Love my cast iron cookware

[_Dave_]

Just an update to tell about my new discovery using cast iron.

Previously, I had recommended using high heat to cook eggs, bacon etc. to keep them from sticking. But recently I didn't get my pan heated hot enough and the eggs went in and didn't sizzle. I thought, "Oh no, they are going to stick."

It turned out that they came off just fine and, in fact, actually better than the high-heat method. I believe the reason it worked this time, when in the past low heat would give me a sticky mess, is because by now my pan is very well-seasoned.

The added benefit is that the eggs cooked up very white without that scorched butter color and sort of crispy texture on the bottom of the cooked egg. Personally, I don't mind it that way, but my wife really likes the "clean" egg look. She prefers a poached egg kind of look and texture, so the low-heat method comes out very close to that.

I've cooked eggs that way several times now and it works every time.

So, for those who are just starting out you need to use high heat for awhile ... until you don't. It just depends on how well-seasoned your frying pan is.

Still lovin' my cast iron.

 

[_Dave_]

I just cooked up some eggs for my daughter on my new griddle. It now works with low-heat on the griddle too.

I will say that when I first got the griddle I did use the high-heat method of a while, but have used the griddle quite a bit and it is now very well-seasoned too. The eggs in the photo were perfectly "slideable."

Apologies for the out-of-focus photo. My phone camera is busted and won't focus.

 

[SamsonXX]

God makes it simple.

xD

 

[SamsonXX]

Just an update to tell about my new discovery using cast iron.

Previously, I had recommended using high heat to cook eggs, bacon etc. to keep them from sticking. But recently I didn't get my pan heated hot enough and the eggs went in and didn't sizzle. I thought, "Oh no, they are going to stick."

It turned out that they came off just fine and, in fact, actually better than the high-heat method. I believe the reason it worked this time, when in the past low heat would give me a sticky mess, is because by now my pan is very well-seasoned.

The added benefit is that the eggs cooked up very white without that scorched butter color and sort of crispy texture on the bottom of the cooked egg. Personally, I don't mind it that way, but my wife really likes the "clean" egg look. She prefers a poached egg kind of look and texture, so the low-heat method comes out very close to that.

I've cooked eggs that way several times now and it works every time.

So, for those who are just starting out you need to use high heat for awhile ... until you don't. It just depends on how well-seasoned your frying pan is.

Still lovin' my cast iron.

 

[bèlla]

I use Le Creuset dutch ovens and bakeware. It’s very durable and heavy. The pots are wonderful for canning and the jams never scorch. For every day cooking I use stainless steel but I’d like to replace them with copper.

 

[ilovejcsog]

I know you're joking, but so far I am extremely pleased with the non-stick properties of these pans ... better than any non-stick pan we've ever had.

Saying that, however, there are some negatives about these things. They are HEAVY! They take more work to maintain. And you can't take one backpacking ... although I did once when I was 25 years old and stupid for my age.

I wasn't joking?

 

[_Dave_]

Been a while since anybody has posted to this cast iron skillet topic, but I wanted to update.

When my 91-year-old mother died in March I inherited her cast iron skillet that was passed down from her mother, my grandma. I know for a fact that Mom hadn't been using that skillet, at least for as long as I can remember, as I would have noticed during my visits. So I was interested in how it would perform after being stored for so long.

It was in surprisingly good shape ... no rust, pretty much flat, inside was mirror-smooth, and the outside had decades of grime on the bottom, but no rust. I scraped off the crud from the bottom to reveal markings that made it a small-logo Griswold #8 704F Erie PA, which placed it as being manufactured between 1939 and 1957 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The only thing I did to the inside was scrub it real good with hot water, a metal scrubber and a little bit of soap, dry it thoroughly, then give it my typical seasoning treatment with avocado oil. Then I dabbed in a little butter and broke a couple eggs in. I was shocked! After the eggs cooked up a little I lifted the pan to test to see if they were sticking and they almost slid out onto the stove top.

Absolutely amazing. I've heard that the quality of those old Griswolds is way better than the newer skillets today ... and they are so right.

What I especially appreciate is knowing that this is likely the very skillet that my grandma used to make her delicious fried chicken that we enjoyed so much when us kids spent summers on her Iowa farm in the early 60s. It has real sentimental value. And it is now our family's go-to skillet.

 

[Aaron112]

God makes it simple.

Yes! As written, God made everything simple. Man came up with many devices (in errors, falsehoods, deceptions, many in religion btw) .....

 

[Aaron112]

After viewing a YouTube video recently about the dangers of using modern non-stick cookware, especially frying pans

"Need to know" ..... people now have readily available access to avoid non-stick artificial coatings....

 

[jas3]

I don't like the sand finish interior at all. It makes no sense to me. And it's not that they can't polish it - the bottom exterior is smooth.

Apparently at one time they did produce skillets with smooth interiors, but the seasoning sticks better with the rougher cast surface, and having an unnecessary step in the manufacturing process is expensive, so the polishing step was removed.

The only special thing I do for my cast iron is heat it to dry after washing and occasionally give it a very light coat of canola oil for extra seasoning. Otherwise, I treat it like regular dishes: wash with soap and hot water, scrub with the scrubber side of a scotch brite sponge. It doesn't damage the seasoning unless you're using the heavy duty sponge and really bear down on it, but then restoring the seasoning on one spot is as simple as putting a drop of oil on it, spreading it thin with a paper towel, and heating the pan until smoking.

The kind of oil used for seasoning really doesn't make a difference. People will agonize over smoke points and tell you you need exotic oils that can only be found at expensive grocery stores, but after finding and using grapeseed oil myself, I stick with canola.

 

[Aaron112]

Apparently at one time they did produce skillets with smooth interiors, but the seasoning sticks better with the rougher cast surface, and having an unnecessary step in the manufacturing process is expensive, so the polishing step was removed.

I think it is because of greed. Less expensive to provide excuses for rough surfaces
than to produce the much better smooth surfaces like they did in by-gone days.