Does anyone use cast iron cookware on a daily basis? What are its advantages and disadvantages? I understand cast iron cookware should last one an entire lifetime, but is it a pain to use and maintain?
Once you get a good season on it, not that hard to maintain at all. There are people who will act that just putting the pan in the same room as a bottle of dish soap will immediately ruin it forever, but that’s not true. Just don’t leave it to soak, and don’t put it in the dishwasher.
my “daily use” cast iron is older than me, and i am almost as old as dirt.
I have 7 skillets , two dutch ovens and a few molds…they all work perfect.
clean well…high heat, and lubrication.
daniel
If you cook with it daily, it will maintain its seasoning, no matter how poorly you treat it. Treating it better will give you a better seasoning and it’ll be easier to use and more non-stick. But unless you’re literally grinding away metal when you clean it, the worst that’ll happen is it’ll not be perfectly non-stick.
I’m older than dirt, and I regularly use my grandmother’s cast iron. Although I will admit, the piece I use most often is one of mine, acquired in 1973.
I reach for one of our cast iron skillets preferentially. My partner makes roughly equal use of thos and of steel frying pans, liking both for different purposes etc.
I love the way they cook.
You know, I don’t know what to use a steel pan for. I use cast iron and I use non-stick, but I have a steel skillet that pretty much sits unused.
Is there perhaps something about the thermal properties of cast iron that make it more desirable for certain types of cooking than other materials? (e.g aluminum, copper, or steel cookware)
You can sautee at a higher heat with a steel/copper skillet than you should a non-stick one; ideally, you never heat teflon more than medium-high.
I use my cast iron skillet every morning, and have a few other pans I use as well. However, I did just buy a new 7 quart Calphalon pot/dutch oven so I can use tomatoes, which will do awkward things to the seasoning on a cast iron pan. Plus, it’s bigger than the chicken pan I’ve got.
There’s ‘black’ cast iron which isn’t coated and has a bit of a reputation for being difficult to season and clean. There’s also enamelled cast iron which doesn’t need seasoning and can be scrubbed like any other pot. I have some black but can’t say they’re among my frequently used. I use the enamelled stuff all the time, though.
But what’s the advantage of using steel over cast iron?
Cast iron doesn’t like high humidity or wimpy electric kitchen burners, but both can be overcome. I’ve gotten used to preheating the skillet in the oven. Maintenance is actually a breeze compared to my carbon steel wok.
I use it mostly for baking: pizza, bread, biscuits, etc. If I ate more large chunks of beef and pork, I’d use it for that too, and for blackened spice preparations: but since the ventilator in my kitchen is not very effective, I have to steer clear of anything that would generate a lot of smoke. I do use it (preheated) as the top of a makeshift panini press.
I have found it not so much to be non-stick, but one has to wait for the meat to release the pot. It’s a cooking skill that works well with cast iron, also outdoor grilling. When the meat releases it is ready to be turned, if it still sticks it still needs time.
I have two cast iron skillets of two different sizes. They get very hot and hold heat well, so they are great for certain kinds of cooking.
No, there are just a few simple rules.
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Get it real hot before you start cooking. And then you can turn the heat down quite a bit.
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DON’T TOUCH IT WHEN IT’S HOT!! Use some kind of insulation, like a silicone sleeve. They’re usually sold right next to the pans. It retains heat for a while, so give it time to cool before you mess around with it after cooking.
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Don’t soak it, ever. You can wash it with soap, but dry it thoroughly right away and just oil it up before you put it away. You can get special oil, but I just use regular cooking oil. Washing it with soap won’t ruin it, but leaving it wet will.
You can cook tomatoes or other acidic foods; the seasoning can get eaten away by them in cast iron.
A cast-iron frying pan is required equipment for making cornbread.
My inherited cast Iron skillets are a prized possession. I will kill any one who tries to use them in an inappropriate manner. They will have to pry my cold, dead fingers from them when I die. Never put tomatoes of any kind in your cast iron. Clean it and sprinkle salt in it and use a paper towel to wipe it around. Lightly oil and place parchment in it to store. My 12incher stays on my stovetop between uses, use it every day. My small cornbread skillet hangs on a hook inside a lower cabinet door. Use it at least weekly.
I have several but those 2 are my best ones. I’m not sure what the overall advantages are, I can cook the perfect overeasy egg. I can cook any meat that needs a sear. Country fried potatoes, fried okra, fried chicken and frittata would not be possible in my kitchen without my cast iron. One advantage, they never wear out. They can rust and lose their seasoning, both of those things can be fixed. Cracking can occur. I’ve never seen it, though.
I use my cast iron pan a lot less than I used to. Cast iron does not conduct heat very well, especially compared to copper or copper core steel pans. So it’s not great for sauteing. Cooks Illustrated had a nice demonstration where they sprinkled flour on several pans and heated them until the flour started to brown. The cast iron showed obvious hot and cold spots. This can be ameliorated somewhat by preheating the pan in the oven, but that’s a lot of work just to use a suboptimal pan.
Also, older men, who generally are advised to limit their intake of iron, shouldn’t eat a lot of food cooked in cast iron, as iron leaches into the food, especially if it’s a liquid simmered for a long time.
THIS is the way to season cast iron. It’s a fair amount of work, but the results are great and last for a long time.Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To | Sheryl's Blog
I have a couple of CI skillets I’ll use for certain tasks (cornbread, frying fish) but honestly find them to be a PITA for everyday use.
They are overly heavy, never as non-stick as promised, fussy about seasoning/cleaning (stuff sticks, the pan is a mess and needs to be cleaned - wiping salt around with a paper towel doesn’t nearly cut it, you need to use soap and scrub - then you try to reseason, and repeat all the above next time you use it)…YMMV.
(I have modern Lodge pans with a slightly “pebbly” surface, I know older pans have a smoother, machined surface, and can imagine that might make a difference.)
I love my enameled CI Dutch Oven.