I know NM is more trained in engineering physics than I am.
1
No, it's ok, as he's trying to express something in non-technical terms. If our generally technically-unlettered public doesn't understand specific heat, nor that mass enters the picture, then Nathan's expression is just fine. Heavy iron - more stored heat.
2
I've rescued cast iron skillets from the trash piles along the curb in Park Slope, and inherited some that were found in Hell's Kitchen tenements. All it takes is an apple cider vinegar soak to remove the rust, then re-season, The heavier the pan, the lighter the biscuit.
8
I grew up with a mom and dad who both cooked - most of the time in cast iron.
About 10 years ago, I was lucky enough to find a complete set (#4 thru #10) of Griswold pans, at the Brimfield flea market. They all have the "cross" logo. It's difficult to find a set with the same logo - not that it matters one bit. The guy who sold them to me had bought 700 from a hoarder and completely refinished them all. I paid $650. Went back the next year and bought 2 more sets (we have three kids). I use them daily and adore them. My husband and kids do the dishes but only I clean the cast iron. I give them a rinse in hot water, them scrub off any debris (the enemy of cast iron), then use a paper towel to dry them (adds a bit of additional abrasion). I leave them upside down on top of the stove so they dry throughly and the nest them together. Happy little family.
I mostly use my #10 - even when cooking for two, it seems to have the perfect amount of room. I sometimes worry that there maybe health risks associated with all that iron - but my mom is 91 and still going strong so I guess I'll be OK!
About 10 years ago, I was lucky enough to find a complete set (#4 thru #10) of Griswold pans, at the Brimfield flea market. They all have the "cross" logo. It's difficult to find a set with the same logo - not that it matters one bit. The guy who sold them to me had bought 700 from a hoarder and completely refinished them all. I paid $650. Went back the next year and bought 2 more sets (we have three kids). I use them daily and adore them. My husband and kids do the dishes but only I clean the cast iron. I give them a rinse in hot water, them scrub off any debris (the enemy of cast iron), then use a paper towel to dry them (adds a bit of additional abrasion). I leave them upside down on top of the stove so they dry throughly and the nest them together. Happy little family.
I mostly use my #10 - even when cooking for two, it seems to have the perfect amount of room. I sometimes worry that there maybe health risks associated with all that iron - but my mom is 91 and still going strong so I guess I'll be OK!
4
Leslie, I just read your note aloud to my daughter & my husband. From from now on in our family, you will be invoked whenever we see something that is supremely worth having, even at twice the price, if someone in the group is feeling stingy... probably something like, "Hey, remember that lady who bought the whole set of Griswold - that probably seemed like a lot of money at the time, too!"
3
My then 8 year old granddaughter had a sleep-over. She volunteered to make a Dutch Baby pancake, which she knew how to make. She asked her friends mother where the black iron skillet was and was aghast that there was none.
My father went to the Salvation Army and bought a nesting set of five for me a very long time ago when I was first married. They had a perfect satin finish. When I met my second husband, he had an identical set which we carefully doled out to our respective children who continue to use them.
Yes, they can be heavy, but who cares; they are our treasures.
My father went to the Salvation Army and bought a nesting set of five for me a very long time ago when I was first married. They had a perfect satin finish. When I met my second husband, he had an identical set which we carefully doled out to our respective children who continue to use them.
Yes, they can be heavy, but who cares; they are our treasures.
14
I once used an iron dutch oven to make mushroom soup, from mushrooms gathered in the wild, and the soup turned Halloween black. Quite a sight, before I threw it out.
1
When his grandmother died, his father asked my husband what he wanted from her house in Arkansas. The answer was "her cast iron." So all of this super heavy cast iron came to us in several boxes. They weren't cheap to ship, but it made him so happy when it arrived. Ebelskiever pans, cornbread pans, there were about 15 of them.
12
6
Yeck. More precious bougie nonsense that prompts a violent gag reflex in sensible people. These artisanal goofs, like so many "curated" lifestyle merchants, are taking a very utilitarian and egalitarian piece of kitchenware that needs zero improvement and are marketing an upscale version to snobs. Thanks, but I'll stick with my Lodge ware (purchased at Wal-Mart in 1993 and seasoned in an oven with shortening) and my grandmother's Wagner skillets. None of which have ever been used on a Viking range.
30
Yes. My "irons" came from our local dump now known as the "transfer station" swap shop in the 1970's, discarded by children and grandchildren of Cape Cod families. I rehabilitated them and have used them ever since. A bit heavy to hoist now - but I'm not complaining. My mother had an International Harvester refrigerator she bought in 1946 - it still runs fine today. Same thing.
4
I think the point is just that (1) they're making thinner and therefore lighter pans than lodge, and (2) with a smoother surface. I don't read that as "fashion" -- just a preference, easily had with the arrival of crowd funding. So: Relax. No one's going to try to sell you a gold-plated fry pan.
4
This is absurd. $300+ for a cast-iron pan when the Lodge pans (for example) are a tenth of that price, are made in the US, and work beautifully for all kinds of cooking? And guess what--the heavier weight gives a more even heat. No hot spots in a Lodge or Wagner pan. I have been happily cooking in my cast-iron pans--their surfaces are plenty smooth, incidentally--for 30 years. My kids will pass them on to their children. (Oh, and I still use my great-grandfather's gold watch, which keeps perfect time. Don't need anything else.) Like another commenter said, just learn to cook.
20
This nice article misses a few points. The modern plastic non-stick surfaces leach tiny amounts of perfluronated compounds into the food, and there is some evidence to suggest that they may have biological effects in the body. Those $37 items from Lodge are absolutely superb, and they are worth a close look when considering a purchase. At home we have antique cast iron cookware, and new from Lodge, and they are all wonderful. No need to use anything else.
33
I have two Wagner cast iron skillets and my mother's square Griswold. They are well seasoned and make the best corn bread, as well as other edibles. I note the article recommends a stiff brush as one method for cleaning the pans. I have seen instructions that caution against using wire brushes or other metal scrubbers as they can damage the surface of the pan. As to seasoning, aside from the fats in normal cooking, I rub in clarified butter to season a new pan and to coat the surface after washing in hot water and drying over a low burner.
8
I have one of my mother's "spiders" (that very, very old colloquial name for a cast iron skillet) that she may well have inherited from my grandmother, making it at least 80 or 90 years old if not decades more. It is slick and smooth and cleans up like a dream, and I treat it just like she did--if I allow scrambled eggs or a cream sauce to burn a little, I use (horrors!) a copper or stainless steel scouring pad as firmly as necessary, then put some dish detergent (horrors again!) to finish washing it. Rinse well, put over high heat to dry and then rub in some vegetable oil while it is still very hot.
When I don't have one of those kitchen accidents, I just rub it out with a paper towel or a little water and a cloth and ALWAYS dry it over heat followed by a tiny rub of oil all over. Never any problems.
Oh, and my 12 year old Lodge skillets? Hve been treating them the same after I seasoned them initially and they are almost as smooth and slick as the old pan. All of these pans get almost daily use at just about any meal.
Cooking with cast iron pans is wonderful and not at all as "touchy" as so many people seem to think. Pay $100 for what a Lodge for less than $20 (and even less for garage sale finds)? Not at all necessary.
When I don't have one of those kitchen accidents, I just rub it out with a paper towel or a little water and a cloth and ALWAYS dry it over heat followed by a tiny rub of oil all over. Never any problems.
Oh, and my 12 year old Lodge skillets? Hve been treating them the same after I seasoned them initially and they are almost as smooth and slick as the old pan. All of these pans get almost daily use at just about any meal.
Cooking with cast iron pans is wonderful and not at all as "touchy" as so many people seem to think. Pay $100 for what a Lodge for less than $20 (and even less for garage sale finds)? Not at all necessary.
2
In the early seventies my girlfriend, later wife, and I made perhaps our first household purchase together after we met in Los Angeles.
At a funky local antique store we found a rusted iron skillet for a few dollars that looked like it had worked its way down from the gold country above Sacramento and had been passed along for generations.
We picked up a larger family-sized one some years later, and of course cleaned and carefully seasoned each of them. Let's just say they've been used a whole lot, and have never been near soap but have always been scrubbed out well.
They're among my prized possessions, something I will never ever sell but will pass on to my two sons and their families, and probably they to sons and daughters, on and on through the generations, simple yet splendid, eminently useful and loved artifacts of American family life.
At a funky local antique store we found a rusted iron skillet for a few dollars that looked like it had worked its way down from the gold country above Sacramento and had been passed along for generations.
We picked up a larger family-sized one some years later, and of course cleaned and carefully seasoned each of them. Let's just say they've been used a whole lot, and have never been near soap but have always been scrubbed out well.
They're among my prized possessions, something I will never ever sell but will pass on to my two sons and their families, and probably they to sons and daughters, on and on through the generations, simple yet splendid, eminently useful and loved artifacts of American family life.
20
no one mentioned the cast iron pans that were nickel plated- I own one of them and it is wonderful to cook with.
Another idea for improving a new pan with a rough surface: use wet/dry sandpaper on a wooden block and with a little elbow grease and successively finer sandpaper, you should be able to produce an exceptionally smooth surface. But it must be seasoned immediately otherwise it will rust badly.
In my experience food grade flaxseed oil (aka food grade linseed oil) applied to the surface of a pan which is then put into a (350) pre heated oven, the oven then turned off and the pan allowed to cool, will put a super slick 'varnish' surface on the pan which will last for a long time-indefinitely if it is not scrubbed off.
Another idea for improving a new pan with a rough surface: use wet/dry sandpaper on a wooden block and with a little elbow grease and successively finer sandpaper, you should be able to produce an exceptionally smooth surface. But it must be seasoned immediately otherwise it will rust badly.
In my experience food grade flaxseed oil (aka food grade linseed oil) applied to the surface of a pan which is then put into a (350) pre heated oven, the oven then turned off and the pan allowed to cool, will put a super slick 'varnish' surface on the pan which will last for a long time-indefinitely if it is not scrubbed off.
12
I use a Griswold fairly often. Best cleaner by far the author doesn't mention: the ring cleaner, made of a kind of stainless chain mail. It's quite flexible, so you feel and bits of resistance on the surface of the skillet, and then you can instantly scrub it off. http://kk.org/cooltools/the-ringer-cast-iron-cleaner/
5
Thank you. I searched "ringer cast iron cleaner" on Amazon because I'd never heard of the product before. It has five stars, about 3300 reviews. It looks like a piece of chainmail a knight would wear in medieval eras but if it works on cast iron, it works. Interesting concept.
4
Ring cleaner is cool. I just use a stainless scrubbie.
4
There's more to cast iron cooking than just great taste. You'll relearn how to take your time and do something that's not run through a microprocessor. A Sunday iron skillet frittata and the NYT in newsprint. Those days seem fuller.
