Why people love cast iron pans (and why I'm on the fence)
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Date: 2020-07-27
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Comments and reviews: 9
lordofduct
I was afraid where you're going to go with your FWIW final opinion because you did start out saying how you're not a fan.
But I totally agree.
If you ain't going to use it all the time, do not bother. Cast iron is definitely a cookware that demands constant use and attention. I often hear about people's pans rusting and the sort and for the longest time I couldn't fathom how. I've been using the same pan my entire life, it was used by my father, and by his mother, this pan is easily 100 years old and I've NEVER had rust. So I couldn't figure out how people are getting rusted pans.
It didn't dawn on me until recent years that people just weren't cooking on it regularly. And that's when I thought of my sister with some of our other cast iron from the family just hanging on the wall to look cool but she never actually cooked with it. It's all tarnished with a light red colouring. Never really thought about it at first (ain't like I'm staring at people's cast iron every day, but when you start putting it together you're like ohhhhhhhhh.
So yeah. totally agree. If you ain't cooking in it regularly. Don't bother with it.
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I was afraid where you're going to go with your FWIW final opinion because you did start out saying how you're not a fan.
But I totally agree.
If you ain't going to use it all the time, do not bother. Cast iron is definitely a cookware that demands constant use and attention. I often hear about people's pans rusting and the sort and for the longest time I couldn't fathom how. I've been using the same pan my entire life, it was used by my father, and by his mother, this pan is easily 100 years old and I've NEVER had rust. So I couldn't figure out how people are getting rusted pans.
It didn't dawn on me until recent years that people just weren't cooking on it regularly. And that's when I thought of my sister with some of our other cast iron from the family just hanging on the wall to look cool but she never actually cooked with it. It's all tarnished with a light red colouring. Never really thought about it at first (ain't like I'm staring at people's cast iron every day, but when you start putting it together you're like ohhhhhhhhh.
So yeah. totally agree. If you ain't cooking in it regularly. Don't bother with it.
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Contour
I gotta say, I love both my cast iron and my stainless. But they're for different things. Stainless is for when I don't care if things stick. Like meat (I think I genuinely get a better sear on stainless than cast iron. And it's for when I'm cooking acidic stuff that will make more work for me with my cast iron.
Cast iron is for everything else. Eggs, pancakes, frying veggies or potatoes, etc.
I also really don't agree with the oil storage method. Store your cast iron naked. It's harder on it, but rancid oil is gross and if you don't consistently heat it when you get it back out you get a nice sticky patina that's not non-stick at all. I'd rather have my 20 pan rust and have to restore it than eat old oil. The real beauty of cast iron is that you can always start over. It's like a hardwood floor, if the floor were like 4 feet thick.
Also I have pretty good luck with hot pan cold oil on the stainless. Spray oil also helps. But when it comes to stuff like eggs, the hot pan part is already too hot for eggs, and it's just not non-stick enough. Cast iron is much easier.
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I gotta say, I love both my cast iron and my stainless. But they're for different things. Stainless is for when I don't care if things stick. Like meat (I think I genuinely get a better sear on stainless than cast iron. And it's for when I'm cooking acidic stuff that will make more work for me with my cast iron.
Cast iron is for everything else. Eggs, pancakes, frying veggies or potatoes, etc.
I also really don't agree with the oil storage method. Store your cast iron naked. It's harder on it, but rancid oil is gross and if you don't consistently heat it when you get it back out you get a nice sticky patina that's not non-stick at all. I'd rather have my 20 pan rust and have to restore it than eat old oil. The real beauty of cast iron is that you can always start over. It's like a hardwood floor, if the floor were like 4 feet thick.
Also I have pretty good luck with hot pan cold oil on the stainless. Spray oil also helps. But when it comes to stuff like eggs, the hot pan part is already too hot for eggs, and it's just not non-stick enough. Cast iron is much easier.
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Cletus
I have the at least 100 year old set that's been passed down in my family. I only use them for a select few things: cornbread, , biscuits, meatloaf and simple cakes or cobblers/tarts. I've never been able to cook anything else in them, much less an egg. NEVER an egg. A burger just seems to stick and burn. After I gave them an all new seasoning a couple of years ago, well, even before then, I just wash them, dry them on the stove, rub them in oil, back on the stove for a couple of minutes on high heat and sit them on the lower rack of the oven for a night or two while I'm cooking something else in the oven. AMAZING bottom crusts on the cornbread and meatloaf. I wouldn't cook them any other way. Typing this out, I've realized that I can't cook anything in an iron skillet on the stove top. Only in the oven. Anything that requires browning on the stove sticks and pulls all the brown off even after waiting for it to release. like it's supposed to?
