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Second cast iron. We use ours daily - and it's a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years. Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cl
by shireboy 5y ago
Second cast iron. We use ours daily - and it's a handmedown from my grandmother who also used daily for 20+ years. Once seasoned properly, it is non-stick, cleans easy. We just be sure to put a little oil on it after each use. Really the only skillet you need.
- mynameisash 5y agoI bought a cheapy Lodge skillet -- 12", I think? -- a while back because I succumbed to the cast iron craze and really wanted to try cooking on induction. I figured I'd just upgrade to a bigger skillet when necessary. It's now like 7 years later and my skillet shows no signs of giving up, and I don't think buying yet another kitchen device would make my wife happy. Should have gone with a bigger skillet to begin with. Also, induction cooktops are amazing.
- JKCalhoun 5y agoAlso got a Lodge (two now, as you say, needed a bigger one as well). Took an angle grinder to it with an abrasive pad wheel installed. Smoothed it right up.
- jeffwass 5y agoWhy did you need to grind the Lodge?
- AuryGlenz 5y agoI did the same thing to mine. They have a rough surface when you buy them unlike old cast iron pans, apparently - though I don’t know if they’re smooth from use or came that way.
- mod 5y agoIn the glory days, cast iron pans were milled perfectly smooth on the cooking surface. Lodge casts their pans without surfacing, so you have a porous surface. I have a lodge and it's okay, but I prefer my antique Wagner when I can. It sticks less and it also has been in my family a really long time.
- jfengel 5y ago7 years? It's still brand new! Just wait until your kids get their hands on it. Mine is literally inherited from somebody's grandmother and it's awesome. Though sadly, its sibling died doing what it loved -- making bacon.
- yazan94 5y agoWhat do you like about induction cooktops?
- epmaybe 5y agoI don't own one, but from what I've seen from friends the major benefit is safety.
- Too 5y agoEverything! Boiling a pot of water is twice as fast if not more. More control over temperature. No risk to burn yourself, kitchen towels or other unwanted items. They never need deep-cleaning due to spilled food being burned onto the glass, one wipe with a cloth and it looks like new. One drawback is they are often bundled with ridiculous touch-controls rather than knobs, even though that shouldn't need to be the case. You can find those without.
- jtdev 5y agoI received a Griswold cast iron skillet from my grandmother, who received it from her mother (my great grandmother) many years ago. True heirloom, I cook with it nearly every day and it still looks and performs beautifully.
- basch 5y agoYoull probably want stainless steel or enamled cast iron for anything with fond. Anytime you are cooking something acidic, tomatoes, vinegar, wine. I try not to deglaze meat brownings into sauce in cast iron. A stainless steel dutch oven is a great universal pan as well. For a "first pan" I'd probably suggest tri ply stainless over cast iron. The main thing I like about cast iron more is the pan temperature not dropping when I put something on it, so its great for reverse searing baked steaks inside the house. Most other things I find functionally equivalent in stainless and cast iron, including browning meat before I cube it or break it apart. (brown cuts of meat and ground meat whole!) https://www.target.com/s/tri+ply+clad?Nao=0 https://www.target.com/s/tri+ply+clad?Nao=0 https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=tri%20ply%20clad https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=tri%20ply%20clad
- tekchip 5y agoI'm going to second this. I don't understand why people keep buying cast iron when steel has the same core traits(durability primarily) but so many more upsides. Thinner, lighter, heats faster. Steel is where it's at IMO. Enameled for anything acidic otherwise your seasoning is gone.
- basch 5y ago>otherwise your seasoning is gone. And iron leached into whatever your eating. I know thats considered in the myth category, but I have at least one dish Ive prepared that ended up tasting pretty metallicy. Could be expectations manifesting reality. I think people get turned off to steel when they put a new pan on the stove, dont let it heat up, bake something to it, and its an arm and a leg to clean the first time. Unlike nonstick, it has a bit of a learning curve. Cast iron doesnt show stains the same way, and you can use a chain mail scrubber. Scratching steel does slightly change its nonstick properties, so dont use steel wool.
