Cookware debate, Pampered Chef vs Lodge cast iron

[RevoWood123]

I have had several PC items that have been fantastic, that being said, I use Wagner and Griswald cast iron (except for a Kitchenaid enameled cast iron dutch oven that I don't know where it came from, but it is amazing), and T-Fal professional non-stick pans. I have used the Lodge cast iron before and its been fine, but nothing I was extremely impressed by. I also have some stainless steel pots and pans that I hardly ever use anymore.

 

[17 squirrel]

Shrimp scampi, fried cabbage, pineapple upside-down cake, etc. all seem to taste better from cast iron.

Dam man you had to post Fried Cabbage, now I gotta go to Harvest..
Tonight was Ribs & baked Sweet tators... Now Ribs & baked sweets along with fried Cabbage.. I'm destined never to be slim again.

 

[Alpo]

Griswold or go home.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Griswold or go home.

Yes! Another Griswold snob! We can start our own club!

 

[Alpo]

I've had one that belonged to my grandma. It has been handed down to my oldest boy now. *sniff*

 

[IndyDave1776]

I've had one that belonged to my grandma. It has been handed down to my oldest boy now. *sniff*

Look at the bright side. Griswold is forever, and there are plenty of them to be had!

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

That sounds like a nice piece. I certainly hope your daughter appreciates it!

On the subject of seasoning, I have a ton of it to get done before much longer. My #10 Griswold dutch oven is in good shape. The seasoning on my #7 and #9 skillets could use some rework. I have two #8 Wagner dutch ovens that really need cleaned and seasoned, along with some specialty pans I want to get ready to use if for no better reason the amusement of my nieces and nephews with off the wall foods. I also have a #3 Wagner Scotch bowl that will need seasoned. It should be just the ticket for things that need a lot of stirring. I am also considering a larger Scotch bowl for use making stir fry. It isn't absolutely necessary, but the nicely rounded bottom certainly makes it easier!

Oh, and how could I forget my miracle find for the week. I am sure that the #3 Griswold oval roaster I just bought will need seasoned. Those things are ungodly expensive even at a bargain, but it isn't so bad in the context that I anticipate using it at least once a week. It is just right to be the perfect meatloaf pan!

After getting several old crusty flea market skillets over the summer, I decided to get some 100% lye to soak them in. Finally found some at Ace Hardware, and they make you sign for it (think it's used in meth-making?) After a few days in the lye, even the most crusty black skillet came out really clean. Then they just need to be gone over with an SOS pad and they're ready to season.

I've never seen an oval cast iron roasting pan, sounds like a real find.

 

[pitbulld45]

We use both in conjunction. It really is hard to beat cast iron, stones and stoneware will brake.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I've never seen an oval cast iron roasting pan, sounds like a real find.

They aren't too common in any form. Griswold made them in numbers 3,5,7, and 9. The dimensions are in the link I posted upthread. In any event, the #3 and #9 are the hardest to come by, especially with trivets. Given that the purpose for the #3 I just bought is to be my meatloaf pan, I really want a trivet so that my meatloaf doesn't get that hard crust on the bottom that is otherwise virtually impossible to reliably stop. The #9 is very deep in addition to being large in length and width to the tune of 20 quarts. I would also like to have one of those at some point, but given that single guys don't often cook things like whole turkeys, it is of lower priority in spite of being somewhat less rare. I felt like I won the sweepstakes when I picked up a #3 for under $270 including shipping. I recently saw one auction for somewhere around $1800 (I quit paying close attention at about $800).

My expectation is that having a pan conforming to the shape of the meatloaf should promote more even cooking, and if not, at least it will be an easier fit in the pan rather than trying to put it in a round dutch oven (which would require a #10 Dutch oven to equal the length of the #3 oval) or using something more along the lines of a bread pan, which will promote burning a hard crust into the meatloaf which I prefer not to do.