24
My cast iron skillet was passed down to me from my husband's uncle with the story that it belonged to his grandmother. I use it weekly and even travel with it on vacations. It is now my treasure to pass on. Sell the Sterling, keep the skillet.
20
I've has a square cast iron skillet for 40 years. It doesn't need breaking in any more but my girlfriends do to learn how to use it.
6
Just yesterday I used a Wagner cast-iron pan that belonged to my mother and that must be at least fifty years old. Because mom wasn't the cleaning demon I am, the outside of the pan is barnacled with carbonized fat-residue; these deposits flake off--or parts of them do--every decade or so.
The pan's unsurpassed for searing and slow cooking, too, once it heats up. The seasoning is so "complete" that I can wash the pan using soap and even steel wool--yes!--if serious scrubbing is avoided. The pan is actually one of several in varying sizes that form the backbone of my daily cooking. My pan links me not only to my forbears but to the way they cooked, to the everyday-ness of their lives.
The pan's unsurpassed for searing and slow cooking, too, once it heats up. The seasoning is so "complete" that I can wash the pan using soap and even steel wool--yes!--if serious scrubbing is avoided. The pan is actually one of several in varying sizes that form the backbone of my daily cooking. My pan links me not only to my forbears but to the way they cooked, to the everyday-ness of their lives.
12
You can find cast iron skillets at flea markets and antique stores for a dime a dozen. Already seasoned, perfectly good shape, even better than good.
9
Everyone hates Lodge, but they are the only manufactured that survived. If they went out of business everyone would start complaining that their cast iron isn't heavy like a Lodge.
34
All my skillets, from the 3" to the 14", are Lodge. I love them. My husband dries the dishes and he carefully wipes them with a paper towel to make sure they are dry. Then they sit on the counter to air before putting away in the cabinet.
6
I love Lodge. The skillets and dutch ovens are fantastic. I use them several times a week, and they all look like new.
5
I love my Lodge skillets. I remember finding a flat bottom Lodge skillet (at Target) for a friend who had switched to an induction cook top and whose old rimmed bottom cast iron skillets wouldn't heat up on the new cooktop. She was thrilled and I was a hero for $15.
3
I'm 63 and I still have my grandmother's cast iron aebleskiver pan.
17
I live near a Williams-Sonoma outlet, which for a long while had Komin iron pots and skillets from Japan, at wildly fluctuating prices. Picked up on low-price days, they proved nice.
8
Regarding Lodge, some might find this article from The Bitter Southerner (March 2016) interesting:
http://bittersoutherner.com/lodge-cast-iron#.V3QZ8pBHaK0
http://bittersoutherner.com/lodge-cast-iron#.V3QZ8pBHaK0
42
Wonderful article! Thank you! Can you imagine working for a company with such principled values in their employees? I say to Lodge: Keep up the good fight for many more generations! Teach Wall Street a thing or two! This article inspires me to go buy another Lodge pan!
25
From the linked article: "family-owned corporation that found a way to keep its employees working through the Great Depression and has now gone on global success. Today, after 120 years, Lodge Manufacturing’s brand reaches around the world. The company is constantly finding innovative ways to make more and better products, and it has sold millions of skillets — not just the black, cast-iron pans it has always made, but also lines of seasoned steel and enameled cast-iron cookware."
Apparently the author did so little research that he is unaware that Lodge's line of enameled cast-iron cookware is made in China.
Apparently the author did so little research that he is unaware that Lodge's line of enameled cast-iron cookware is made in China.
1
It's a good article but I wish it had addressed the issue of the old hand-made smooth thin cast iron pans compared to the new machine-made pebbly heavy ones. I like my Lodge cast iron pans but often wish that the 12-inch one were lighter, and wonder if they would be more non-stick if they had the old-fashioned smooth finish. They're pretty good at being non-stick, but not as good as a cheap teflon pan. Of course, cast iron does have many real advantages, as mentioned in all of these articles and comments.
3
No one would ever nest cast iron pans like that. For shame.
6
I suspect all who were involved in the article knew that -- but it makes for a lovely photo. Like the rays of the sun, the handles acting as spokes against the wood counter top, it evokes brightness and life.
10
I guess I didn't know that. Maybe this is a sin in the cast iron world that I am unaware of. I nest/stack cast iron all the time just as my mother does and my grandmother did and my great-great grandmother did. Seems to work fine. But then again I don't baby my cast iron-- they are the beloved workhorses in my kitchen and all are in great condition and work hard for me. You would also have to have a pretty big kitchen to not stack all the cast iron I have and use, so I have no other option.
6
Hi Laura -- hope you check your entry to see this response. I keep a dishtowel layered between them. Any "rag" will do -- used terry cloth or any sort of thing, just to keep them from knocking into each other and protect the inside surface. But as you said, they are indeed, workhorses.
3
Upper middle class wannabees who fetishize everything need to open a Tinder account and go at it. Now it is the cast iron skillet preseasoned. Doesn't that just tell you how lazy, faddish and incomplete you are?
Since suggesting you use tinder is seen as a sexist knock on the author, but then look at the people creating new ones, I suggest that for those w/ just enough stick to it ness that you go to a garage sale or flea market and buy one. If you're in Philadelphia region venture out to Jake's, Leesport, Roots or the Golden Nugget. Then go to castironcollectors. com and read the section on cleaning and seasoning your pan. It is NOT going into the Met, you're going to cook w/ it so don't be disappointed it doesn't match the picture. The more you cook the better it becomes.
PS Serious cooking w/ all the different kinds of cast iron utensils will give you Popeye arms.
P
Since suggesting you use tinder is seen as a sexist knock on the author, but then look at the people creating new ones, I suggest that for those w/ just enough stick to it ness that you go to a garage sale or flea market and buy one. If you're in Philadelphia region venture out to Jake's, Leesport, Roots or the Golden Nugget. Then go to castironcollectors. com and read the section on cleaning and seasoning your pan. It is NOT going into the Met, you're going to cook w/ it so don't be disappointed it doesn't match the picture. The more you cook the better it becomes.
PS Serious cooking w/ all the different kinds of cast iron utensils will give you Popeye arms.
P
7
Lodge is the best and will remain so :-) I swear by them!
25
I haven't seen anyone mention the modern stainless steel chainmail scrubbers for cleaning cast iron pans. they work much better than scouring pads and can be washed themselves in the dishwasher.
8
Hmm, not a word about cooking with wine or highly acidic ingredients like tomato sauce. I don't know about the rest of you but I regularly make tomato sauce, agrodolce sauces, spinach dishes (oxalic acid) and on and on.
Couldn't there at least have been some reference?
Couldn't there at least have been some reference?
8
I don't get your point? I cook with tomatoes in my iron frying pans regularly. So what?
3
I must admit, I use a 60 year old Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot I inherited from my mother-in-law when I make huge pots of soup or spaghetti sauce with tomatoes in it that have to simmer for hours.
For other foods like risotto, I use my lodge dutch ovens.
For other foods like risotto, I use my lodge dutch ovens.
2
While the wealthy may like to fetish-ize their kitchenware, I'm for picking up an old, quality piece for a few bucks at a garage sale, cleaning it by putting it through an oven self-cleaning setting, and lightly re-seasoning the pan once cleaned. This will reveal what is, for all intents and purposes, a perfect piece of cast iron that you can make about a million biscuits in before handing it down to the next generation who discovers the magic of cast iron.
47
I used to drool over the beautiful old cast-iron pans on display from two or three dealers at the old Nashville Flea Market, though at the time their best work was well out of my $20+ price range. Then I met my wife, and we began bi-annual visits to Pasadena, and I discovered that good skillets and Dutch ovens were going for half the Tennessee price at the Rose Bowl and other swap meets. This played hell with my return luggage more than once …
I don't use it for everything, but it's true that an old Griswold or Wagner Ware pot or pan is a much lighter, stronger piece than any Lodge or other modern equivalent, something these new guys are trying to address. Of course their stuff will be expensive, as is modern copper and the Le Creuset stuff – it's hard to make and it takes a long time. As for more modern materials, I do keep a cheap-to-replace nonstick pan or two around, but my favorites are the Magnalite pots and pans … the ones made by their originators, Wagner Ware of Sydney, Ohio!
I don't use it for everything, but it's true that an old Griswold or Wagner Ware pot or pan is a much lighter, stronger piece than any Lodge or other modern equivalent, something these new guys are trying to address. Of course their stuff will be expensive, as is modern copper and the Le Creuset stuff – it's hard to make and it takes a long time. As for more modern materials, I do keep a cheap-to-replace nonstick pan or two around, but my favorites are the Magnalite pots and pans … the ones made by their originators, Wagner Ware of Sydney, Ohio!
4
A word about the excellent idea of picking up a very used cast-iron skillet at a yard sale or flea market. If you have a self-cleaning oven and the skillet is truly funky and encrusted with years of accumulated, carbon-infused detritus, just fire it in the oven for the usual three-hour self-cleaning time. I know this sounds like cast-iron heresy, but it works. The high heat won't hurt cast iron and you'll end up with what is essentially a brand-new skillet that of course will need to be seasoned all over again, but you'll be amazed at the finial result. I've done this with a half-dozen flea market finds and never been disappointed.
20
Those cast-iron sellers at the Nashville market were generous with their advice on such subjects as de-crusting old skillets, and to a man (or woman) swore that oven cleaner and a backyard grill were their proven method. One admitted that his advisor neglected to mention the outdoors part, and his kitchen was uninhabitable for a while after the procedure.
8
I'm 43 and I use my grandmother's small cast iron skillet that she used to cook eggs for my mom when she was a child. It's absolutely non-stick at this point I still use it to make my eggs and for frying whole spices. It's the perfect design.
15
When my grandmother's mother passed away, I went out with her to my great-grandmother's home in rural Shelby Forest to collect a few possessions. Only she and one other daughter were left living out of six children. Let's see; this would have been about 2008. My grandmother took the things she wanted, and I took a white glass soup tureen, a beaded bowl, a garden sign with a poem on it, and two cast iron skillets.
The skillets are thin and light, black as coal and smooth - very unlike my other Lodge versions. They are my prized possessions. When I went through a breakup in 2014, I put them with my things and my ex was noticeably upset. Aw. honey - get your own pans!
The skillets are thin and light, black as coal and smooth - very unlike my other Lodge versions. They are my prized possessions. When I went through a breakup in 2014, I put them with my things and my ex was noticeably upset. Aw. honey - get your own pans!
29
love our newly bought lodge cast iron frying pans, however they very quickly--within a month--started leaving black residue on our food, especially visible on a fried egg. have read varying advice, but nothing makes sense--are we not cleaning them enough? not seasoning them enough (they came pre-seasoned) or correctly?
