going to start using cast iron-a few questions...

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

After reading up as much as I can on cookware, I decided cast iron was the best choice for us. (I will keep my glass bakeware-like anchor hocking/pryex and still use it to bake in case I need it) but would love to use cast iron as much as possible

my questions are

is it better to buy cast iron already seasoned, or not seasoned? I would like to use coconut oil to season mine, but could I still do that by buying a seasoned one if I wash it and then season it with the coconut oil?

Does it depend on what you cook how often you have to wash and re-season it? For example, making chili(with tomato sauce) would you need to wash and re-season it? what about boiling pasta? not sure how that works, or if it's just a time thing?

Would you prefer enameled cast iron over regular cast iron? I cannot decide if it's worth it to spend more on the enameled?

And it seems certain brands the cost varies quite a bit, for example the Martha Stewart from Kmart is SOO much cheaper for the skillets.
I am not sure if that means the quality is not as good?

[hopefromgrace]

:popcorn

I recently bought some cast-iron pans, and have some similar questions!

[allisonintx]

If you're not vegan, the fastest way to season cast iron is to fry up a pound of bacon.

I wouldn't use coconut oil because it breaks down at such low temperatures.

I've never used enameled cast iron because I want the iron in my food, and the enamel will block the absorption from the pan into the food.

[Rabbit]

You never wash the seasoning off, unless something awful happens.

[allisonintx]

I actually use my skillet for all kinds of cooking and do have to wash it regularly, but I wash it and then dry it well, and if it looks a little 'dry' then I rub a little veggie oil on it and stick it in the oven to dry.

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

If you're not vegan, the fastest way to season cast iron is to fry up a pound of bacon.

I wouldn't use coconut oil because it breaks down at such low temperatures.

I've never used enameled cast iron because I want the iron in my food, and the enamel will block the absorption from the pan into the food.



thanks, for some reason I was thinking the enamel was just on the outside? and you still get the iron? but I must have been looking at it wrong. and I got the idea to use coconut oil from the mercola website.

http://products.mercola.com/cast-iron-cookware/. I wish I could afford what they sell...

we can cook bacon, dh would love that!

[Marielle]

I have some cast iron pans (stuff passed down from DH's granny) but mostly use 2 round griddles. I also have a large martha stewart enameled cast iron dutch oven. Different purposes for different pans.

Most of my everyday cooking is done in the wolfgang stainless steel, pancakes, grilled sandwiches, eggs and even sometimes burgers I do in the cast iron. The dutch oven I would use for pot roast until we outgrew it (it's a 5.5 quart one) and now I use it as a stove top deep fryer. I really like the ease of cleaning in the enameled cast iron particularly what a dutch oven would be used for. Briefly I also used the enameled cast iron for making the NY Times No Knead Bread and it did a great job too.

So don't limit yourself to one type of pot, as each one will vary in material depending on the function of the pan. I've seen some pretty neat hammered steel french pans on amazon that also get seasoned like cast iron but are much thinner and better to handle. I want to get a couple of those too.

[allisonintx]

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Chasseur-Enameled-Cast-Iron-Oval-Casserole-Dish/2119303/product.html

this is what the enameled cast iron looks like inside.

[Mamaka]

I have regular CI but am getting some of the Mercola enamel CI as well. There are definitely benefits to both. Regular CI give you the added iron and wears forever. Enamel CI is easy clean up and has all the even heating of regular CI.

FYI, Mercola is having a sale now through May 13 for free shipping on all orders over $50 which would save $$$ on his cookware (which is the cheapest enamel CI out there).

[HummusDip]

I really know NOTHING about cast iron! So is using glass baking wear bad? That's all I use for baking, except for cookie sheets. Are cookie sheets ok to use? For cooking anything on the stove I just have some sort of metal pans...NOT teflon I know, but plain silver pots and pans. How do I know what they're made of and are they bad to use too?

We have one cast iron skillet that my grandpa gave us and I've never used it. It's pretty big and seems like it needs a good washing, but maybe not? Leave it like that? Is that the seasoning? How do you wash them and when do you wash them?

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

I really know NOTHING about cast iron! So is using glass baking wear bad? That's all I use for baking, except for cookie sheets. Are cookie sheets ok to use? For cooking anything on the stove I just have some sort of metal pans...NOT teflon I know, but plain silver pots and pans. How do I know what they're made of and are they bad to use too?