 

[pitbulld45]

My wife and I love to find vintage cast iron and restore and use it. We have probably over 200 pieces

 

[IndyDave1776]

My wife and I love to find vintage cast iron and restore and use it. We have probably over 200 pieces

Here I thought I was doing well. I have *Dave scratches head and starts counting* maybe 30 pieces including the #3 oval I just bought which is in shipment, counting lids separately. That sounds like an impressive collection!

 

[Hoosier8]

Ok INGO, help me out here.

We are in the process of replacing some of our cookware. Now, My fiance hosted a Pampered Chef party not to long ago and with all the orders she got qualified her for some pretty hefty discounts for pampered chef stuff. Now I think the stuff is over hyped and WAY overpriced myself but her discounts actually bring them into what I consider the reasonable price range. The do have a lifetime warranty but I'm not sold on them as being worth the money.

Thursday was my 28th birthday and my brother knowing that we were going to replace some of our cookware, gave me a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet. He knows I want to make the switch to cast iron. I know that cast iron will last a lifetime with proper care and we can pass it on to our grand kids, are nonstick with proper seasoning and maintaining of the seasoning. But she is concerned about the weight of them. I do 90% of the cooking anyway. So her concerns are unfounded I think.

So I'm dead set on cast iron and have been wanting to make the switch for a while now. She wants the more modern ligher weight Pampered Chef stuff.

Which would you choose and why?

I have and use one cast iron pan which is the Lodge 12" and one dutch oven. I use the cast iron pan the most. Non stick is great for a few things and it is nice to have a non stick around but I use the cast iron pan for most everything. I cook a big pot of beans and ham hocks in the Dutch Oven for 8 hrs at 225.

 

[17 squirrel]

My wife and I love to find vintage cast iron and restore and use it. We have probably over 200 pieces

WaaaaaaWow.. Do you have pallet racking for kitchen cabinets ?
I'm like Indy, I thought 25 or so was excessive... Now I have something to strive for.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

WaaaaaaWow.. Do you have pallet racking for kitchen cabinets ?
I'm like Indy, I thought 25 or so was excessive... Now I have something to strive for.

Yeah, me too. I can't pass up an iron skillet at a flea market or garage sale without checking it out. Got my nickel-plated "Sidney" for five bucks. I doubt if we have more than 10 or so, since we tend to give them to family and friends as gifts.

 

[CptCrik]

Cast iron is sweet until the handle heats up and you can't move your skillet... That being said I usually won't shy away from it, but it wouldn't be all I'd have. I have 3 cast iron deals, but it's also freaking heavy sometimes it's a bad thing.

I have a pampered chef bunt pan that's stone and that thing is my favorite pan in the kitchen. One reason is the fact I can throw it in the microwave. It makes the best cake I've ever had! I don't have anything else pampered chef so I can't add much else to this but I wanted to at least throw this in.

Next time you go to Walmart or a camping store, head over to their outside cooking area, you can find some specialized slide on handle covers for cast iron so that you don't have to worry about the handles getting to hot to handle. I got mine in a two pack.

 

[pitbulld45]

WaaaaaaWow.. Do you have pallet racking for kitchen cabinets ?
I'm like Indy, I thought 25 or so was excessive... Now I have something to strive for.

We have it hung on walls, under kitchen table benches, in cabinets, the oven, in the garage in stacks. 200 may have been a bit of an exaggeration but I know we have well over 100. We have gotten picky at this point looking for rarer pieces that we don't have.

 

[pitbulld45]

There are some great facebook groups dedicated to cast iron cookware

 

[IndyDave1776]

WaaaaaaWow.. Do you have pallet racking for kitchen cabinets ?
I'm like Indy, I thought 25 or so was excessive... Now I have something to strive for.

I would point out that part of it is what in particular you have. As I mentally review the inventory...

1. One of my best pieces (actually 3 pieces given that they generally have to be found and pieced together, although I found an unmolested original set) is a #10 Griswold Dutch over with the trivet.