4
After cooking in your cast iron pan, pour in a handful of kosher salt and scrub the pan well, rinse lightly and then put a few drops of olive oil in the pan and rub it in well with a paper towel or cloth. I use this method on both new and old cast iron and do not experience black residue. Happy cooking!
9
This sounds outlandish, but new cast iron has to "learn" to cook. A good cast iron patina is different from burnt-on bits of char, which come from food sticking to "inexperienced" pans. Several other comments have mentioned the "chain mail" scrubbers, and they are excellent with a dash of liquid dish soap. For especially tough char, let it soak for a while. Be gentle, and you won't lose much or any of the seasoning you have built up. Once your pans are clean, even if most of your existing patina remains, it can't hurt to re-season: cook up a bunch of bacon, rub the resultant grease into the metal with a soft cloth, then bake it empty for a few hours. Cooking oil works too, but bacon grease is the best, according to both of my grandmothers and my mother. Your Lodge pans are great, but they will mature and get better with age. Part of the reason the old ones are so good is that years of cooking have worn and smoothed the metal, in addition to the constant seasoning effect. I have often wondered if it would pay to start new Lodge pans out by buffing them thoroughly with triple or quadruple ought steel wool and then re-seasoning.
10
Kosher salt? What a waste of good salt.
People are making this WAY too complicated.
People are making this WAY too complicated.
2
One of the assertions of this article is wrong. Cast iron seasoning is made of synthesized plastic polymers - exactly what the article claims you avoid by choosing it. The coating isn't natural all, but a product of oxidizing fat over high heat, not just time. Natural would be if cast iron itself was non-stick, or if iron oxide was (rust), but its not.
11
Thanks for the article. I started using cast iron a few years ago and am trying to get all the aluminum junk out of the house. Problem is, my wife keeps bringing it back in. Maybe send her this story and have more ammunition in the battle.
6
I am very intrigued by the comment from poster pc11040 of New Hyde Park that he polished the bottoms of his Gander Mountain pans with a grinder and abrasive discs.
I would very much like to hear more from him/her about this process, and anyone else who might have done it as it sounds like a brilliant idea to me. I can't imagine how it would damage the skillets if proper seasoning takes place before rust can attack the shiny surface.
Sand paper comes with different grade numbers-- do these abrasive discs also come with different coarseness grade numbers or is it one size fits all? If there are different grades, is it best to start coarse and work down to fine? What would you tell the guy at the metal shop you are wanting? A mirror polish or just to take the roughness down a bit?
Also, I have seen a kind of "chain mail" sheet sold in various places advertised to clean cast iron cookware without the use of soap. Are these recommended by experts or would they damage the carbon seasoning?
Thanks in advance for any info on these questions.
I would very much like to hear more from him/her about this process, and anyone else who might have done it as it sounds like a brilliant idea to me. I can't imagine how it would damage the skillets if proper seasoning takes place before rust can attack the shiny surface.
Sand paper comes with different grade numbers-- do these abrasive discs also come with different coarseness grade numbers or is it one size fits all? If there are different grades, is it best to start coarse and work down to fine? What would you tell the guy at the metal shop you are wanting? A mirror polish or just to take the roughness down a bit?
Also, I have seen a kind of "chain mail" sheet sold in various places advertised to clean cast iron cookware without the use of soap. Are these recommended by experts or would they damage the carbon seasoning?
Thanks in advance for any info on these questions.
5
If you've got a cast iron pan in which the sand-casting texture is too rough for your preference, you can polish the bottom smooth. This is a home version of the industrial process for doing this: Silicon carbide powder is available even from Amazon in a range of grits, around $10/lb. Also available in many tool supply houses if you live in an industrial city. A tablespoon or two (400 grit or so) slurried together with some baby oil poured in the bottom of the pan, and you can polish the bottom of the pan very smooth with a normal random orbital sander with a felt pad on it. (You can certainly use sandpaper directly, but be careful not to cut ugly grooves with the edges.) If the bottom is very rough, you can start with a coarser grit (220 or so), and if you want a mirror finish you can move on to a finer grit, but really, 400 will get it very smooth. Wipe it clean. Pour in a little edible flax seed oil, and wipe it clean again. Add a bit more flax seed oil, rub it all over inside and out. Wipe up any excess with a paper towel. Put it in the oven, run it up to 400F for an hour, turn it off, and let the oven come down to room temp. Scrub it clean with a rag under the faucet, and dry it with paper towels or a rag that you don't mind getting some black marks on. Put the pan into regular service.
12
A cast iron pan can also be noticeably non-flat if you cook on a glass stovetop. If this annoys you, the bottom can be flattened fairly easily by hand or better, using a belt sander. Cast iron is 'soft' in the scheme of things, and grinds easily. However, for the insides, it is also a porous material, often of unknown or contaminated composition, and be advised that, in addition to the years of carbonized organics that fill the pores, any sanding, grinding or scrubbing materials will also wind up embedded, and thence into your food, so I'd be sure to mild acid (vinegar, say) etch before re-seasoning. (Note that, when I say 'porous' I'm not talking about water dripping through, but just millions of small gaps between grains of metal that very likely provide the necessary microscopic roughness for the char to stick as well as it does.)
2
Two of my pans were made by York--the company that made bar bells and other weight-lifting equipment in Pennsylvania (covered with rust and rescued from a barn sale, now in their 29th year with me). I bought a very large pan from Lodge, which was heavy and coated with Teflon--as if it needed to be non-stick!--and it took me a year of systematic abuse to get it all the way back to just iron. Five years later, it's starting to look good. I don't know if these skillets will pan out (sorry!), but bless these folks for trying.
4
Have never seen a Lodge cast iron skillet coated with Teflon! Are you sure it was Lodge? Lodge makes enamel coated cast iron but pretty sure Lodge does not use Teflon on their cast iron pans.
8
It was some sort of non-stick covering, perhaps not Teflon, but something like it, and quite pointless.
Life would not be worth living without my cast iron pan. It's a Lodge and works fine though I'd like one of those ferrari-smooth deep-black ones. Cast iron over flame... magic in the air.
5
Don't waste your money. Buy a Lodge pan and season it yourself.
10
Cast iron is good, but carbon steel better (and seems harder to find). See this comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykOx4yhgBGk.
I have 4 -- 3 small, 2 of which belonged to my mother and one which I bought at a garage sale. Then I have a large square one which was a gift when I moved into my first apartment 52 years ago. When I lived in the south I baked the best ever cornbread in that pan. The secret was/is to heat the pan on top of the stove while pre-heating the oven.Then put some oil in the pan and pour the cornbread mixture into the hot pan. Stone ground cornmeal only please -- otherwise don't bother. ;-)
5
Blah, blah, blah. Another article about cooking stuff that 'inspires' you to spend a fortune on something that a cheap, well seasoned Lodge pan will also do. If your Lodge pan isn't doing its job any more then you can just have it recycled and buy a new one. Then again, all those expensive 'yuppie' pots and pans are probably going to last forever because they are not used for anything else than a 'conversational piece'.
16
As seniors we knew we were getting older when we gave our nephew our beloved cast iron dutch oven, already 50 years old. Our larger fry pans are finding new homes and we are now left with only our medium and smaller pans.
After serving exceptional meals and demonstrating the functionality of well seasoned properly maintained cast iron, modern plastic cookware just doesn't seem to cut the mustard. For us the smaller and lighter weight pans are just right for the smaller portions needed in our empty nest and when the grandchildren come to visit they can help find the cornbread pan neatly tucked away in a place we can no longer reach.
After serving exceptional meals and demonstrating the functionality of well seasoned properly maintained cast iron, modern plastic cookware just doesn't seem to cut the mustard. For us the smaller and lighter weight pans are just right for the smaller portions needed in our empty nest and when the grandchildren come to visit they can help find the cornbread pan neatly tucked away in a place we can no longer reach.
9
My very, very old Griswold cast-iron pans are heirlooms to me. I enjoy thinking about all the people before me who used those pans. I love my cast iron as well my mother's Le Creuset pots and pans that I inherited from her. The Le Creuset set (in the original flame orange color) was purchased by my parents when they got married in 1950. The Griswold cast iron is much, much older than that. I will bequeath the cast iron as well as the Le Creuset to the next generation in my family and I hope they will continue to be used and loved for generations to come. And for the record, while I appreciate having a stainless steel All Clad set...it's the cast iron I turn to 90% of the time when I cook.
13
You can pry my Lodge cast-iron Dutch oven from my cold dead fingers when I'm gone.
25
My cast iron skillet makes the best Tarte Tatin!
9
Part of what makes cast iron so appealing is that a "$16 pan" works better and lasts a lot longer than any modern invention. My advice to anyone foolish enough to buy a pan from the Field Company or any other pretender is to get off your butt and head to the yard sales, you'll find one for a buck or two.. and if you don't the new Lodge pans work just fine. $300 for cast iron is almost offensive.
18
I keep looking in yard sales but the dealers get there first!
4
George, if I ask very very politely, will you tell the rest of us where you can buy a real cast iron pan for a single dollar? Seriously - in my rural area *everybody* knows what a well-seasoned fine old pan is worth, and nobody sells it for pennies at a yard sale.
As for our local antique dealers... even the tackiest, badly-used, painted or rusted stuff is offered at $30 between $60. But definitely not any kind of Griswold - those start a lot higher.
As for our local antique dealers... even the tackiest, badly-used, painted or rusted stuff is offered at $30 between $60. But definitely not any kind of Griswold - those start a lot higher.
8
@George
Field Company pans are $100, which isn't much more than you'd pay for legacy Griswolds or Wagners these days...if you can find them. My Field skillet is far better than the Lodge one, even after 5 years of hard use and seasoning.
I was bereft when the handle of my 40+ year-old Le Creuset 10-inch cast iron skillet recently snapped off. It was part of a set my dad bought me when I got my first NYC apartment. I still have the other six pieces from the original set in that awful 70's brown. I continued to use it until I planted portulacas in it and put it on my back porch. I'm still sad, but I'm liking the Lodge that I got at a discount store for less than $10.00.
8
Le Creuset is a great company. Call their customer service line and I'm pretty darn sure they will repair that pan for you.
I've seen a number of comments about the rough or uneven cooking surface on new Lodge pans, and the need to grind down the bumps. Almost all of my cast iron is over 40 years old, but a couple of years ago, I needed a new 12" skillet. The Lodge pan I bought had the rough surface - and I'd read comments on line about this as a "problem." That (formerly) rough surface is as smooth as glass today, the result of use, wearing down the bumps and building up the seasoned finish.
19
I love my old cast-Iron, but please don't spread technical myths. Stainless Steel has half the thermal conductivity of cast-iron.
4
Put another way, stainless steel pans heat up faster than cast-iron and don't hold heat as long because stainless pans are thinner and so have less mass to heat up, not because stainless is more thermally conductive.
3
Can a cast iron pan be used on a glass-top stove, without damaging the glass?
