TBH I think it's less the pan and more the kitchen. Growing up I thought cooking in a cast iron was a pain because I had a really shallow sink, weak water press

TBH I think it's less the pan and more the kitchen. Growing up I thought cooking in a cast iron was a pain because I had a really shallow sink, weak water pressure, and I cooked for my family so dishes would pile up. I live in a place with extremely strong water pressure and a very deep sink, plus the faucet is one of those rope ones that can be held arbitrarily. It rips through anything on the cast iron, leaving it clean in under a minute. Cleaning is, in general, much much much faster in my new place - plus I have a dish washer so dishes don't pile up, only the cast iron (or some specialty knives, maybe) generally needs to be washed in the sink. I cook a lot of sauces in the pan and it's all good now that I have the room and tools to clean it off.