What great cast iron pans have in common (now)
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Date: 2025-08-02
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Comments and reviews: 20
genericjam9866
A have a Victoria pan as my daily driver. Previous one was a Chinese brand. I've also used vintage pans but they're generally too small for my use.
Watching this guy review cookware is like watching a teenager review a Lamborghini. I like the all the buttons but shifting is hard. 1/5.
The pan comes rough unless it specifically says ground or polished. I don't even know why they come preseasoned apart from it makes it barely functional out of the box.
The first thing I do with my new pan is take a metal spatula and rake it over the surface for about 15 minutes. If you're impatient you could use a power tool.
You want the pan smooth not rough.
The preseasoned thing is super overblown. You just need a layer of grease embedded in the tiny pores of the metal. After you scrape it down season it once somehow with heat - BBQ, oven stove, blowtorch, whatever. Once the oil is smoking you're pretty much done.
Now go cook with a thin layer of grease not the lake of oil this guy uses.
Use a metal spatula. The type you'd see a fry cook use. You can get a decent one at a restaurant supply store. Whatever this wet noodle this guy is using is half the problem. These are meant for Teflon. You cannot hurt the cast iron with a spatula.
When you wash it use steel wool and water. That's it. Soap will remove your layer of grease and you have to restart the grease layer.
Teflon will give you cancer. Cast iron will give you supplemental iron.
Live long.
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A have a Victoria pan as my daily driver. Previous one was a Chinese brand. I've also used vintage pans but they're generally too small for my use.
Watching this guy review cookware is like watching a teenager review a Lamborghini. I like the all the buttons but shifting is hard. 1/5.
The pan comes rough unless it specifically says ground or polished. I don't even know why they come preseasoned apart from it makes it barely functional out of the box.
The first thing I do with my new pan is take a metal spatula and rake it over the surface for about 15 minutes. If you're impatient you could use a power tool.
You want the pan smooth not rough.
The preseasoned thing is super overblown. You just need a layer of grease embedded in the tiny pores of the metal. After you scrape it down season it once somehow with heat - BBQ, oven stove, blowtorch, whatever. Once the oil is smoking you're pretty much done.
Now go cook with a thin layer of grease not the lake of oil this guy uses.
Use a metal spatula. The type you'd see a fry cook use. You can get a decent one at a restaurant supply store. Whatever this wet noodle this guy is using is half the problem. These are meant for Teflon. You cannot hurt the cast iron with a spatula.
When you wash it use steel wool and water. That's it. Soap will remove your layer of grease and you have to restart the grease layer.
Teflon will give you cancer. Cast iron will give you supplemental iron.
Live long.
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TheDankraft
I don't think I'm the only one in the comments with criticisms on your egg cooking technique in a cast iron.
I cook 4 eggs in a cast iron every day. I get one or two eggs sticking maybe in a week.
Your pan needs to be HOT. It looked like you were doing that.
I personally think olive oil is not great as a lubricant in cast iron specifically for eggs. Eggs are mostly water so naturally the egg will push the oil away and just bind right the pan surface. Which is what you observed in all 3 of your pan tests. Butter, I have found, is a much much better lubricant for use cooking eggs in cast iron. Butter is water, fat, and solids. The water and solids allow for the egg to glide on top of the butter and cook before it can stick to the pan. Again this is why it's important the pan is hot.
Your spatula is also not ideal for cast iron. You want something metal.
Our cast-iron-using ancestors would not have splashed a quarter cup of high quality olive oil into their cast irons. They would have used butter or Crisco.
This video was weird.
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I don't think I'm the only one in the comments with criticisms on your egg cooking technique in a cast iron.
I cook 4 eggs in a cast iron every day. I get one or two eggs sticking maybe in a week.
Your pan needs to be HOT. It looked like you were doing that.
I personally think olive oil is not great as a lubricant in cast iron specifically for eggs. Eggs are mostly water so naturally the egg will push the oil away and just bind right the pan surface. Which is what you observed in all 3 of your pan tests. Butter, I have found, is a much much better lubricant for use cooking eggs in cast iron. Butter is water, fat, and solids. The water and solids allow for the egg to glide on top of the butter and cook before it can stick to the pan. Again this is why it's important the pan is hot.