2. Rivaling this for the top spot is the #3 oval (with lid), hopefully with a trivet joining it in the near future.

3. Griswold #9 'flat bottom kettle'. They make a lid, which I do not have.

4. Wagner #3 Scotch bowl. It isn't flattened out enough to double as a wok, but it is just the ticket for its original purpose of making soups and stews that require near constant stirring without any 'corners' where unstirred material can escape from you.

5. #7 skillet with correct lid.

6. #9 skillet now with correct lid plus the lid I got with a chicken fryer that ended up having a crack in the bottom that I used even though it was a mismatch but it worked.

7. Muffin pan.

8. Aebelskiver pan.

9. Plett pan (think scandinavian-style mix for silver dollar pancakes).

10. 2x#8 Wagner dutch ovens, one lid I believe to be old vintage Lodge, one Griswold lid, and one new Lodge trivet.

11. divided cornbread skillet.

12. #12 camp fire dutch oven with legs and fence around the lid to hold hot coals on top.

13. Griswold waffle iron with both high and low bases.

14. Jotul krumkake iron (basically a thin, smaller waffle iron for a sweeter scandinavian mix)

15. US made larger krumkake iron.

16. Wagner deep fryer (with basket).

17. Staub dutch oven with lid.

I also have a couple more Griswold skillets that I bough and put, well, somewhere.

On my bucket list, you will find a #9 oval roaster/lid/trivet and at least one Griswold maslin pot, although given the acidity of jelly, I am thinking that stainless steel may well be better for actual use.

As far as non-cast iron goes, I have a couple of nonsticks, mainly left over from before I went on the quest for cast. I have also been accumulating vintage Revere Ware (the old Rome NY and Clinton IL stuff, not the sh*t from asia they are selling now that is paper thin and says 'Revere' on it), particularly 16 quart stock pots for the purpose of boiling down tomato sauce. I also like them for lighter soups and have acquired a couple of double boilers for the things that call for it. I haven't tried it yet, but I did buy a Revere egg poacher which is technically a stretch. It is more frying an egg in a cup suspended in a double boiler rather than truly poaching an egg in the sense of cooking it actually in the water, but I am inclined to believe that I may like the results with a lot less difficulty than actually poaching and not frying every single time.

 

[dprimm]

Go price a La Creuset Dutch oven and the Pampered Chef will seem like a deal.

Except you will LOVE the La Creuset every time you use it. I had a cheap dutch oven for a few years until I was gifted a La Creuset. Worth every penny. Esp if you can find them on sale!

 

[JettaKnight]

So I'm dead set on cast iron and have been wanting to make the switch for a while now. She wants the more modern ligher weight Pampered Chef stuff.

Which would you choose and why?

Lightweight =/= good, especially for a dutch oven.

The whole point of a dutch oven or other cast iron is to absorb heat slowly and hold on to it. For that you need thermal mass.

I'm not going to trash PC, I have some stuff that I like, but...


Are you looking at the Lodge enameled or naked Dutch oven? I have the latter, and it's my go-to for deep fat frying.

I would rather have the old school Wagner or Griswald cast iron, it is fun to buy and use.

True that. I have a 6" WagnerWare and a 9" Griswold (Erie). Both are far smoother than any thing on the market today. The modern process is snad casting and that leaves a slightly rough finish. I saw Pioneer Woman (?) - you know that redhead following the path of Rachel Ray (Yuck!) - at Walmart - so very, very, rough... and lightweight.

I use a #9 Griswold with a lid. For fried chicken, the lid makes all the difference in the world. Vintage lids are ungodly expensive, but worth every penny!

Wait, there's lids?! Swell... now time to hit Ebay.

Go price a La Creuset Dutch oven and the Pampered Chef will seem like a deal.

Buy once, cry once. Where is the P.C. made?

I have a Staub - because I like cock (just look at the handle you pervert!). That pot will last several lifetimes.

FYI, I routinely see La Creuset pots in my local TJ Maxx. Maybe they're seconds, I don't know.