4
Yes - we do it all the time - but be careful - don't drop it on the glass! And we take care not to slide it around too much.
4
I use mine on a glass top electric stove everyday. Just be careful not to drop it.
4
What everyone else said, plus also, be careful about food that boils over. It gets stuck between the glass and the pan bottom and becomes a layer of char on both that is super tough to remove.
3
As Pauline Boss would say, the U.S. is "culture of mastery", always looking for the best solution to a problem, for innovation, for ways to improve things... and as such, the ideal of a vintage, well seasoned cast iron pan suddenly becomes a magical object ready to solve any problems in the kitchen. The reality is that any cooking material will work well - not all cultures use cast iron pans and their food is delicious.
So focus on your method and your ingredients and stop obsessing about your cookware! (Although I must admit there is no equivalent for godlen, crusty corn bread baked in a cast iron skillet.)
So focus on your method and your ingredients and stop obsessing about your cookware! (Although I must admit there is no equivalent for godlen, crusty corn bread baked in a cast iron skillet.)
11
Our inherited collection of skillets is in constant use and the most superior vessels for almost every cooking task from daily breakfast eggs to holiday latkes. Thrift stores often carry old pans that are easily reconditioned. If the problem is a little stickiness, just scrub with salt and oil until clean, rub with more oil and put into a hot oven for an hour. Rinse and repeat if necessary. Rusty pans can be scoured with steel wool, put through the cleaning cycle in a self-cleaning oven, wiped clean and rubbed all over with oil, then returned to a hot oven for an hour, rinse and repeat until it turns deeply gray moving into black. Keep the pan rubbed with oil in your oven on an unused shelf and every time you bake it will continue to season to a hard gloss.
6
The advantages of cast iron are enormous.
Probably the most important value of cast iron cookware is that it is not treated with a witch's brew of chemicals to render it non-stick. Over time, those coatings come off, they get in your food, and then they get into you.
If you really want the best of the old and the new, get an induction cooktop to go with your cast iron skillets. That combination is probably the healthiest and greenest way to cook food available. Induction cooktops and cast iron cookware work amazingly well together. It heats even faster than gas and still gives you fine control. It is super-efficient too.
You don't even have to replace your range, you can buy a separate, induction burner that works off regular 110v.
Probably the most important value of cast iron cookware is that it is not treated with a witch's brew of chemicals to render it non-stick. Over time, those coatings come off, they get in your food, and then they get into you.
If you really want the best of the old and the new, get an induction cooktop to go with your cast iron skillets. That combination is probably the healthiest and greenest way to cook food available. Induction cooktops and cast iron cookware work amazingly well together. It heats even faster than gas and still gives you fine control. It is super-efficient too.
You don't even have to replace your range, you can buy a separate, induction burner that works off regular 110v.
8
As a fan of cast iron, I'm hoping a manufacturer can address its deficiencies: weight and heat distribution. All-clad makes stainless clad aluminum that is light and distributes heat well. Substitute cast iron for stainless and I think you'd have perfection.
Great to see the cast iron craze is catching on. Don't feel like you have to drop a fortune on the pans either. My 3 best pans came as a set from Gander Mountain for about $20. They are Lodge pans, approx. 8", 15" and 24". They are incredibly thick in comparison to some of the "vintage" pans which works out well on the barbecue and when camping.
I brought them to a mirror finish inside with one of my 2" air grinders and abrasive discs prior to using them the first time. You can do the same by bringing your cheap rough pans to your local autobody shop and paying a few bucks for them to grind them down to a smooth finish.
The best way I found to season them for first use is to coat them with flax seed oil or shortening (thin wipe coat), put them in a 450 degree oven for an hour, take them out and let them cool for about 20 min, put another thin coat and repeat the process. Do this for 3 or 4 cycles and you have a seasoning that will allow you to start using the pans and will be a base that will continue to improve as you use them.
When cleaning, after scraping the rough stuff off with a copper brush, I use a paste of kosher salt and olive oil to scrub them out with a paper towel followed by a quick rinse and store them right back in the warm oven or dry them and put them in the oven if the oven is cold.
I brought them to a mirror finish inside with one of my 2" air grinders and abrasive discs prior to using them the first time. You can do the same by bringing your cheap rough pans to your local autobody shop and paying a few bucks for them to grind them down to a smooth finish.
The best way I found to season them for first use is to coat them with flax seed oil or shortening (thin wipe coat), put them in a 450 degree oven for an hour, take them out and let them cool for about 20 min, put another thin coat and repeat the process. Do this for 3 or 4 cycles and you have a seasoning that will allow you to start using the pans and will be a base that will continue to improve as you use them.
When cleaning, after scraping the rough stuff off with a copper brush, I use a paste of kosher salt and olive oil to scrub them out with a paper towel followed by a quick rinse and store them right back in the warm oven or dry them and put them in the oven if the oven is cold.
8
While it's interesting and quaint that artisans are making cast iron pans, this is a utilitarian product that's also pretty inexpensive--and I mean US-made Lodge pans. It's rather silly to get all revved up about "artisanal" cookware that costs a fortune and performs no better. It's about the food, after all.
49
If you read the article, you'll see that at least some of us feel that old manufacturing methods create pans that cook much better.
4
Older cast iron pans are much lighter, and the surfaces much smoother, than the modern Lodge. I'm not sure it is even possible to season a modern Lodge to the same non-stickness of the old pans because the surfaces is just so rough.
That these new makers are seeking to mimic the pans of old I think is marvelous.
That these new makers are seeking to mimic the pans of old I think is marvelous.
1
For some people, its also about aesthetics and and functionality (there is a difference) and to dismiss those considerations as silly is worse than silly.
I have used many vintage cast iron pans like Griswold and cheap contemporary ones like Lodge, and to say there is no difference is absurd.
I have used many vintage cast iron pans like Griswold and cheap contemporary ones like Lodge, and to say there is no difference is absurd.
Just a note, although I like my old cast iron pans, I have found that it is the skill of the cook, not the tools she/he use that make the dish. A true artist can produce a masterpiece using Crayons. The same with a gifted cook. The pans/tools may make it easier, but just buying a cast iron pan will not turn you into another Justin Wilson.
49
I couldn't agree more. I hate super heavy cookware and so will never get a cast iron pan. I also wonder how you would clean it after making something with curry.
This article does not mention another virtue of cooking food in cast iron pans- the increased dietary iron that the food absorbs and passes to the eater. Modern cookware may be easy to use, but you don't get any iron from eating foods cooked in it.
17
Yes, I was just going to comment on this valuable gift cast-iron brings to us. Just ponder the efficiency - a major component for a healthy body is available at no cost, no awareness ... Just there as an inherent part of the tool.
4
A few years back I came upon a guy who restores old cast iron pans selling his wares in a booth it Woodstock. Beautiful and as good as the day they were made. There really shouldn't be a market for new ones at all.
3
Love my Lodge cast iron Dutch oven - at least that's what my mother called it. It's deep with a lid that can be used for cooking as well. My mother made the best cornbread in the lid. I have never learned her secret of flipping it over to cook the other side. ;-) I wash it with the tiniest bit of soap and dry immediately. No problems - and my mother did as well. Have no idea how old it is. It belonged to my maternal grandmother and my mother was born in 1929.
6
She probably didn't. The pan itself gives it a good crust
1
My cast iron pans are the most versatile cooking vessel. They excel on high and low heat, wet and dry cooking, frying, take it out to the Weber and drop it right on the coals, pizzas, and sauce making. The limits are only reached on size and food with high acidity.
Two tips.
Leave them in the oven after you clean and oil the surface. Besides the seasoning that will happen when you heat the oven again, you are storing a deep heat sink in the oven that will help you hold temp for all baking.
Seasoning is no chore. I use soap without a problem. Cast iron care is way less involved than the hype, but now that I think my pans are worth $1000s I might have to make them a bejeweled silk cozy or take out some insurance.
Two tips.
Leave them in the oven after you clean and oil the surface. Besides the seasoning that will happen when you heat the oven again, you are storing a deep heat sink in the oven that will help you hold temp for all baking.
Seasoning is no chore. I use soap without a problem. Cast iron care is way less involved than the hype, but now that I think my pans are worth $1000s I might have to make them a bejeweled silk cozy or take out some insurance.
23
We've got a set of 3 [S,M,L] that we bought locally in NYC >50 yrs ago and they're still in daily use. Teflon, Shmeflon, these cook better and stick less.
7
I use cast iron daily to cook. I love it more than anything else! My pans are used so often that their seasonings are smooth and awesome, even the modern Lodge ones. I have some old cast iron too, so does my mom and she complains about the new ones not being as good. That said, however, some of us can't afford crazy prices for the old stuff on eBay... I look and drool, but I just treasure the old ones I have inherited. So it is awesome that some companies are trying to bring the real stuff back. There is no reason that we can't make them today as well as they did a hundred years ago!
As a side note it is a myth that you can't wash cast iron with soap. I do, my mom did, my grandmother did. Never put them in a dishwasher, but hand washing with soap and immediately drying them works just fine if the seasoning is solid. I am always mystified that people think cast iron needs to be babied. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would never have used the stuff if it was that sensitive. You just need to use it regularly.
As a side note it is a myth that you can't wash cast iron with soap. I do, my mom did, my grandmother did. Never put them in a dishwasher, but hand washing with soap and immediately drying them works just fine if the seasoning is solid. I am always mystified that people think cast iron needs to be babied. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers would never have used the stuff if it was that sensitive. You just need to use it regularly.
38
Everything old is new again. I inherited a set when my parents passed. Use them almost every day, even for tomato sauce. My sisters now want them back, they can have them when I'm dead.
48
I use mine for tomato sauce and wine sauces too! I use them for just about everything. If the seasoning is solid you won't wear through it with a little acidity. Cast iron partly went out of fashion due to a lot of myths about it. I never taste metal like some claim you will if you use tomatoes or wine in it and I have very sensitive taste buds.
8
When I was young and stupid, I gave away my mother/grandmother's two very old, beautifully seasoned cast-iron skillets, one round and one square. "Too heavy; not modern," I reasoned.
That was decades ago, and I'm still kicking myself.
That was decades ago, and I'm still kicking myself.
37
Paid $2 for a 1940's Griswold in a Denver thrift store over twenty years ago. Never knew that my favorite pan was anything special until a couple of years ago when my sister looked at it.
Lodge and every pan I've ever looked at in stores is crap. Simply, the cooking surface is raw sand casting rough. My Griswold, and other good pans, have had that surface ground smooth. Cooking on a Lodge, I'm sure is totally different and harder than with a finished surface.
So now the monied classes have discovered another simple tool of "lesser" Americans and are ruining it for all. No more $2 or even $10 used pans. No more affordable housing in once solid middle and lower income stocks.
This is the face of income inequality writ in iron.