We have one cast iron skillet that my grandpa gave us and I've never used it. It's pretty big and seems like it needs a good washing, but maybe not? Leave it like that? Is that the seasoning? How do you wash them and when do you wash them?


No, glass bakewear is not bad at all. I just need something besides aluminum or stainless steel for stovetop cooking. I spent several hours researching different types of cookware yesterday and it maybe be a little extreme to say we don't want to use those anymore...but I just don't even want to bother with it. I don't really know how "safe" stainless steel is, but I think it contains nikel?(but not sure if it gets into the food?.....anyway-I will post some links when we get home-we have to run a few errands.

oh and I like the added benefits of cooking with cast iron..

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Chasseur-Enameled-Cast-Iron-Oval-Casserole-Dish/2119303/product.html

this is what the enameled cast iron looks like inside.


I see, the mercola just "looks" like iron inside b/c it's dark i guess?

[HummusDip]

So the added benefits of cast iron is you get iron in your foods? This is so interesting to me!

[allisonintx]

yes, exactly. the iron leaches in the food.

If you have a garden where nothing will grow, you can bury a cast iron skillet in the garden and stuff will get busy growing. It's pretty amazing.

[Marielle]

there is enameled cast iron that has the iron inside exposed vs. coated. So the mercola does have the cast iron inside. Which means you keep up the seasoning on the exposed iron sides.

[2sunshines]

So just to clarify, sorry if this is repetitive, the mercola stuff in that link has iron exposed on the cooking surfaces. Is that right???

[Mamaka]

:nak2

It says on his website that the interior of each pan is a black enamel, so not exposed CI


eta link to mercola cookware info http://products.mercola.com/cast-iron-cookware/

[Mamaka]

Rachel Ray has some reasonably priced (well, compared to le cresuet) ECI & the frying pan might have exposed CI. Lodge also makes ECI but am pretty sure theirs does not have exposed CI.

[Marielle]

for all of my current natural tendancies and in that I agree with SOME of mercola's site, I find him terribly over the top. :shifty The enamel set he has on his site would be too small for us to cook comfortably and I find it a bit overpriced.

[2sunshines]

So we really want to move to cast iron and I've been looking at the Lodge skillets just cause I can get them reasonably priced pretty much anywhere.

Is there a reason I wouldn't want to go with these?

Well, I can give you one reason. It's unclear as to whether they're made in the USA or China (I've seen some that said Made in China -- and I won't buy cast iron that's made in China :( ). But if I can assure it's made in the USA, is there any other reason I don't want to go with these?

[Rabbit]

By not washing off the seasoning, I meant that you don't scrub it with a brillo pad. My mom's pans were completely coated in carbonized oil, and that was the seasoning.

[HummusDip]

So where's the cheapest place I can get some cast iron that's good cast iron? Someone said Kmart? My husband is on board but we don't have a lot of extra money at the moment, especially with saving for our big move. But this is something we'd like to start transferring over to as soon as possible.

[Rabbit]

Any cast iron is good cast iron if you're getting plain old fashioned un-seasoned cast iron. And that is dirt cheap.

[HummusDip]

Alright good, KMart has great prices. And I can just season it myself with bacon? I'm all in! :giggle

[2sunshines]

I'd look around to get a good price. I've seen them at Walmart, Target, pretty much anywhere. You might be able to catch a sale and get an even better deal at one of them. :yes

[Mother of Sons]

I buy only lodge cast iron. Made in USA. (except for the enameled cast iron I think) Preseasoned. Personally, I don't have the patience for seasoning a cast iron pan (because it takes longer than you think and the couple of times I tried I had no success) when I can have it done already for me.

I do also buy cast iron at the thrift store. IIRC Wagner is USA made.

[2sunshines]

MOS -- Lodge is what I've been looking at but got really confused cause I saw some lodge stuff that was made in China. :td but maybe it was just the enameled cast iron. :think

The only thing about them (and I may sound ignorant here cause I truly know very little of what I'm talking about :giggle ) at the store when I touch them, they feel SO gritty -- not at all smooth like grandma's was... Will they smoothen up with use? I bought one small lodge one and rarely use it because EVERYTHING sticks like crazy on it no matter what I do (and it is pre-seasoned and I have cooked fat in it).