Your spatula is also not ideal for cast iron. You want something metal.
Our cast-iron-using ancestors would not have splashed a quarter cup of high quality olive oil into their cast irons. They would have used butter or Crisco.
This video was weird.
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Quiteahuman
You might know a lot more recipes and techniques than me, but you have quite a bit to learn about cooking with cast iron.
I always put on 3 coats of avocado oil or another with a high smoke point and smoke it for a while (as you explained) for the first surfacing of a refurbished pan.
You’ll also find it more effective and nonstick when you use it with some scraper like a metal or wood spatula and heat it a bit hotter. Try to have the same heat as what you would use for a wok before putting down food.
Pretty interesting what you noticed about the nonstick abilities of new and old pans. What I noticed between the two under the microscope was that the older one seemed more wet’ than the new, probably because it has more seasonings or if the oil wasn’t totally burned off from the last one. That might make a difference with how new oil would stick to the surface of the pan if parts of the earlier oil weren’t totally carbonized.
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You might know a lot more recipes and techniques than me, but you have quite a bit to learn about cooking with cast iron.
I always put on 3 coats of avocado oil or another with a high smoke point and smoke it for a while (as you explained) for the first surfacing of a refurbished pan.
You’ll also find it more effective and nonstick when you use it with some scraper like a metal or wood spatula and heat it a bit hotter. Try to have the same heat as what you would use for a wok before putting down food.
Pretty interesting what you noticed about the nonstick abilities of new and old pans. What I noticed between the two under the microscope was that the older one seemed more wet’ than the new, probably because it has more seasonings or if the oil wasn’t totally burned off from the last one. That might make a difference with how new oil would stick to the surface of the pan if parts of the earlier oil weren’t totally carbonized.
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rekzors
As far as smoothness there are a couple different factors here. Firstly, older pans were cast in a finer grit sand. This last a smoother surface initially. They eventually switched over to coarser grit universally because workers were breathing in the fine dust and having health issues. Besides that though, higher end cast iron often were milled smooth. Cheaper pans were not, because it it was another process step to add cost. You see this today as well as something like Lodge or Victoria come rough, higher end pans like the Smithey shown here are still milled. I believe (but I can't remember 100% so verify on your own) that a rougher surface texture does help INITIAL seasoning. But after a few seasoning cycles that difference levels out. For the egg test here, the biggest variable is often the temperature you are cooking at.
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As far as smoothness there are a couple different factors here. Firstly, older pans were cast in a finer grit sand. This last a smoother surface initially. They eventually switched over to coarser grit universally because workers were breathing in the fine dust and having health issues. Besides that though, higher end cast iron often were milled smooth. Cheaper pans were not, because it it was another process step to add cost. You see this today as well as something like Lodge or Victoria come rough, higher end pans like the Smithey shown here are still milled. I believe (but I can't remember 100% so verify on your own) that a rougher surface texture does help INITIAL seasoning. But after a few seasoning cycles that difference levels out. For the egg test here, the biggest variable is often the temperature you are cooking at.
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Paxmax
Teflon for pancakes I specifically use cast iron for pancakes (mine are more crepes like. That way I get the nice golden brown micro bubbled marbling making the pancake look great. Between each pancake I use a silicone brush with melted butter and only apply the thinnest of coating - no runny amount of butter. Like you say, my old pan is slightly better than the new low ridged crepes pan. I can do two pancakes in a row on one butter brush on the old one, on the new pan = that is a no-go, but it performs outstanding with a brushed layer.
For 20 crepes I use maybe 1 tablespoon of butter or less, that is how effective brushing it on is.
I still brush butter between each pancake/crepe on the old one because the marbling comes out better. The second pancake has a smooth golden brown evenness that looks less appealing to me.
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Teflon for pancakes I specifically use cast iron for pancakes (mine are more crepes like. That way I get the nice golden brown micro bubbled marbling making the pancake look great. Between each pancake I use a silicone brush with melted butter and only apply the thinnest of coating - no runny amount of butter. Like you say, my old pan is slightly better than the new low ridged crepes pan. I can do two pancakes in a row on one butter brush on the old one, on the new pan = that is a no-go, but it performs outstanding with a brushed layer.