Lodge and every pan I've ever looked at in stores is crap. Simply, the cooking surface is raw sand casting rough. My Griswold, and other good pans, have had that surface ground smooth. Cooking on a Lodge, I'm sure is totally different and harder than with a finished surface.
So now the monied classes have discovered another simple tool of "lesser" Americans and are ruining it for all. No more $2 or even $10 used pans. No more affordable housing in once solid middle and lower income stocks.
This is the face of income inequality writ in iron.
93
Think about it, the monied class will spend $300. on a new cast iron pan. You'll comb yard sales, thrift shops, ebay, Craigslist, antiques stores and buy a superb quality vintage pan for a few dollars. Who's smarter? You still get a better pan with the antique one. The cooking surface will be slick as glass, the edges will be smoothly rounded so you don't have sharp edges, and you will NOT have that dreadful pebbly surface of the modern pans like Lodge and Crackerbarrel. Your wonderful antique frying pan will outlast you and can be passed on to your favorite heir!
3
No offense, but I can't imagine buying a second-hand skillet that basically never gets washed with soap from a second hand store, where it may have been visited by mice and rats and handled by who-knows-how-many people. "Ewwww" comes to mind, but doesn't begin to describe how disgusting I find the idea. Gross.
But each to his/her own, I guess. As long as you like your pan, that's what counts.
But each to his/her own, I guess. As long as you like your pan, that's what counts.
1
Not a problem. Have them sand-blasted. I've done it numerous times at my local auto parts store (they'll let me do it myself). Rehabilitates older abused pans beautifully, as long as they're not seriously rust pitted. Polishes them some, too, I think. You are then faced with an essentially new pan, which will of course need seasoning.
4
I use my Lodge cast iron skillet every single day. It is the pan I cook breakfast, lunch and dinner in. It goes from the stovetop to the oven and now to the bbq grill outside. I don't know how I cooked anything prior to owning this pan.
AND....it practically cleans itself. To pay over a $100 for one is just silly...save that money for the le creusets and the Mauveil copper pans of the world.
AND....it practically cleans itself. To pay over a $100 for one is just silly...save that money for the le creusets and the Mauveil copper pans of the world.
20
[[Soon, the same may be true of all cooks. Mr. Whitehead said a customer had recently come in to buy a Finex skillet after his first son was born. “The dad wants to start using it now,” he said, “so it will be ready for the boy when he turns 18.”]]
If the boy's "legacy" is a skillet, as opposed to real estate or a college fund, then "the dad" may need that skillet to fend off an attack by "the boy."
If the boy's "legacy" is a skillet, as opposed to real estate or a college fund, then "the dad" may need that skillet to fend off an attack by "the boy."
19
This article left out some important details. I bought a large cast iron at Walmart and found that the interior surface is not smooth like the ones I've found at yard sales. It doesn't work as well as the old ones. The difference is in the manufacturing process. I'm not sure of the details, but it has to do with cheaper sand casting vs ___?
6
There are many drawbacks to buying Chinese goods at Walmart, you have just encountered but one of them. Pyrex used to be a trusted brand of glassware for measuring, baking, and whatever that you could keep in the family for generations. Corning sold the trade-name to the Chinese who immediately changed the formulation from boronated glass to something with soda ash or some other cheaper method. I have heard several stories, some from my own family, of Pyrex baking pans from China shattering into thousands of pieces and ruining the meal you were preparing.
There is also the American jobs being lost when things are manufactured in other countries. Still, there is entertainment to be had shopping at Walmart and you can Google "Walmartians" to see bizarre shopping attire.
There is also the American jobs being lost when things are manufactured in other countries. Still, there is entertainment to be had shopping at Walmart and you can Google "Walmartians" to see bizarre shopping attire.
22
Phil, Lodge's non-enameled cast-iron pans are made in the US. And FWIW, the rough interiors actually do get seasoned to a point where they perform as well as the smooth ones. I have a modern Lodge skillet and several vintage Griswold skillets, and while the Lodge is thicker-walled and therefore heavier than its Griswold counterpart, the performance of the two pans - when properly seasoned - is pretty much the same.
33
It is absolutely true that the old cast iron is smoother. However, I have several Lodge pans, and if you use them regularly you will get a beautiful smooth finish on the bottoms too. People shouldn't feel like they have to buy stuff they can't afford to get the joy of cooking in cast iron. Regular use will give you a nice smooth surface. I only buy the Lodge stuff made in the USA, though. Keep the jobs here, I say.
124
My favorite piece of "new" cast-iron cookware is my cast iron pizza pan. Wow, did that thing ever bring my pizza to the next level.
7
Where did you purchase this heavenly article and can you give more details on how you use it?
Find the biggest skillet you can or use 6" skillets for individual pizza's.
2
I just love my iron skillets, and search for new ones at my neighboring town's "swap table" where occasionally one turns up. My pride and joy is a Griswold acquired in an antique shop in Vergens, Vermont, which is everyone's favorite to cook with in our house. Nothing else can sear and brown the same way!
7
My cast iron fry pans have been migrating for several years. Seems each time a son visits a pan departs with him-- unless I keep a close eye on them.
16
hahaha. My daughter says she has everything she needs between her cast iron skillets, slow cooker, rice cooker, she can cook for an army of college kids and friends!
1
'Why would anyone pay nearly $300 for a modern “artisanal” cast-iron skillet when a perfectly functional equivalent, made in South Pittsburg, Tenn., by the venerable Lodge company, costs $16 at Walmart?'
I believe the answers to that question lie not in the word 'craftsmanship' (as posited in the article) but in the words 'insecure', 'lemming' and 'sucker'. Because only an insecure lemming/sucker would buy a cast iron skillet from Kickstarter sold by people who have no background in the trade but have found the hucksterism to 'adapt' a 'foundry' to do their expensive bidding.
I believe the answers to that question lie not in the word 'craftsmanship' (as posited in the article) but in the words 'insecure', 'lemming' and 'sucker'. Because only an insecure lemming/sucker would buy a cast iron skillet from Kickstarter sold by people who have no background in the trade but have found the hucksterism to 'adapt' a 'foundry' to do their expensive bidding.
38
i have an old Griswold, and i think - not 100% sure - that it is smoother than a Lodge. i have looked at the Lodges and they are fine but the Griswolds are like glass.
3
I have 2 cabinets full of Calphalon and a few All-Clad and I keep reaching for my 12" Lodge cast iron skillet time and time again. If I could do it all over I really would just get a few cast iron pans and that would be all I would need. The skillet also doubles as a press and a meat pounder, too. As for my 25" Lodge skillet, that could and would serve as a weapon should an intruder ever enter my house. :)
19
In my Mom's last year, she kept encouraging family to take things, the china the wedding crystal, the figurines...I took the cast iron corn bread skillet. It is a treasured, much used, memory infused artifact from growing up eating my Mom's cooking. It is a medium sized, perfectly seasoned oldie and goodie and I will hold a lottery among my decendants to see who will inherit Hazel's skillet.
16
I have my grandmother's Wagner Ware cast iron muffin pans. they're great for popovers
3
Another ordinary item overrun by hipster enthusiasm. Its great to see the heightened interest in old technology, but my $16.00 Lodge from Walmart works well.
11
[[Chris Muscarella with his collection of cast-iron pans.]]
Collecting "vintage" pans is akin to collecting vintage cars. It's a nice hobby to have if you can afford it and you have the space to store your treasures. But the rest of us just need one reliable, affordable pan to make dinner and one reliable, affordable car to get to work.
That said, I will buy (and recommend) Lodge only as long as they make their pans in America.
Collecting "vintage" pans is akin to collecting vintage cars. It's a nice hobby to have if you can afford it and you have the space to store your treasures. But the rest of us just need one reliable, affordable pan to make dinner and one reliable, affordable car to get to work.
That said, I will buy (and recommend) Lodge only as long as they make their pans in America.
9
Instead of dropping $100+ on an "artisanal" cast iron pan, buy a wire cup brush for your electric drill a couple aisles down from where they sell the cheap Lodge pans. Smooth out that Lodge to your heart's content and get cooking.
Even if you have to buy the drill too, you're still money ahead and now have two useful tools instead of one. Hint: "tools, not taste" works elsewhere in life too.
Even if you have to buy the drill too, you're still money ahead and now have two useful tools instead of one. Hint: "tools, not taste" works elsewhere in life too.
22
This occurred to me, too, since I have the tools. I've cut the legs off a Dutch Oven to create a gigantic cast-iron bread pan. But in fact I'm perfectly happy with my daily-used, sand-cast Lodge pans as they are.
5
Thanks, Anon! I was just sitting here wondering what to do with the 2 big Lodge frying pans that have been sitting in the back of the 'unused tools' storage area, because their surfaces are so rough that even after several years of use, food sticks to them. (I'm a very gentle cook, and I don't scrape the surface of the pan with metal tools - maybe I should.)
Now to get the SIL to demonstrate his expertise with tools...
Now to get the SIL to demonstrate his expertise with tools...
3
I bought a Lodge pan a few years back and we love it. Granted, the cleaning process is a bit much but we like the idea of something that we can't destroy no matter what! We can even stick it in the oven at a super high temp to kasher it for Passover.
8
You noticed that seasoning step of drying it on the stove. I have burned off my beautiful seasoning so many times! Infuriating.
3
best cooking item i have is a 14 inch lodge cast iron pizza skillet. two small handles and a small lip to prevent runoff. much better than stoneware
13
When my mother passed away, I found my grandmother's blue and white spatterware in storage. Huge pots and pans - and it all works on my induction stove. I think of the irony - ha - and it makes me smile.
7
I cook with cast iron and have found newer Lodge pans to be more predictable than the "lighter, thinner" pans this story extols. I know you're writing a trend story about people making new versions of old pans, but Lodge is, to my mind, among the nation's finest manufacturers. Here's a great profile of the company from The Bitter Southerner. http://bittersoutherner.com/lodge-cast-iron#.V3PWk_krKUk
27
What an interesting article about the Lodge family business. Companies like this deserve our loyalty!
4
Interesting. The cast iron I have I did pick up for less than a dollar, broke it out of bricks of rust and started using it. One pan too small has fallen by the wayside, the other is just right but kind of bent, eggs run down the middle and end up along one edge before solidifying enough to stay put. Love the mirror finish. Weirded out by the pebbly finish of modern cast iron. Can't deal with a c-note plus, just big cognitive dissonance with something that 'should' cost a dollar or so.
4
I rescued a rusted cast iron skillet from a thrift store a couple years ago for about $5 and invested some major elbow grease to bring it back to life. It was a job, but it's my favorite skillet. It's an SK 8 D2, with a heat ring and near as I can figure, is a Lodge skillet from the 1960s or 70s. It has a much smoother surface than the pitted new Lodge skillet I have. You can find old cast iron skillets at garage sales and flea markets for cheap, but know that getting them into shape can be a job unless you have a self-cleaning oven or access to an open fire.