[Rabbit]

That is what's kept me from buying preseasoned lodge as well. They don't feel like they've been seasoned correctly.

[Mamaka]

:yes We love our Lodge stuff though you do have to be careful about the made in USA vs made in China stuff w/them (and w/any CI, frankly). Most of Lodge's main sized stuff is US-made (and clearly marked as such), some of their specialty stuff is made in China (not so clearly marked). Their enameled CI is made in China as is most enameled CI :( In fact I think I read somewhere recently that even Le Cresuet is made in China now :/

[HummusDip]

So really I can season it by frying a pound of bacon? What does seasoning it actually do? And then after I fry the bacon I just dump the grease off (right?) and then let it soak in hot soapy water? Or do I just let it be since I'm seasoning it?

Sorry so many questions but I want to make sure I have this clear so I don't mess it up.

We're also going to get a dutch oven so I guess I'll season it with bacon too, if it would work.

[2sunshines]

That is what's kept me from buying preseasoned lodge as well. They don't feel like they've been seasoned correctly.

So you buy yours unseasoned? Where do you get it?

[Mother of Sons]

I bought one small lodge one and rarely use it because EVERYTHING sticks like crazy on it no matter what I do (and it is pre-seasoned and I have cooked fat in it).

All of my lodge stuff has become completely smooth after use. I read somewhere that their seasoning is the equivalent of home seasoning 20 times.

Initially I almost gave up on it because everything stuck and I was really frustrated but I found out that I had to heat the pan all the way hot (even the handle) and THEN add the oil and let that heat for at least one minute. Now nothing sticks to it at all.

[2sunshines]

Initially I almost gave up on it because everything stuck and I was really frustrated but I found out that I had to heat the pan all the way hot (even the handle) and THEN add the oil and let that heat for at least one minute. Now nothing sticks to it at all.

So, I should take my pan, put it in the oven??? At what temp??? Then add some oil? What kind?

Sorry I need some hand holding through this. :O

[domesticzookeeper]

So really I can season it by frying a pound of bacon? What does seasoning it actually do? And then after I fry the bacon I just dump the grease off (right?) and then let it soak in hot soapy water? Or do I just let it be since I'm seasoning it?

We just cooked a pound of bacon in ours this past weekend, and after draining the excess grease, just wiped the pan down with a cloth and left it alone :shrug

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

Ok, we happen to be by a Kmart today, so we went in to look at the cast iron. The had two 11 1/2 skillets to choose from-preseasoned and raw(not seasoned) both by Martha Stewart. I forgot the price of the raw one, but the preseasoned was $16.19. Also they has a preseasoned Martha Stewart 6 1/2 inch skillet for $7.99 and they had a set of 3 preseasoned Martha Stewart skillets (6 1/2, 8 in, 10 in) for $17 something....we ended up going with the preseasoned 11 1/2 inch for $16.19 b/c I would have no use for a 6 1/2 inch skillet that came in the set, plus 10 inches (the biggest in the set) is not quite big enough for me. So even though it seems a better deal to get the set, we would use the 11 1/2 much more so I got that one.

okay I hope I didn't confuse anyone :giggle

now before I bought it I didn't pay any attention to wear it was made, I just looked and it was made in China :no2 I just said to dh I thought Martha Stewart was from America :giggle

anyway, I assume that it's safe b/c it is not enameled? still I hate to buy things made in China...I need to pay better attention.

Also it does feel gritty, nothing like my grandma's skillet at all. So I am hoping I will be able to season it well enough so it becomes more smooth someday :)

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

link with some cast iron care-

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm

[2sunshines]

Honestly, I'd return it. Especially since it's emitting stuff into your foods. I don't trust China's manufacturing process. :shrug

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

Honestly, I'd return it. Especially since it's emitting stuff into your foods. I don't trust China's manufacturing process. :shrug


Your right. I didn't take the tag or label off so I can return it. I am going to check Target.... maybe even walmart.

[Mother of Sons]

So, I should take my pan, put it in the oven??? At what temp??? Then add some oil? What kind?

You can just heat it on the stove. Just turn the burner on, let it heat up, add the oil, let that heat for one minute. This is when you are going to cook something so you just use whatever oil you would use for cooking. With preseasoned pans you can start cooking right away.