For 20 crepes I use maybe 1 tablespoon of butter or less, that is how effective brushing it on is.
I still brush butter between each pancake/crepe on the old one because the marbling comes out better. The second pancake has a smooth golden brown evenness that looks less appealing to me.
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RebelRhiannon
I have a cast iron pan on the stove that stays on the stove that is used almost everyday. I have many pans but I find that we (my family and I) use the same couple of pans for everything. They get cooked in multiple times a day. I’m transitioning more to cast iron because the non-stick pans just cannot stand up to the constant use. We cook at home a minimum of twice a day. Sometimes a single pan may be used 4 times in a day. We have been using cheaper non stick pans but they warp, bow, bend and flake quickly. The coating tends to start coming off and ending up stuck to food. I pulled out the old second hand cast iron and haven’t had any of the issues that we were having with new pans. I was thinking that the newer style pans just aren’t made for the constant abuse.
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I have a cast iron pan on the stove that stays on the stove that is used almost everyday. I have many pans but I find that we (my family and I) use the same couple of pans for everything. They get cooked in multiple times a day. I’m transitioning more to cast iron because the non-stick pans just cannot stand up to the constant use. We cook at home a minimum of twice a day. Sometimes a single pan may be used 4 times in a day. We have been using cheaper non stick pans but they warp, bow, bend and flake quickly. The coating tends to start coming off and ending up stuck to food. I pulled out the old second hand cast iron and haven’t had any of the issues that we were having with new pans. I was thinking that the newer style pans just aren’t made for the constant abuse.
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TheScarvig
one way OLD pans might have been ground smooth is literal sanding.
before the rise of high efficiency detergents and soaps people used soap and sand for the dishes especially on burnt in stuff. and with a pan old enough it will have happened a couple of times no matter how hard you try not to.
we had an old farmhouse with an old center kitchen table with pull out basins for doing the dishes and they had a small vessel for scrubbing sand right there between the two basins, giving ready access to a sprinkle of sand, whenever you needed that extra scrubbing power.
burn in some food really bad and then scrub it off with a pinch or handful of sand a couple of times before reseasoning the pan and it will be smooth as a babys arse
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one way OLD pans might have been ground smooth is literal sanding.
before the rise of high efficiency detergents and soaps people used soap and sand for the dishes especially on burnt in stuff. and with a pan old enough it will have happened a couple of times no matter how hard you try not to.
we had an old farmhouse with an old center kitchen table with pull out basins for doing the dishes and they had a small vessel for scrubbing sand right there between the two basins, giving ready access to a sprinkle of sand, whenever you needed that extra scrubbing power.
burn in some food really bad and then scrub it off with a pinch or handful of sand a couple of times before reseasoning the pan and it will be smooth as a babys arse
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charliemopps4926
In the old days, they would cast the pan raw, and sell it with no coating (maybe some oil) and you would season it as you used it. I'm the modern day people expect cast iron to be black (pre seasoned) but doing that on shiny iron would take multiple baking steps. So instead, the cat the pans with larger grain sand so it has a rougher finish that will take the seasoning coat in one pass. If you want a smoother surface pan, you can get a cheap orbital sander and some aluminum oxide pans and smooth it down at home, the re season it. I do this with all my pans. Just know that getting that seasoning on a shiny pan the first time is kind of a pain. Don't use soap on your cast iron, just wipe out off with water.
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In the old days, they would cast the pan raw, and sell it with no coating (maybe some oil) and you would season it as you used it. I'm the modern day people expect cast iron to be black (pre seasoned) but doing that on shiny iron would take multiple baking steps. So instead, the cat the pans with larger grain sand so it has a rougher finish that will take the seasoning coat in one pass. If you want a smoother surface pan, you can get a cheap orbital sander and some aluminum oxide pans and smooth it down at home, the re season it. I do this with all my pans. Just know that getting that seasoning on a shiny pan the first time is kind of a pain. Don't use soap on your cast iron, just wipe out off with water.