3
Thrift shop or yard sale finds have served me well. I still use the pan I found in the first house I bought in 1976. Best find was a $ 0.25 cast iron dutch oven.
3
Yep, here we go again (as Alfredo posted). Been using my grand and great grandmother's cast iron for nearly 40 years with no mystery to seasoning (bacon grease). Did buy a new Lodge grill pan for $20, it's fine for the price. Hope these artisans stay away from my Alsatian cookware that's been passed down, or should I start a new trend? Most likely happened, just passed me by.
8
I have been using cast iron skillets for over thirty-five years. One thing I might mention is that I use a gas stove that has white enamel, and the area around the burner turns brown after awhile when I use cast iron. Many times I need to use oven cleaner in order to remove the stain. Whether cast iron cooks better than other materials, I am not sure, but I enjoy using it.
2
I am still not sure why the old (and new, artisanal) pans are better than the cheap variety made today. At one point the article says it's because the older ones are thinner and smoother, but a few sentences later complains that the new ones have a smooth interior. Maybe I'm just misreading it?
3
Wonderful! Nothing is better than natural cast-iron utensils. But one might dread some new politically correct dictate that sharp kitchen utensils and heavy cast-iron pans be classified as "dangerous weapons".
On your travels, stop by a local antique store, there you can often find a true artisanal cast iron pan that won't cost $1500 (or even $160). Mine was made pre-1950, nicely seasoned (just needed a little cleaning), and cost less than $25.
3
Lodge skillets cannot be improved upon. Period.
Save your money for something else.
Save your money for something else.
2
I first bought Lodge. Work great and inexpensive. Then I bought Borough Furnace skillet. Absolutely worth every penny! It's my go to for everything. It's a beautiful pan.
3
Just for fun I did some research on pricing for cast iron pans through the ages, and came up with this: http://www.castironcollector.com/ads.php
Have a look at the image "(1902) Pacific Hardware & Steel, Griswold pg. 649": a dozen #8 skillets was $6.00, or $0.50 cents individually. (This may have been wholesale pricing considering the quantity.)
In 1902, then, a #8 Griswold skillet would have cost ~$15.00 in present day dollars. An 8" Lodge pre-seasoned pan goes for ~ $10.00 at Amazon, which is fairly close, but the Griswold would have been lighter and better-finished.
Based on this, it's difficult to see where $280.00, or even $100.00, is a appropriate price for what is essentially a new version of a Griswold pan.
Have a look at the image "(1902) Pacific Hardware & Steel, Griswold pg. 649": a dozen #8 skillets was $6.00, or $0.50 cents individually. (This may have been wholesale pricing considering the quantity.)
In 1902, then, a #8 Griswold skillet would have cost ~$15.00 in present day dollars. An 8" Lodge pre-seasoned pan goes for ~ $10.00 at Amazon, which is fairly close, but the Griswold would have been lighter and better-finished.
Based on this, it's difficult to see where $280.00, or even $100.00, is a appropriate price for what is essentially a new version of a Griswold pan.
6
To justify the claim that cast iron collecting has really taken off, the article says, "an elusive Sidney No. 8 is listed on eBay for $1,500."
That proves only that one person is HOPING to sell ONE at that price. Real proof would be if there is evidence of SEVERAL pieces actually SOLD at that price.
That proves only that one person is HOPING to sell ONE at that price. Real proof would be if there is evidence of SEVERAL pieces actually SOLD at that price.
11
You can keep your "artisanal" cast iron skillets, pans, spiders, etc. I inherited a 100 year old skillet from my step-father, and the other two I have are Lodge--that's good enough for me.
7
We have a set of 3 cast iron skillets we bought for $10 in late 1980s. Its our bets purchase ever and we are able to cook amazing dishes, on the stove, in the oven. truly amazing, does not have to be expensive.
3
While it may be true that "an elusive Sidney No. 8 is listed on eBay for $1500," when I followed the link, I also found another No. 8 with a Buy It Now price of $50. As is often the case with eBay, some Sellers ask for more than an item is worth.
5
Watch out, there are knockoffs out there with the Sidney name on them.
2
No thank you. I'll find mine at yard sales.The new ones don't come standard with family histories.
2
Our smooth-top electric stove manufacturer prohibits the use of cast iron cooking ware, alas.
2
Dear Bill, Does the manufacturer of your smooth top electric cook top live in your house? If not you will find out that cast iron cook ware works perfectly on your electric cook top. I give you per mission to use your cast iron pans on your smooth cook top. You'll love using those cast iron pans. Sell the stuff you're using now at a yard sale.
7
I have had a glass top induction stove for the last ten years, and cook constantly with my lodge cast iron pans. No problem at all.
1
I have 4 cast iron skillets that I use constantly. They're all vintage, hand me downs or flea market finds; one a Wagner, the others no-names. Beautiful, durable, perfect for everything from fried eggs and falafel to roast chicken and cornbread. I care for them but don't fetishize - they get soaked periodically, scrubbed lightly, and see a little soap if needed. Recently bought a 6" new Lodge that I'm breaking in - it works well but does require more fat than the oldies. I'd love to see and cook with one of the artisanal skillets but probably wouldn't shell out the $$ to purchase. Also, it makes me a little sad to think of unused "collectible" skillets sitting there on the trophy shelf. Cook with them!
5
Love cooking with a cast iron skillet. In addition to stovetop cooking, I roast veggies, chicken, etc. Just remember the oven mitt when removing from the oven.
3
There is a Kickstarter campaign, now closed, for a lightweight cast iron frying pan, called the Field Skillet. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/field-company/the-field-skillet-lig.... It has over 12,000 backers with pledges of more than $1.6 million.
Don't be a victim: get thee to a second hand store or Salvation Army to buy your cast iron ware. They've been selling quite decent examples, by the way, at the Cracker Barrel stores for eons. But trust the fancy people to find a way to jack the price up on an old stand by and make it "hip". Gosh, don't we have something else to write about?
9
My wife and I owned matching Lodge skillets when we met - a perfect match! This summer I'm going to try sanding one down to get a smoother finish like the antique (and new high end) pans.
3
The very idea of "cleaning" a cast iron pan gives me shudders. "Re-seasoning", to me, means the pan was seriously abused. I have some very old pans obtained from auctions at next to nothing prices and some new Lodge's, perfectly acceptable after years of not cleaning. HOT water, a stiffer brush if necessary, and dry quickly. Building layers is the key, in my humble opinion. Time. Lot's of time. Joy!
2
oh please, my lodge pans (I have three: a super big one, a big one, and a grill pan) work just fine. get a grip, people.
16
I thought that my Lodge pans worked just fine, too, until my father gave me one of my parents' old Griswolds. Night and day difference! The Griswold gives a better sear, is more reliably non-stick, easier to clean and is lighter. Now, if my dad will just hand me down the rest of Griswold. . .
HIgh thermal mass is great for cooking - but also means it takes longer to heat up - so whereas your aluminium pan may be hot in 90 seconds to 2 minutes - haven't used mine in a while but I'll guess the cast iron pan is more likely to take 4-5 minutes before it's hot and ready
just enough time for most people to get distracted, forget what they were doing - and be involved in something else letting stuff burn - unless they use a timer - which my stove luckily has and I use all the time - like this morning for reheating some scones (US biscuit) for jam and cream/Devonshire Tea breakfast.
it's also slower to respond to adjustments in stove controls - not hot enough - it'll take longer to heat up - too hot ? it's take longer to cool down - so it's a relearning if you're more used to using aluminium frypans
Oh and cast iron is heavy too - my petite female partner rarely uses it because she finds it too heavy for her little hands.
I just weighed 3 pans - our square 9" griddle cast iron pan (with wooden handle) about 4.5 lbs, our most used 12" Scanpan aluminium pan about 3 lbs, a Japanese 12" aluminium pan about 2lbs 4oz.
So a smaller cast iron weighs half as much again, to twice as much as a large aluminium pan - good if you want exercise for your biceps - fine for most men - maybe not so great for petite women if when laden with food it's difficult for you to lift and handle, making it more dangerous.
just enough time for most people to get distracted, forget what they were doing - and be involved in something else letting stuff burn - unless they use a timer - which my stove luckily has and I use all the time - like this morning for reheating some scones (US biscuit) for jam and cream/Devonshire Tea breakfast.
it's also slower to respond to adjustments in stove controls - not hot enough - it'll take longer to heat up - too hot ? it's take longer to cool down - so it's a relearning if you're more used to using aluminium frypans
Oh and cast iron is heavy too - my petite female partner rarely uses it because she finds it too heavy for her little hands.
I just weighed 3 pans - our square 9" griddle cast iron pan (with wooden handle) about 4.5 lbs, our most used 12" Scanpan aluminium pan about 3 lbs, a Japanese 12" aluminium pan about 2lbs 4oz.
So a smaller cast iron weighs half as much again, to twice as much as a large aluminium pan - good if you want exercise for your biceps - fine for most men - maybe not so great for petite women if when laden with food it's difficult for you to lift and handle, making it more dangerous.
3
I cook often with my late mother's cast iron pan. It was a wedding gift when she married in 1929; it'll hit 100 years in active weekly use. It's as tough and lovable as she was.
7
I have cast iron skillets from both of my grandmothers so they are well over 100-years old. There is simply nothing that can't be done, and done well, in a properly seasoned cast iron skillet. Once again we are reminded that new is not necessarily better. I admire those artisans who are making "new" pieces. It's people like them who made this country what it once was.
3
If you are lucky enough to have access to a woodstove, you can rescue any gummed-up old cast iron pan. Stick it in there and heat it to dull glow. A self-cleaning oven cycle almost works, but not quite. Scrub the dust out with copper and season with oil immediately, or it will rust. Don't worry about the metal losing its temper: it's cast iron. NEVER allow soap or detergent anywhere near it, because it bonds to the oil-seasoned iron, requiring re-seasoning.
Lodge is great, and dirt-cheap, but the cooking surface is kinda rough. I like the milled, utterly-flat cooking surface of the fancier stuff.
Lodge is great, and dirt-cheap, but the cooking surface is kinda rough. I like the milled, utterly-flat cooking surface of the fancier stuff.
2
I have an old $20 cast iron pan. It is amazing. I keep it on my stove. I do about 80% of my stovetop cooking in it. You don't need to pay someone to season a pan for you. There is absolutely nothing daunting about it. Have fun and stick it in the oven if you want, but once it's been seasoned once, all you have to do is stick the clean empty pan on the stove for a couple of minutes, get it hot, put some oil in it and wipe it down with a paper towel. There's nothing easier than cleaning cast iron.
5
I have a bunch of C.I. pans and I adore all but two: those two have raised rims around the outer edge of the bottom. Whatever fool thought that one up was/is genuine IDIOT. The pan won't sin on the stove. For the really good pnes, I had to wait for someone to die!