- fancifalmanima 5y agoI have a cast iron skillet and a stainless steel skillet, and I almost always use the stainless. The cast iron almost always only comes out when I need a second skillet. When I'm searing something, I even prefer that it sticks slightly more to the stainless as it typically releases when it's done anyways -- and my anecdotal experience is that I get a better sear from the surface of the meat sticking to the skillet more firmly.
- Erwin 5y agoStaub iron cookware has an enamel, so it does not require seasoning nor does it have issues with tomatoes or other acidic things. I use their cocotte, since I often put things in the oven but it's also good for e.g. steaks at max temperature.
- vnorilo 5y agoSame here. In addition I like the fact that if some of the materials get absorped in the food for some reason, it's just .. iron. Contrast with fraying teflon (which you should immediately discard, of course) that we ought not ingest.
- bredren 5y agoWe have a couple cast irons. When I was first introduced to them I was pretty turned off by the idea of not doing the same soap and water scrub process I do with everything else. But handling them now is just part of the ritual. The biggest change I’ve had since starting using them a couple years ago is moving from the ball scrubby disposable two a Chainmaile ringlet style scrubby. Using the chain mail has a different feel it slides easier and it washes clean much easier. I recommend checking out the chain mail style scrubbers for cast-iron.
- ska 5y ago> I was pretty turned off by the idea of not doing the same soap and water scrub process I do with everything else. You can mostly do the same soap and water scrub as everything else. Assuming you use a reasonably modern dish soap an not something harsh, if you don't leave it soaking in the soapy water it will be fine.
- Spivak 5y agoYep the “don’t use soap on cast iron” is a holdover from older soaps that had lye in them that could strip the seasoning (hence why you can use lye to reseason your pan). If your seasoning is perfect (it isn’t) you could in theory leave it to soak too since it would be completely encased in the polymerized fat.
- tomtheelder 5y agoI would like to throw in a strong rec for carbon steel. I was (and to a degree still am) a big cast iron guy, but I find that these days I use my carbon steel pans much, much more frequently. They share many of the benefits of cast iron in terms of durability, oven safety, high temp cooking, natural non-stick, etc. However they can be much, much lighter and their heating properties make them superior for many, and I would argue most (but not all!), applications. These days if someone said they needed 1 quiver killer pan, I would unquestionably recommend a carbon steel skillet over a cast iron one. If you're someone who likes using cast iron, I think you are doing yourself a major disservice by not trying carbon steel.
- lmilcin 5y agoI bought a set of carbon steel pans and my cast iron ones fell into complete disuse. Especially carbon steel crepes pans (https://www.debuyer.com/en/poele-a-crepes-mineral-b-1472.html https://www.debuyer.com/en/poele-a-crepes-mineral-b-1472.htm...) are completely unbeatable. I have two of them and I can feed a small crowd of family and friends faster than they can eat. Nothing sticks if you take proper care. The best thing, they are dirt cheap.
- aceazzameen 5y agoSame here. After getting rid of our scratched teflon pans, we bought large and small de Buyer carbon steel pans. We have 2 cast iron pans also, but barely use them anymore. The lighter carbon steel ones are much more versatile. We do, however, still use our cast iron griddle for making bacon in the oven. Comes out perfect every time. For anyone reading who is new to carbon steel, the trick to non-stick cooking is making sure the pan gets hot. And if something does stick? It pretty much wipes right off while the pan is still hot.
- lmilcin 5y agoAnother trick is to use sharp metal utensils. If you use wood it will just smear stuff on the pan, not helping at all. By complete accident my spatula is also from DeBuyer (https://www.debuyer.com/en/flexible-turner-slotted-fkofficium-1024.html https://www.debuyer.com/en/flexible-turner-slotted-fkofficiu...). It is very sharp and it easily scrapes anything that dares to stick (due to my mistake of not getting it hot enough), without smearing it.
- baby 5y agoAlright, just got some of these cast iron skillets from costco. How am I supposed to use (or not use) them?
- nly 5y agoI tried cast iron but gave up on it. Too bulky and heavy to lump around and a pain in the ass to clean. Food stuck to the (Lodge) pan no end as well, even when I spent money on all the seasoning oils and seasoned it. I'd rather just buy a new cheap modern pan every year. Chuck them in the dishwasher, job done.