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tommanseau6277
The problem isn't the plan of what it's made of. It's about temperature control. If he very curious what the temperature difference between the pans was. Start preheating the pan on medium. I doesn't need to be on high, which can actually warp pans if they heat too quickly. Let it become heat soaked to the Leidenfrost point where water runs around in beads. If it sizzles, it's not hot enough yet. Then add a light coat of oil, add egg(s, turn down to low, and be patient to it releases naturally. I've cooked eggs very successfully in stainless steel, carbon steel, and yes, a modern Lodge cat iron fry pan. It can be done, just takes patience to get the plan your enough first.
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The problem isn't the plan of what it's made of. It's about temperature control. If he very curious what the temperature difference between the pans was. Start preheating the pan on medium. I doesn't need to be on high, which can actually warp pans if they heat too quickly. Let it become heat soaked to the Leidenfrost point where water runs around in beads. If it sizzles, it's not hot enough yet. Then add a light coat of oil, add egg(s, turn down to low, and be patient to it releases naturally. I've cooked eggs very successfully in stainless steel, carbon steel, and yes, a modern Lodge cat iron fry pan. It can be done, just takes patience to get the plan your enough first.
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food
WAY too much oil. The pans aren't properly seasoned. Eggs weren't cooked well enough before flipping. I can fry eggs in a modern rough bottomed lodge pan without them sticking because my pan has proper seasoning, but I can make no stick eggs in a pan without much in the way of seasoning as well without all that oil. You just heat a pan up. Add a thin layering of oil. Let it heat up until it smokes for a few moments. Then add more (no were near as much as you did) oil or fat, give it a moment, lower the heat, then cook.
Smooth cast iron does stick less, I can attest to that, but a modern cast iron pan can be made practically stickless with just a little preparation.
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WAY too much oil. The pans aren't properly seasoned. Eggs weren't cooked well enough before flipping. I can fry eggs in a modern rough bottomed lodge pan without them sticking because my pan has proper seasoning, but I can make no stick eggs in a pan without much in the way of seasoning as well without all that oil. You just heat a pan up. Add a thin layering of oil. Let it heat up until it smokes for a few moments. Then add more (no were near as much as you did) oil or fat, give it a moment, lower the heat, then cook.
Smooth cast iron does stick less, I can attest to that, but a modern cast iron pan can be made practically stickless with just a little preparation.
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aragusea
3: 35 yes. Old pans were sanded from the factory to ensure that they were more non-stick. Lodge was the only American forge to survives the introduction of Teflon and Stainless. They stopped polishing their stuff in the 70s.
Seasoning is just polymerized oil. A polished pan creates a more evenly polymerized oil layer. Keep in mind that each layer is only a few atoms thick. So the rough finish is like a mountain of layers. IIRC, you'd need to season literally thousands of times to get an even cooking surface on a rough pan.
Not only is a polished pan better, but it always has been. It's really only been since the 70s that they weren't polished.
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3: 35 yes. Old pans were sanded from the factory to ensure that they were more non-stick. Lodge was the only American forge to survives the introduction of Teflon and Stainless. They stopped polishing their stuff in the 70s.
Seasoning is just polymerized oil. A polished pan creates a more evenly polymerized oil layer. Keep in mind that each layer is only a few atoms thick. So the rough finish is like a mountain of layers. IIRC, you'd need to season literally thousands of times to get an even cooking surface on a rough pan.
Not only is a polished pan better, but it always has been. It's really only been since the 70s that they weren't polished.
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aragusea
Teflon is garbage. Sure it works as a non-stick coating, but at what cost Cooking your food on top of chemicals can't be good for you over time. Especially when the coating wears away. Where do you think the coating is going Also, that was way too much oil for making those eggs. If you use that much oil, the eggs will start to stick. You should use a very small amount of oil. Let the oil get up to temp before adding your egg. Then don't touch it until it crisps up around the edges. Now it's good to flip.
Lastly, lose that plastic spatula. Adding more chemicals to your food does not benefit you long-term.