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I have the at least 100 year old set that's been passed down in my family. I only use them for a select few things: cornbread, , biscuits, meatloaf and simple cakes or cobblers/tarts. I've never been able to cook anything else in them, much less an egg. NEVER an egg. A burger just seems to stick and burn. After I gave them an all new seasoning a couple of years ago, well, even before then, I just wash them, dry them on the stove, rub them in oil, back on the stove for a couple of minutes on high heat and sit them on the lower rack of the oven for a night or two while I'm cooking something else in the oven. AMAZING bottom crusts on the cornbread and meatloaf. I wouldn't cook them any other way. Typing this out, I've realized that I can't cook anything in an iron skillet on the stove top. Only in the oven. Anything that requires browning on the stove sticks and pulls all the brown off even after waiting for it to release. like it's supposed to?
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Adam
Hey everybody, here's a point I make in the video, but I wish I had made a little earlier on (judging by the comments): The easiest way to maintain cast iron is to cook with it all the time. Our great-grandparents didn't obsess over polymerization blah blah blah. They just cooked in the damn thing. They cooked most meals they ate (unlike a lot of us today, and most of those meals they cooked in their cast iron. Cooking in it constantly will maintain a decent seasoning, and iron pans generally only start to rust if you don't use them. So, as I said, if you're gonna use it all the time, I think cast iron is great. That's why you have people commenting here saying, I never worry about any of this stuff and my pan works great! That's probably because they're cooking with it all the time, which is awesome. But if you're not gonna cook with it all the time, I do think there are better options, assuming you can afford them.
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Hey everybody, here's a point I make in the video, but I wish I had made a little earlier on (judging by the comments): The easiest way to maintain cast iron is to cook with it all the time. Our great-grandparents didn't obsess over polymerization blah blah blah. They just cooked in the damn thing. They cooked most meals they ate (unlike a lot of us today, and most of those meals they cooked in their cast iron. Cooking in it constantly will maintain a decent seasoning, and iron pans generally only start to rust if you don't use them. So, as I said, if you're gonna use it all the time, I think cast iron is great. That's why you have people commenting here saying, I never worry about any of this stuff and my pan works great! That's probably because they're cooking with it all the time, which is awesome. But if you're not gonna cook with it all the time, I do think there are better options, assuming you can afford them.
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AFnord
I'm a chemical engineer, and while I've not done any research on cast iron, it's my belief that a lot of what you hear about the things you need to do with cast iron is just misinformation that keeps getting repeated. Don't be afraid of using soap, don't be afraid of cooking mildly acidic food in it, don't worry so much about how to store it, don't be so pedantic about your oiling and seasoning of the pan, you're putting a lot of effort in, for little gain. Yeah, sure, season the pan every once in a while, but unless you're actually starting to have problems with it, don't worry.
I regularly cook in cast iron, and I really abuse my cookware. My cast iron cookware is still as good as the day I got it, and the same can't be said for any other pan or pot. And if I were to break my cast iron cookware, then I can replace it, it's not that expensive, nor is it that bad for the environment to produce and recycle.
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I'm a chemical engineer, and while I've not done any research on cast iron, it's my belief that a lot of what you hear about the things you need to do with cast iron is just misinformation that keeps getting repeated. Don't be afraid of using soap, don't be afraid of cooking mildly acidic food in it, don't worry so much about how to store it, don't be so pedantic about your oiling and seasoning of the pan, you're putting a lot of effort in, for little gain. Yeah, sure, season the pan every once in a while, but unless you're actually starting to have problems with it, don't worry.
I regularly cook in cast iron, and I really abuse my cookware. My cast iron cookware is still as good as the day I got it, and the same can't be said for any other pan or pot. And if I were to break my cast iron cookware, then I can replace it, it's not that expensive, nor is it that bad for the environment to produce and recycle.