Walmart carries Lodge. Target has cast iron but I'm pretty sure they are MIC.

[Rabbit]

I used to have cast iron, but after ruining three in a row, I gave up, for now. We bought a set of Kitchenaid stainless to replace all of our old teflon coated aluminum pans, so I'm not in deep enough need or have enough room in the budget to experiment with something I have proven I'm not good at caring for. They kept winding up in the bottom of a dirty sink. Not good for cast iron.

I grew up with cast iron, though, and I really love the results from using them. I look at the Lodge stuff every time I'm in the store, and they're good prices, but the grittiness held me off. My mom's cast iron was glass smooth. My own pans were smoother raw. And I've been worried about what exactly some brands use to season them. I don't remember what each brand says, but only some of them say vegetable oil. Some don't say at all. That weirds me out. I feel safest with pre-seasoned Lodge cast iron, but other brands have what feels like a better coating, so I've made no decision at all. :grin

[HummusDip]

How do you ruin cast iron?

[Mother of Sons]

It can rust.

[Marielle]

MOS mentioned wagner before and others have mentioned older CI pans feeling smooth. It's not your imagination, if you google about CI enthusiasts they say that the smoothing/machining process of the pans used to be much more refined. A way to get that now is to make sure to use metal utensils and scrape at the pan often when cooking/flipping your food.

I have DH's granny's pan collection in the garage and when I finally take them out I think I'm sure I'll have to take some rust off of them since they weren't used after she went in a nursing home.

[HummusDip]

ahhh you see the one my grandpa gave us has a little bit of rust on it, can I get that off and still use the pan?

[Marielle]

yup - just start seasoning from scratch. Because you'll save yourself the step of having to scrub off the food grade wax that new pans come with these days. I think even the preseasoned stuff has a layer of food grade was that needs to be scrubbed off before use.

[2sunshines]

Yea, from what I understand old ci pans are the best. :yes I've been looking at garage sales for well used well seasoned nice smooth ones but no luck.

I think I'll try a Lodge and see how that works for me -- see if I can get it smooth.

I don't have a metal flipper though. :think Sounds like I really want one for ci, right?

[2sunshines]

Because you'll save yourself the step of having to scrub off the food grade wax that new pans come with these days. I think even the preseasoned stuff has a layer of food grade was that needs to be scrubbed off before use.

If I buy Lodge preseasoned, do I need to do that? And if so, how exactly?

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

YAY!!! I just got off the phone with my mom and she has a couple of cast iron skillets she is going to give me (she never uses them) they are older and used :) I am so excited!

[ThreeKids]

MOS mentioned wagner before and others have mentioned older CI pans feeling smooth. It's not your imagination, if you google about CI enthusiasts they say that the smoothing/machining process of the pans used to be much more refined. A way to get that now is to make sure to use metal utensils and scrape at the pan often when cooking/flipping your food.

I have DH's granny's pan collection in the garage and when I finally take them out I think I'm sure I'll have to take some rust off of them since they weren't used after she went in a nursing home.


I obtained a cheapcycle CI pan that used to have nickel plating on it. The best I can figure it's from early last century. The pan is very smooth, which is weird because I used to work with nickel-coating processes and the first step is to purposely rough up the surface so the nickel will stay on. That must be why it "used to" have the nickel coating. Materials scientists are still working out the details in trying to get nickel coatings to stay on. It's amazing to me it was tried with cookware so long ago.

Normally, you wouldn't season nickel-plated cookware, but this'll have to be seasoned.

[Mother of Sons]

If I buy Lodge preseasoned, do I need to do that?

You just have to give it a quick rinse in the sink when you buy it and rub some oil in it. Then it's completely ready to use. They take a little time to adjust to and I almost threw mine out but now I couldn't give them up.

[ncsweetpea]

I have a cast iron dutch oven that we use...and it seems to always have black smudge coming off. Even after it is washed (in hot water only) and dried. Should I be doing something more with it?

Also, we need new cookware. Anyone know the advantages or disadvantages of stainless steel?

[ThreeKids]

I have a cast iron dutch oven that we use...and it seems to always have black smudge coming off. Even after it is washed (in hot water only) and dried. Should I be doing something more with it?

Also, we need new cookware. Anyone know the advantages or disadvantages of stainless steel?


You could try starting over with oven cleaner and and SOS pad and then re seasoning.