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Teflon is garbage. Sure it works as a non-stick coating, but at what cost Cooking your food on top of chemicals can't be good for you over time. Especially when the coating wears away. Where do you think the coating is going Also, that was way too much oil for making those eggs. If you use that much oil, the eggs will start to stick. You should use a very small amount of oil. Let the oil get up to temp before adding your egg. Then don't touch it until it crisps up around the edges. Now it's good to flip.
Lastly, lose that plastic spatula. Adding more chemicals to your food does not benefit you long-term.
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John372-u5c
For me adding a small amount of butter into a warm pan and heating until just starting to foam, then adding the egg will lead to an egg that slides around every time. If you want crispy, use olive oil or clarified butter/ghee and slightly higher heat. Do not use canola or vegetable oil it always sticks.
I’m a big fan of Adam, but I’ve always disagreed about keeping a teflon pan around. There is simply no convenience that’s worth poisoning the entire planet for generations. Learn how to cook with cast iron pan, just like you learned how to do laundry and clean a toilet. It’s not that hard.
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For me adding a small amount of butter into a warm pan and heating until just starting to foam, then adding the egg will lead to an egg that slides around every time. If you want crispy, use olive oil or clarified butter/ghee and slightly higher heat. Do not use canola or vegetable oil it always sticks.
I’m a big fan of Adam, but I’ve always disagreed about keeping a teflon pan around. There is simply no convenience that’s worth poisoning the entire planet for generations. Learn how to cook with cast iron pan, just like you learned how to do laundry and clean a toilet. It’s not that hard.
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adammcaughey4044
They definitely get smoother and more non-stick the more you use them. I also highly suggest a stiffer and thinner spatula with cast iron or carbon steel. Much easier to get under the food without breaking it up. I make eggs in my carbon steel lodge pan (which honestly is terrible as far as carbon steel pans go) and I pretty much never have issues with is sticking. Also, for whatever reason, butter seems to be the absolutely best fat to prevent eggs from sticking from my experience. It would be fun to see an experiment on different fats and their ability to aid the non-stick of cast iron.
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They definitely get smoother and more non-stick the more you use them. I also highly suggest a stiffer and thinner spatula with cast iron or carbon steel. Much easier to get under the food without breaking it up. I make eggs in my carbon steel lodge pan (which honestly is terrible as far as carbon steel pans go) and I pretty much never have issues with is sticking. Also, for whatever reason, butter seems to be the absolutely best fat to prevent eggs from sticking from my experience. It would be fun to see an experiment on different fats and their ability to aid the non-stick of cast iron.
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nick4506
no they didint. all my vintage cast iron some still coked up from years of cooking on wood fired stoves all have come with little to no seasoning, but they are smooth. remember they didn't have gentle plastic spatulas with neutral soaps and soft sponges, they used metal spatulas steel wool and caustic soaps. frankly i don't understand why modern cast iron users are so obsessed with season, your grandparents never nedded it. the real key is the metal spatula, instead of the pan being inherently non stick you can just quickly swipe under anything and it comes up withought leaving a residue.
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no they didint. all my vintage cast iron some still coked up from years of cooking on wood fired stoves all have come with little to no seasoning, but they are smooth. remember they didn't have gentle plastic spatulas with neutral soaps and soft sponges, they used metal spatulas steel wool and caustic soaps. frankly i don't understand why modern cast iron users are so obsessed with season, your grandparents never nedded it. the real key is the metal spatula, instead of the pan being inherently non stick you can just quickly swipe under anything and it comes up withought leaving a residue.
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NoahGolden-c3x
i have just a lodge cast iron with that rougher grainy texture. I find that frying an egg on lower to mid heat slowly gets the desired non stick result. A cast iron isn't like a restaurant flat top you're not gonna be able to fry an egg at such high temperatures in 30 seconds. For a house hold cast iron pan go with low heat and a little bit of your time. I've only used the highest heat in the cast iron for searing meats like steak before cooking them at a much lower temperature. since the cast iron retains heat so well high heat isn't needed as much like in a Teflon pan.