3
Take the two pans with that pesky rim to an auto body shop and for a few dollars they will grind off those rims. The bottoms will appear to have never had rims when they are done. Problem solved!
3
LOVE my cast iron skillet. Found it at a house I rented years ago under the back porch. It was rusty and old. But she's fine now, took some work but worth it.
6
I love my cast iron skillets...of all sizes. My family has used them for generations. I am sad, though, that my latest move to a condo involves using an electric stove top. How I miss gas! But I use my skillets anyway. I did discover on a fateful trek years ago into Canada (back to the earth and all that) that dropping a cold skillet outside on the ice on a way below zero day made the handle break off. Can't win them all.
3
I covet my mother's set of skillets, half a dozen nested together in graduated sizes and a chicken fryer with lid. Most of them belonged to her mother. I grew up eating scrambled eggs, scrapple, bacon, sausage, steak, pork chops, fried chicken, cornbread, all made in them. One day, one day, they'll all be mine...but hopefully not too soon!
4
I scrub my cast iron in soap and water, just like my mother did, and they do just fine. I am not going to cook in something I can't wash.
Just use them a lot and keep them greased with a little Crisco or lard in between uses.
Just use them a lot and keep them greased with a little Crisco or lard in between uses.
5
I haven't seen mentioned that cooking in cast iron increases your intake of iron. Iron is iron, and cooking with cast iron helps prevent anemia.
8
Why pay $160 for cast iron pans? Because the pricing itself is a marketing practice.
5
I'm 65 and I remember my Mom's; used for everything including bread pudding and peach cobbler. Then used to make chicken and dressing. Sigh. I wish I had kept them. We'd never heard of teflon. Might not have existed then. This stuff today doesnt compare
4
I have 3 cast iron skillets the youngest of which is about 30 years old. I do not have any so-called non-stick pans and I always smile inwardly when a recipe calls for their use. Well-seasoned cast iron skillets are all the non-stick you need.
A warning, however:tell your guest to stay away from your skillets . I once had some guest who stayed with me for a few days. One day after breakfast I only did a perfunctory clean up in the kitchen and I left a frying pan on the stove top. When I returned home I discovered that one of my guest had washed my frying pan with dish washing soap. After the initial shock I realized that pan was so well seasoned that one soaping wouldn't do any damage
keep on cookin'
A warning, however:tell your guest to stay away from your skillets . I once had some guest who stayed with me for a few days. One day after breakfast I only did a perfunctory clean up in the kitchen and I left a frying pan on the stove top. When I returned home I discovered that one of my guest had washed my frying pan with dish washing soap. After the initial shock I realized that pan was so well seasoned that one soaping wouldn't do any damage
keep on cookin'
7
Cast iron was prominent in my kitchen way before it was cool. I have a couple of pieces, including a beautiful griddle, that were rescued from yard sales. My Calphalon non stick is terrific, but just not the same. Recently I suggested bringing a particular cast iron dutch oven back to Saigon with us. My wife, of course, thought I was deranged. If you want good, new cast iron, buy Lodge. If you want great cast iron, start haunting the yard sales and Salvation Army stores. There's little as rewarding as bring a piece of cast iron back from the dead.
6
"Why would anyone pay nearly $300 for a modern “artisanal” cast-iron skillet when a perfectly functional equivalent, made in South Pittsburg, Tenn., by the venerable Lodge company, costs $16 at Walmart?" Because Lodge pans have a poor cooking surface, rough, pebbly not silky smooth and sharp, poorly finished edges. Go to yard sales or flea markets, antiques shows and pick up a 60-100+ year old pans with superb surface. You may have to clean out the old gunk, but you'll be rewarded with a silk smooth surface for cooking. The junk sold by Crackerbarrel and Lodge is rough surfaced, bumpy, primitive and the edges are poorly finished. $300. for an artisnal pan? I'm falling over laughing. By collecting old cast iron pans for decades I've filled my kitchen with everything from antique Dutch ovens to every size of frying pans, all of superb quality with smooth cooking surfaces. I've bought dozens more than I own, cleaned them, cooked in them for a while to season the pansd and sold the surplus pans on ebay for excellent profits. In all these decades I bet I've spent only $300. on all the cast iron pans I've bought and have wonderful pans with which to cook and many times over $300. in profit. Skip the trendy designer pans, and go for the real, vintage cast iron. It's cheaper, better, and great for the environment because it's already made.
5
Then there's the labor of hunting them down, cleaning them up. How many hours in antique stores, at yard sales. If your time has any value, you (and all the "I'm so smarts" replying here) need to factor that in.
2
After you have used your lodge pans a bit, they get the wonder smooth surface you are looking for.
1
Nope, it's the joy of the good hunt!
Acquiring 4 pieces of Lodge cast iron (2 skillets, 1 grill, 1 griddle) that rarely leave the 4 coils of my apartment grade electric stove was the best change to my cooking and diet. For years I used easy clean pans that never satisfied. I cook more for myself now that produce, meat, eggs, and baked goods are well cooked, not well done. Grilled meat and vegetables are a year-round treat I've missed living in apartments. This week peach halves in a pan still hot and greasy from bacon!
7
Cast iron is not used just in the South. In Pennsylvania, My Mom received a Griswold Dutch Oven from her Grandfather as a wedding present. I have a couple of her skillets and bought a Cast Iron dutch oven for my use since I didn't receive hers. I have used them since I began cooking.
6
My father was plant engineer at the Sidney General Housewares plant in the 1970s. Lodge moved production to China and undercut them badly. I was raised to revere cast iron and taught to never go near them with soap. Just hot water and elbow grease. Then dry it off. He also helped them develop their anodized aluminum line.
5
From the Lodge Website:
All of our foundry Seasoned Cast Iron and our Seasoned Carbon Steel products are manufactured in the USA and always will be. All Enameled Cast Iron products are made in China to our strict quality standards and overseen by an American owned 3rd party inspection company
All of our foundry Seasoned Cast Iron and our Seasoned Carbon Steel products are manufactured in the USA and always will be. All Enameled Cast Iron products are made in China to our strict quality standards and overseen by an American owned 3rd party inspection company
1
One side of my family is from an Appalachian town in Tennessee too small to appear on most maps. When my great-grandmother passed away a few years back, the aunt who had been her caretaker invited everyone in the extended family to come and select something from her home. I was the last one to arrive, and all that was left was a large, deep, well-seasoned cast iron skillet of unknown manufacture that had been in constant use since at least the 1920's. Why the rest of my family bypassed this treasure is still beyond me, but my wife and I still use it almost every day for everything from steaks and eggs to apple pies. Food prepared in it tastes both tangibly and intangibly superior to food prepared in any other cookware, even our other cast iron. I like to think that would make my great-grandmother very happy.
122
We received four Griswold pots and pans about a year ago. At the time I did not know their history. Since then they have become my preferred cookware. The dimpled Dutch oven goes from oven to table beautifully. The skillets are exceptional. The only thing I don't cook in them is tomato sauce. I'm not certain in there is truth to the stories of tomatoes being too acidic for the pans. Online research goes both ways.
In addition to being fantastic cookware, these pans have a rich family lore that makes cooking with them a touchstone to our heritage and a conversation starter. I doesn't get better than that.
In addition to being fantastic cookware, these pans have a rich family lore that makes cooking with them a touchstone to our heritage and a conversation starter. I doesn't get better than that.
7
You are smarter than some NYT cooks who use tomato sauce in seasoned cast iron skillets all the time .
[[RGallucci New Jersey
The only thing I don't cook in them is tomato sauce. I'm not certain if there is truth to the stories of tomatoes being too acidic for the pans.]]
There's no truth to it.
These reclaimed "vintage" pans sat caked in god knows what in garages and basements for decades before someone came along and cleaned them up.
I think you can go ahead and make a chicken parm in your skillet. Just scrape, wipe, rinse and dry when you're done.
Not complicated.
The only thing I don't cook in them is tomato sauce. I'm not certain if there is truth to the stories of tomatoes being too acidic for the pans.]]
There's no truth to it.
These reclaimed "vintage" pans sat caked in god knows what in garages and basements for decades before someone came along and cleaned them up.
I think you can go ahead and make a chicken parm in your skillet. Just scrape, wipe, rinse and dry when you're done.
Not complicated.
3
I use at least one of my 6 Griswold skillets just about every day. I inherited several from my Mother-in-law because nobody else wanted them. Over the years I have bought others at garage sales. As nearly as I can figure these wonderful skillets are close to 100 years old and that includes the domed glass lid for the larger pans. I read somewhere that Americans began to have iron deficiency in their diets as a result of giving up their iron cookware.
10
Actually, Americans are getting too much iron with the exception of breeding age women. There is increasing evidence that there really is such a thing as too much iron in the diet. The second reason this man gives blood routinely.
And think this through: If not cooking in iron results in deficiency, how did we survive for hundreds of thousands of years without iron cookware? Answer: We ate real foods. Not products.
And think this through: If not cooking in iron results in deficiency, how did we survive for hundreds of thousands of years without iron cookware? Answer: We ate real foods. Not products.
3
Nice article, thanks! I would add that for gas cooktop use, an inexpensive carbon steel or blue steel French skillet is superior to cast iron in many ways. Being iron based, it transfers heat to food very well and can handle very high temps, so it puts a crust on food beautifully and transfers to the oven really well. But unlike cast iron, being thin, it is SO much faster and more responsive than cast iron. Carbon steel also weighs a fraction of what cast iron weighs.
Carbon has to be seasoned in the same way as cast iron and some brands make preseasoned models. Mauviel, Matfer Bourget and De Buyer are the traditional French makers, but Lodge and Paderno World Cuisine make good steel pans. My favorite is made by the American food service supplier Vollrath -- it's medium weight so very responsive and also very durable. It's the pan I use most often when I need to brown something.
Carbon has to be seasoned in the same way as cast iron and some brands make preseasoned models. Mauviel, Matfer Bourget and De Buyer are the traditional French makers, but Lodge and Paderno World Cuisine make good steel pans. My favorite is made by the American food service supplier Vollrath -- it's medium weight so very responsive and also very durable. It's the pan I use most often when I need to brown something.
43
I recently bought a blacksmith hand forged carbon steel 10 inch fry pan from Blanc Creatives in Charlottesville, VA. It is a general improvement over my Lodge because it is thinner and lighter, has a long handle that stays cool and cooks much more efficiently on the stove top. If you have arthritic hands, you understand. It is beautiful to look at and easy to clean. I still use the Lodge for oven cooking, but my Blanc beats it hands down for stove top. Being hand made, it was pricey, but it is worth it and my cabinets have a lot more storage since I have given away the stacks of pans I thought I needed. The point is that inexpensive or pricey, these are cooking tools and should be chosen as such to get the best use for the best price. Since they are handmade, be patient, but it's a big payoff when you get it.
