I had just begun to learn how to *bake* using the range and cast ironware. Now that's an art!
But alas, we moved and all that ended. I have a deep reverence for cast iron, as a result. :)
Posted on 08/27/2017 5:07:42 PM PDT by djf
Quality cast iron that is cared for properly is nonstick. I have cooked millions of eggs and everything else in cast iron. If you use and care for it properly it gets better and better.
The market was flooded with cheap cast iron, people didn’t know the difference. It was horrible. Some always think newer is better too. I have tried other stuff, didn’t like it.
Cast iron has to be quality to be good, and the good stuff is not cheap.
The old Griswold, Wagnor I still use every day were my mother’s, around 80 years old and still work perfectly. If I wanted to buy a new one it would be a Lodge.
Thanks for the info about various C.I. Pans.
What a beautiful old skillet. The key with vintage cast iron is to make sure the pan sits flat and hasn’t warped, although this will matter less if you’re cooking over gas. I bought an old Vollrath recently on eBay but wound up returning it because it was subtly warped.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned what exactly seasoning is. It’s not the fat becoming carbonized or building up in crusty layers mixed with charred food. It’s actually the fat polymerizing, that is, literally becoming a form of *plastic* where its molecules bind together in long cross linked chains.
A well formed seasoning is nearly impervious to soap and scrubbing.
The key to a good initial seasoning is to use only a very thin layer of fat. You should wipe it all around, then wipe it out with a dry towel. It should look almost dry. Too thick and you get a superficial seasoning that isn’t fully polymerized. It’ll be soft and weak. Better to build up in thin layers.
I don’t own any non-stick pans. I do eggs in either cast iron or carbon steel.
LOL.. sounds like my mama's skillet and then mine too. I'm 76 , grew up on cast iron skillets and kettles, have both and scrub in soap and scouring pads all the time. It is wonderful!!!!
I have a Lodge and Wagner. Both are great!!
I had just begun to learn how to *bake* using the range and cast ironware. Now that's an art!
But alas, we moved and all that ended. I have a deep reverence for cast iron, as a result. :)
Coated foods seem the worst, found out I need a veggie oil for that, usually use olive or grape seed. Coconut oil is to low burn temp. You can just wipe the pan out with a little veggie oil too, and then rub dry.
Since we have to watch cholesterol frying is not done often. More bake and crock pot or grill.
But catfish and fried chicken are a must have occasionally. When I pass Grandma’s skillet on to the next generation, they will know how to keep it working well.
Oh yes, nothing beats good, crunchy, melt in mouth, fried catfish!
Or Chicken. I still use my grandma’s recipes for both. Buttermilk is the key ingredient. She made biscuits from scratch every morning and cornbread every night. Never measured anything. She had a big garden every year and canned all sorts of fruits and veggies. So did my mom.
LOL I am so glad you asked and can’t believe I missed this thread until today. I used my x-lg pan to help a neighbor put out a deep-fryer fire (still 2 small) and the local fire dept coated it with extinguisher crud. I haven’t worked on it, and may just go get a new one, but I’ll have enough ideas to figure out which is best.
I like em both....the best of both worlds...cast iron and copper/ceramic.
Not only that, I also use a “well seasoned” wood cook-stove, and a couple of induction cookers. The induction cookers are fantastic. Better than gas! Why? I’ll tell ya.
If it’s too hot to fire up the cookstove, or while it’s getting going, the ICs are great. You can dial up a specific temperature up to 500F or let it idle at 100F. If you want to leave the room...bump it down and turn it up when you come back.
The unit doesn’t get hot...just the pan. Cast iron, stainless, induction cookware all work fine (but stainless skillets stick)
I like the copper-ceramic saute pan for caramelizing onions and cooking green peppers or mushrooms, really easy to flip, no spatula required.
The cast iron skillet on the IC is fantastic, heats right up to where you want it, you can sear steaks or burgers, make gravy, and the best thing is...you can use a stainless spatula....it can’t hurt the pan.
I also have a cast iron wok...the only one I’ve ever seen. It works great on the cookstove, take the lid off the stove and put the base of the wok right down in the fire.
I cook Chinese, Thai, Spaghetti sauce and Cajun in the wok.
Oh wow, yes, I can imagine it being very gratifying to open that door and pull out something like a nice loaf of bread. Seems like it would be tricky to get a consistent result since the temperature wouldn’t be as well regulated as with a modern oven.
I had more failures, than successes. :)
Having the experience of knowing exactly what kind of wood you were burning, and how the drafts were set, made it more like an art than a science.
I miss always having a stock pot simmering. Good times, missed.
That sounds wonderful as an art. It would be like being an engineer on a locomotive, with your destination as something delicious!
I love your analogy! True that!
That beasty stove was turned on, on Labor Day and burned 24/7 until Memorial day...helped heat a wing on a 17 room, 19th century farmhouse.
Power outages were common.....and at least, we had hot coffee for all the farm employees, looking to warm-up for a few minutes. Good times.
Wow, 17 rooms — that is a true estate. It reminds me of twenty years ago when I worked for a guy who did vintage home restorations. We were doing a place in Tennessee, a plantation mansion owned by one of the confederate generals, I forget the name, and it had lots and lots of rooms and massive fireplaces. Could easily imagine them having kept an iron workhorse like that stoked for months on end to help keep the place warm.
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