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i have just a lodge cast iron with that rougher grainy texture. I find that frying an egg on lower to mid heat slowly gets the desired non stick result. A cast iron isn't like a restaurant flat top you're not gonna be able to fry an egg at such high temperatures in 30 seconds. For a house hold cast iron pan go with low heat and a little bit of your time. I've only used the highest heat in the cast iron for searing meats like steak before cooking them at a much lower temperature. since the cast iron retains heat so well high heat isn't needed as much like in a Teflon pan.
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TheBookDoctor
Smoothness totally makes a huge difference with cast iron. To the point that I've actually gone to the bother of using a small round whetstone (the kind made for sharpening axes while you're out camping) to manually machine the surface down smooth. This takes hours of messy grinding. It is a complete pain in the butt. But! Afterwards, you have a nice smooth, shiny iron surface. Throw a few rounds of seasoning on it with flax seed oil (imo the most effective oil for seasoning metal pans) in a 350 degree oven, and you've got yourself a pretty nice nonstick surface.
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Smoothness totally makes a huge difference with cast iron. To the point that I've actually gone to the bother of using a small round whetstone (the kind made for sharpening axes while you're out camping) to manually machine the surface down smooth. This takes hours of messy grinding. It is a complete pain in the butt. But! Afterwards, you have a nice smooth, shiny iron surface. Throw a few rounds of seasoning on it with flax seed oil (imo the most effective oil for seasoning metal pans) in a 350 degree oven, and you've got yourself a pretty nice nonstick surface.
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aragusea
can confirm that a one pan house results in bad ass seasoning. i learned this 2018-2021 when i had one cast iron pan i cooked EVERYTHING in. soup, eggs, bread, meat, vegies, french fries, everything; and whats more i didnt just use it on the stovetop, i put it in the oven for casserole as stuff. between the tea kettle, and the pan my range was never cold.
i didnt even have measuring cups so i just sort of vibed whatever ingredients the food bank had into something warm and digestible. i think i learned more about cooking in those years than the rest of my combined.
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can confirm that a one pan house results in bad ass seasoning. i learned this 2018-2021 when i had one cast iron pan i cooked EVERYTHING in. soup, eggs, bread, meat, vegies, french fries, everything; and whats more i didnt just use it on the stovetop, i put it in the oven for casserole as stuff. between the tea kettle, and the pan my range was never cold.
i didnt even have measuring cups so i just sort of vibed whatever ingredients the food bank had into something warm and digestible. i think i learned more about cooking in those years than the rest of my combined.
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ralphseelisch9040
Seasoning does not mean burn off the oil. Think of what you are saying this. You don't want to burn off the oil. Seasoning means raising the temperature of oil to just below smoke point. At this point over time the oil changes its chemical structurer, called polymerization. Now you have something that is somewhat none stick. I am surprised to see how poorly you where frying your eggs on the cast iron. Was this on purpose. I am an amateur and can do better than that. I also do not use Teflon anymore and only use cast iron or stainless steel.
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Seasoning does not mean burn off the oil. Think of what you are saying this. You don't want to burn off the oil. Seasoning means raising the temperature of oil to just below smoke point. At this point over time the oil changes its chemical structurer, called polymerization. Now you have something that is somewhat none stick. I am surprised to see how poorly you where frying your eggs on the cast iron. Was this on purpose. I am an amateur and can do better than that. I also do not use Teflon anymore and only use cast iron or stainless steel.
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danford8989
A lot of old cast iron skillets were actually milled on the cooking surface for a smooth finish most of the time, if you stripped that BSR to the bare metal you could probably spot some mill marks on it. I know mine did. :. Also Seasoning in a cast iron context is the polymerization of the oils on the surface of the skillet. The thicker layer of Polymerization you get typically the better non stick properties you get. Also you can treat cast iron cooking a lot like stainless steel cooking. The stuff in the pan will stick until its ready to flip.
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A lot of old cast iron skillets were actually milled on the cooking surface for a smooth finish most of the time, if you stripped that BSR to the bare metal you could probably spot some mill marks on it. I know mine did. :. Also Seasoning in a cast iron context is the polymerization of the oils on the surface of the skillet. The thicker layer of Polymerization you get typically the better non stick properties you get. Also you can treat cast iron cooking a lot like stainless steel cooking. The stuff in the pan will stick until its ready to flip.
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