4
I love carbon steel too! I have a crepe pan and wok made of carbon steel. Totally inexpensive and great if you don't want heavy.
2
There is no comparison between a good vintage pan and modern Lodge or Wagner. But I'm going to do it anyway. The modern cast iron pans made in the last 50 years are terrible. It's great to read about someone trying to reintroduce quality cast iron production in the US. Over the course of the last year I've replaced all my teflon coated pans with vintage cast iron. 3 Griswolds and big Vintage Wagner No. 12. They are amazing. I paid $30 for the first (a Griswold No.10.) I splurged on the Wagner at $100. With some care these pans will last many lifetimes. There are deals out there on eBay, you just have to be patient. Make sure the there are no cracks, the pan sits flat and most importantly a Griswold says "Erie, PA" and a Wagner says "Sidney, O." There are a few websites to guide a buyer in distinguishing the differences between all the various foundries makers marks. The large logo block letter Griswolds are both functionally superb and stylistically beautiful. One of the high points of American design and craftsmanship.
36
Mine just says Wagner USA. What does that indicate?
In my current home I have a gas stove and cast iron works well, so I have a set of the new cheap cast iron pans for fun. My experience with using cast iron on a traditional electric stove with coil burners was frightening--the cast iron pan would glow red hot when it heated up and make me worry about melting down the pan or the stove coil or both. Don't make any big investment in cast iron with an electric stove until you've determined that the marriage of materials is compatible...
26
Rich: Eh? I've an electric stove as you describe, and use cast iron all the time. Never had a problem with the pot, or skillet, glowing "red hot." You might have a problem with the stove? That said I'll admit cooking with cast iron on an electric stove...which basically uses iron coils to conduct heat, takes some time and experimentation. Given the "lag time" of the metal in BOTH appliances it can make cooking an adventure far from the humdrum? Heh!
3
With the exception of gas ranges in RV's, I've cooked on electric coils all my life (60+ years). And I've used cast iron skillets, dutch ovens, griddles, and chicken fryers with no problem. The trick is to select the pan to fit the coil, then heat at medium high until the sides of the vessel are too hot to touch. My mother-in-law used to use a paper napkin in the bottom of the pan as her test for temperature: when the paper began to brown, it was ready to cook. She cooked on gas, by the way. I reserve the high setting for boiling water in a SS pot for pasta.
4
But cast iron is fantastic on an induction stove! I use my cast iron pans daily on it.
3
When I lived with my grandparents, we used large - 5 gallon - cast iron kettles to prepare our garden vegetables for canning. These kettles were heated with a wood fire and were very old then.
Atlanta Stove Works used to be a maker of skillets and now Lodge is the main source. When moving around the country and living in places that only had electric stoves, I purchased a very large Lodge skillet to keep large pots of soup/stew from burning the food.
I have a cast iron kettle with cover that was supposedly used to cook food in a fireplace by using an arm attached to the hob in a colonial fireplace.
I now have an extensive collection of cooking pots/pans including some French copper utensils lined with silver. Never have used them though - polishing silver is not my cup of tea.
Atlanta Stove Works used to be a maker of skillets and now Lodge is the main source. When moving around the country and living in places that only had electric stoves, I purchased a very large Lodge skillet to keep large pots of soup/stew from burning the food.
I have a cast iron kettle with cover that was supposedly used to cook food in a fireplace by using an arm attached to the hob in a colonial fireplace.
I now have an extensive collection of cooking pots/pans including some French copper utensils lined with silver. Never have used them though - polishing silver is not my cup of tea.
10
Cast iron pans are also ideal for induction cooking. They heat fast and evenly on induction burners and smooth out the cycling that induction manufacturers use to control heating. Cast iron ware is also resistant to warping, a requirement for induction stoves.
As for the weight of cast iron, just view it as forearm day at the gym. My grandmother lived to her 90's cooking every day with cast iron!
I do agree with the other sentiments expressed here about "boutique" cast iron. Just use your grandma's pans or if those are not available, buy Lodge or one of the other legacy makers.
As for the weight of cast iron, just view it as forearm day at the gym. My grandmother lived to her 90's cooking every day with cast iron!
I do agree with the other sentiments expressed here about "boutique" cast iron. Just use your grandma's pans or if those are not available, buy Lodge or one of the other legacy makers.
61
Roy: Induction, eh? Hmmmm...thanks for that one....I've wondered about using such a stove. BIg question I have, though, is most induction tops I've seen have some form of glass or ceramic surface. How durable is it when "mauled" on a daily basis by heavy cast iron?
2
No, don't buy Lodge. Totally inferior finish on the cooking surface. Better to spend the money on eBay for a better pan.
1
The problem is that many cast iron bands, at least of recent vintage (eg my 30-year old Lodge Dutch oven) are rounded on the bottom. So cooking on induction is uneven, worse even than those awful coils. I still do it, but it's imperfect. Are the old ones flat on the exterior as well?
1
I grew up with cast iron pots and pans and I have bought new cast iron pots and pans. The idea that anyone needs to pay hundreds of dollars for an artisanal one or spend decades "preparing" one for a child to use some day in the far distant future is too ludicrous to be worthy of discussion. Why must over-paid and bored city folk constantly fetishize perfectly ordinary work tools?
Just learn to cook. Use pots and pans. Don't talk about it so much.
Just learn to cook. Use pots and pans. Don't talk about it so much.
420
Understanding and exploring various tools of the trade is a good way to build interest and knowledge. There is something to be said for collecting quality products that can be appreciated and passed-on to the next generation.
13
Yup...right brother.
Yes. How many +1s can I give this comment?
1
All I can say is Oh, Lord, here we go again, turning a useful tool into a must-have fashion item. $1500 for pan? That qualifies as obscene in my world view, up there with the price of pork belly which, called "tocino", in my world of Puerto Rican "cuisine" is a common, indispensable, daily staple.
159
Yeah, add skirt steak, an almost throw away beef cut until Fajitas boomed to the list of things made unaffordable because of discovery.
6
I'm still using the Griswold frying pan I inherited from my mother, but I think she inherited it, too! As I've learned to cook over the years, I keep coming back to it, despite having acquired more expensive cookware. It is like so many older items; it simply works!
93
Cast iron pans, such as the ones our grandparents used, were immortal. These simply don’t wear out, they wear in. I have three of my Mother’s from the fifties in constant use. Their cost, relative to their life-span, was as close to zero as cookware can get. Let's not spoil that now by making them ‘precious’. We went through that with jeans, but jeans are fashion, and we should think of pans as tools.
The idea that we can’t turn out millions of these things economically is really not true. Anyone who thinks these are hard to finish has never tried to polish Stainless Steel.
We have no trouble turning out millions of ‘Artisanal' manhole covers, do we?
The idea that we can’t turn out millions of these things economically is really not true. Anyone who thinks these are hard to finish has never tried to polish Stainless Steel.
We have no trouble turning out millions of ‘Artisanal' manhole covers, do we?
181
Iron is iron. I have 30-year-old cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens, and new Lodge skillets, and fail to see that the new ones are "terrible." If they're made of iron, they're iron, and after "seasoning" (as we call it in Louisiana) they are indistinguishable from the decades-old ones. Yes, please, let's not get all boutique with these tools.
10
The man hole covers in New York City actually have geometric designs on them and are labeled "Made in India".
2
Best buy for cast iron is Lodge, available through Amazon. Cheap as dirt, pre-seasoned, free 2 day shipping for Prime members.
I would never pay $160 for a cast iron skillet, I don't care if it came with WiFi and automatic flipping.
JimF from Sewell
I would never pay $160 for a cast iron skillet, I don't care if it came with WiFi and automatic flipping.
JimF from Sewell
357
I have a couple of Lodge items. I do not like them as well as I like the cast iron items my mother has because the Lodge units have casting bumps in the cooking surfaces. It is very difficult to get foods to not stick as I grew accustomed to when cooking on my mom's (which had been her grandmother's) cast iron. Those cast iron units, older than me, are darn near mirror-smooth. As I said before, the Lodge items are anything but smooth in the cooking surfaces.
Also, I do believe the Lodge items are thicker and heavier. Maybe that is just frustration, but they do seem tougher to maneuver than what I grew up doing.
Also, I do believe the Lodge items are thicker and heavier. Maybe that is just frustration, but they do seem tougher to maneuver than what I grew up doing.
2
How about if they thrown 4G, skillets signed by the owners, and a personal chef on call from their concierge service? For a mere $100 you can get a burger made in your own home.
If you buy today, they will all also send along with the concierge chef, grass fed and beer maasaged beef from really happy steer, olive oil grown in a single estate, by the full moon and cold pressed and bottled before dawn, aged in french oak barrels for another $1000. Its a steal! Do it now! Operators are standing by...
If you buy today, they will all also send along with the concierge chef, grass fed and beer maasaged beef from really happy steer, olive oil grown in a single estate, by the full moon and cold pressed and bottled before dawn, aged in french oak barrels for another $1000. Its a steal! Do it now! Operators are standing by...
4
I completely agree. I grew up with cast iron and have a large collection of well used pans for every purpose. They are functional and economical. To take this pan and make it an expensive high end kitchen tool is to bastard ice it's purpose. The lodge pans I have work just as good as my griswold pans and I stand by lodge quality. They are fantastic pans worthy of generations of use.
As a cast iron-phile I would never support making these pants into expensive chic status symbols!
Go to your local Farm N Fleet, get the best coast iron on the market (lodge) and use it daily. When you get too old to lift it hand it down to your grandkids. Don't buy these hipster pans that insult the frugality and modesty at the heart of cast iron cooking.
As a cast iron-phile I would never support making these pants into expensive chic status symbols!
Go to your local Farm N Fleet, get the best coast iron on the market (lodge) and use it daily. When you get too old to lift it hand it down to your grandkids. Don't buy these hipster pans that insult the frugality and modesty at the heart of cast iron cooking.
7
Cheap cast iron pans are fine, and will last forever. They can be cleaned in a self-cleaning oven cycle and then re-seasoned. Re-seasoning is totally easy, there is no mystique to it.
141
The author writes that [[with cast iron’s mystique comes mystery. The responsibility of seasoning a pan can be daunting; the idea of a pan that is never washed with soap can be alarming.]]
But then she says all you have to do is [[Use the pan often, scrape the cooking surface clean, rinse with very hot water and, if needed, a drop of soap; put it back on the stove over low heat until completely dry.]]
It's not complicated. If you can do laundry, you can manage a cast iron skillet.
But then she says all you have to do is [[Use the pan often, scrape the cooking surface clean, rinse with very hot water and, if needed, a drop of soap; put it back on the stove over low heat until completely dry.]]
It's not complicated. If you can do laundry, you can manage a cast iron skillet.
5