Benefits of cooking with Cast Iron

[chocktaw2]

Lucky

You're a lucky person in as having something like this from so many yrs. gone by.

My cast iron pans belonged originally to my Great Grandmother...to say they are well seasoned is putting it mildly. I have never had reason to season them myself despite weekly use. They range in sizes from an 8 inch up to an 18 inch monster and all have lids as well. I also have my Grandmother's dutch oven.

 

[Indy317]

As I pointed out in the other thread, avoid Lodge. Cast iron should have a smooth surface. The lodge stuff is anything but smooth. Either get some older Griswold or Wagner stuff, or get some of the enameled cast iron made by Staub. The Staub stuff is costly, about $70-$80 for a decent sized skillet. It is very smooth though, and I wouldn't mind getting one in the future. The Le Creuset brand makes OK enameled cast iron, but I felt both a Le Creuset and Staub skillet and Staub is little bit smoother texture. The Staub is also much cheaper than the Le Creuset, which was over $100 (compared to the Staub at $80 or less).

As far as cleaning, methods very. I think the electrolysis method is best at cleaning older pieces. I actually need to finally break down and buy a battery charger and get my two older pieces cleaned. There are some hazards with this method, so do a ton of on-line research before starting down this path.

What you must understand at cast iron is that the build up that is needed can and does wear off. The more foods you cook that make their own grease, or the more oil/grease you use to cook with, the better. If your looking to just avoid teflon style pans and cook eggs, fry skinless chicken, etc., get an enameled cast iron piece. If you deep fry stuff in the pan, an older piece would be OK.

I've got a newer flat top electric. There's just too much space between the elements (which are under glass) and the skillet. It takes iron so long to heat up, due to it's thickness, that it fails to heat properly. I use my cast iron in the oven or on the grill.

My flat top is only five years old. I use cast iron just fine. The owner's manual says cast iron is OK, but they suggest against only because of the breakage factor. Cast iron is heavy, so there is more of a likelihood of glass breakage if dropped.

 

[rambone]

Can I season pans with Olive Oil or must I use something else?

 

[mrjarrell]

Can I season pans with Olive Oil or must I use something else?

Something else. Olive oil has too low a smoke point and it will burn while seasoning. You really want to use something like Crisco or vegetable oil, which has a high smoke point.