Cast Iron Cookware..., Any Fans?

[muddy]

I cook with cast iron cookware quite a bit and was wondering if it's just a "Southern" thing or if folk from elsewhere like to use these heavy wieght skillets, dutch ovens, griddles and such?

We never had fancy pots & pans in our home as a youth, but I can certainly afford them now if I wanted. Seems I often go for the 10" skillet for many many dishes. I really like my cast iron griddle as well, great for breakfast fare.

I can see where folks wouldn't like cast iron just for the fact that it's quite heavy. My wife doesn't use it near as much as me. Then there's the maintenance issues, such as keeping it well seasoned with a light coating of oil after use. My wife seems to think it's odd that you don't use soap / detergent to clean them up either.

Discuss...

[Cygnus X1]

I happen to own a very fine set of Revere stainless steel ware,
the heavier pots double skinned.
But nothing really compares to the flavor of the cast iron 12" skillet for some things...bacon and eggs, pork chops, too many favorites to name.
But the casserole type dishes rule in those SS pots.
Same for veggies out of the garden!
Whether steamed or boiled, we have a special place for that big SS pot.

Too many words, but yes, the cast iron cannot be beat for some things.

Interrupted, edit to add:
Saasoning is everything!
A fry pan must be kept active, and in the correct order....Mom used to break in a brand new pan with liver and onions...hated those, but next morning, bacon, then eggs, then home fries (boiled potatoss sliced and fried), etc.
Done in the right order. 40 some years later, that skillet can cook the best flapjacks!
Amd never think of cleaning it-it is like a well seasoned griddle done right.

[phantomman]

We got a 7", a 9", and a 12" cast iron skillet and yes, we use 'em regularly.

[chuckocaster]

like the cyg said, no cleaning.

i cook in cast iron quite a bit, maybe not a southern thing, but my family is from oklahoma and south dakota. both my grandmas cook in cast iron, my mom cooks in cast iron, and i do, my sister and cousin don't though for some reason.

the thing i like best is that you can transfer them to a hot oven if needs be, like for chicken parmesean perhaps? plus they hold their heat really well when you fry or cook in them. i plan on getting one of those square skillets with the ridges in the bottom, but for now the 12" and 14" do me right.

[68Bassman]

Although we have all the modern cookware, I prefer and use the cast iron skillits, as does my wife, just something about them just seems right.

Brad

[dzguitar10]

We have several pieces too including a couple of nice dutch ovens. Even camping we take several pieces... I'm talking tents and campfires not RV's! Best cookware we've owned and has out lasted anything my wife and I have had since we've been married 25 years!

My favorite piece of cast iron cookware... an old cornbread pan with the shapes like little ears of corn! That baby wasn't easy to find either. I remember my great-grandmother having one when I was about 3-4 years old and then seeing my grandmother use it for years after that... Mmmm... cornbread!!!!!

[TT100]

Cast iron and gas. My preferred way to cook indoors. For saucepans I"m less picky. Revereware type copper clad works fine. Cheapo aluminum cookware is the worst.

I also prefer wooden spoons for stirring, tasting etc.

TT

[muddy]

I also prefer wooden spoons for stirring, tasting etc.TT

Same here?

Cool...I guess I'm not the only old school cook in the house then.

[Don]

We had a cast iron skillet in the past. I liked it, my wife didn't. We have a glass to electric range now and I'd be nervous using a cast iron skillet on it.

[Stonefreefuzz1]

Wooden spoons for me as well. Picked it up from my folks. Just seems right I guess.

[melody]

All the time...

[Fripperton]

We use nothing but. We have some visionware galss pots for boiling but for everything else it's cast iron. It's the original non-stick cookware.


Reminds me of of the first jokes I learned as a kid. A man saw a sign that said, Cast Iron Sinks and thought, "Shucks, everybody knows that.".

[Franklin]

Cast iron is awesome!

[dubya]

G.R.I.T.S. - Cast Iron!

I severely miss my gas stove, but still use my cast iron on my smooth glass top range.

Professional Chef style stainless steel cookware for sauce pans/pots.

Again, professional chef bakeware, I do cakes and catering periodically.

Pyrex everything else (especially the vintage pyrex).

I hate plastic - glass bowls, containers, glasses, etc. Plastic holds stains, smells, and comes out of the dishwasher as a sculpture.

A dutch oven or skillet just aint a skillet unless it's cast iron.



***of course we will all be diagnosed with alzheimers in our future older selves according have a dozen medical studies. (if'n you believe in that sort of garbage)

[Mesotech]

We have and use cast iron cookware and Magnalite cookware. There is a small convience store a couple of miles from me that sells a large assortment of cast iron products at very inexpensive prices (when compared to all of the other types of products out there).

I do use dishwashing liquids to clean it though after use, but always hand dry and apply another thin layer of oil afterwards. To do the initial seasoning of the cast stuff when I first bought it, I used real lard. I turned on the gas grill outside and let it get to about 500 degrees, then placed the cast pieces inside the grill with the lard. I let them bake (and smoke - which is why I did this outside) for about 20 minutes and then cool down while I did some more pieces. I did the entire process twice, and now I have very nicely seasoned cast iron cookware.

The Magnalite stuff is heavy aluminium stuff that is practically issued to every household here in Louisiana. Everyone I know uses Magnalite, and it works very well for everything the cast iron wouldn't be practical using.

We also have the obligatory cookie sheets, cake pans, and Pyrex bakeware as well. I think most people have a rather large mixture of things they've accumulated over the years, and we're no exception.

(I also have the little cornbread cast iron piece with the cooking area shaped like little ears of corn. I picked it up because I thought it was cute, but it has become one of my favorites.)

[dubya]

ditto ... Meso!

I never owned Magnalite but know lots of southerns who do.

I season my cast iron pretty much the same way, however, I was originally taught how by my great grandmother that lived in Delhi, LA (outside Monroe). She had a large farm and they burned all garbage. So when she got a new skillet she'd season it with huge amounts of lard and stick it in the pile that was burning. That got hotter than anything she could do indoors. After there was nothing left but ashes and skillet, she'd wash off the ashes, lightly wipe it again with lard and stick it in the oven on low heat for a couple of hours to further sanitize and season.

[cwilliamrose]

I'm not the cook but I want Kathy to have good tools. Plus, I figured if she had a nice set of good stuff, there would be more storage room once the old stuff left. Well the All-Clad I got her a couple of years ago displaced a lot but not the cast iron skillet. She doesn't use it often but it's not going anywhere.

As for all that reclaimed storage room -- that didn't really happen. There are things the All-Clad I bought didn't cover. One thing that changed right away was the amount of flipping and moving she had to do with her old cookware. I bought a 14" pan that heats evenly from center to edge. It's an awesome piece.

[refin]

My wife is a gourmet cook and uses cast iron whenever it's called for--------I love to watch her cook!

[FrankJohnson]

Not bragging.....
But I can do omelets in my large Cast Iron Skillet!

[Doc W]

No surprise here. Guys who appreciate the subtleties of a fine instrument and who are not slaves to every new tekkie "miracle" also love cast iron pans.

Me too, btw. I use my large one for everything from fried eggs and omelets to chili and curry.

[Cygnus X1]

Guess this thread wasn't a dud!
Cool stuff, all.

Does anyone own a Fuller brush?

[chuckocaster]

no, but i have a couple of purdy's.