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Donald
I use cast iron pans multiple times weekly. I wash them with a soapy brush if more than just wiping them out is necessary. Then I dry, heat and lightly oil them. In the last decade, the only pan I have had to season has been a new pan. I love the way I can sear them on the stove-top and then slide them in the oven. I can also toss them on the grill or my Blackstone griddle whenever I want. A smile creeps across my face when eggs slide around in them. Best of all, I never worry about carcinogens in my food. Some of my pans have been passed down three generations and I think of that every time I pull them out to make something. They are nowhere near the chore some folks make them out to be.
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I use cast iron pans multiple times weekly. I wash them with a soapy brush if more than just wiping them out is necessary. Then I dry, heat and lightly oil them. In the last decade, the only pan I have had to season has been a new pan. I love the way I can sear them on the stove-top and then slide them in the oven. I can also toss them on the grill or my Blackstone griddle whenever I want. A smile creeps across my face when eggs slide around in them. Best of all, I never worry about carcinogens in my food. Some of my pans have been passed down three generations and I think of that every time I pull them out to make something. They are nowhere near the chore some folks make them out to be.
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csclarkmusic
The idea that the only way to fix a slightly rusty cast iron pan is to 'take it to your buddy' to hook it up a 'car battery' is completely misleading. This video is full of half truths and exaggerations for the sole point of being controversial. You can perfectly clean a slightly rusty cast iron pan at home. London has 80% humidity most of the year and the only time my pan gets rusty is if I'm too lazy to dry it off properly and bit of elbow grease and vinegar will solve that. For more serious cases, a vinegar bath and some time in the oven with a wipe down will fix things. This just. a really horrible video and I find it hard to get this passionate over simple culinary stuff?
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The idea that the only way to fix a slightly rusty cast iron pan is to 'take it to your buddy' to hook it up a 'car battery' is completely misleading. This video is full of half truths and exaggerations for the sole point of being controversial. You can perfectly clean a slightly rusty cast iron pan at home. London has 80% humidity most of the year and the only time my pan gets rusty is if I'm too lazy to dry it off properly and bit of elbow grease and vinegar will solve that. For more serious cases, a vinegar bath and some time in the oven with a wipe down will fix things. This just. a really horrible video and I find it hard to get this passionate over simple culinary stuff?
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Aryaman
I'm from South India where we use cast iron extensively at home to cook things like Dosas on. We actually season our cookware (flat, round griddles similar to a plancha) on the stove by frying bits of onion on them until they are burned black. At this stage, fine salt is added on to absorb excess oil residue and then the surface is wiped clean. This process seems to create a really good patina on on the pan and allows the thick, fermented dosa batter (rice and lentils) to slide off easily with an almost glassy surface-indicating that the seasoning is fairly even.
EDIT: eggs work really well too with the prerequisite thin coating of oil wiped on before cooking!
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I'm from South India where we use cast iron extensively at home to cook things like Dosas on. We actually season our cookware (flat, round griddles similar to a plancha) on the stove by frying bits of onion on them until they are burned black. At this stage, fine salt is added on to absorb excess oil residue and then the surface is wiped clean. This process seems to create a really good patina on on the pan and allows the thick, fermented dosa batter (rice and lentils) to slide off easily with an almost glassy surface-indicating that the seasoning is fairly even.
EDIT: eggs work really well too with the prerequisite thin coating of oil wiped on before cooking!
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Tryston
My 12-inch lodge never leaves my stove top. I cook almost everything in it that I would want day-to-day.
Another implement I like is my carbon steel wok, which seasons like cast iron. I don't have a good type of oven for it, but both pans really just need a dry wipe after cooking once they are seasoned. Maybe water and a little soap if something is caked on.
I've never used a high-quality nonstick pan, but cheap ones have always been a nightmare. I like being able to use metal spatulas without breaking my pan, so Teflon seems like a bad deal.
It must be pretty hot in Macon right now for you to go full Jeff Goldblum.
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My 12-inch lodge never leaves my stove top. I cook almost everything in it that I would want day-to-day.
Another implement I like is my carbon steel wok, which seasons like cast iron. I don't have a good type of oven for it, but both pans really just need a dry wipe after cooking once they are seasoned. Maybe water and a little soap if something is caked on.
I've never used a high-quality nonstick pan, but cheap ones have always been a nightmare. I like being able to use metal spatulas without breaking my pan, so Teflon seems like a bad deal.
It must be pretty hot in Macon right now for you to go full Jeff Goldblum.
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