Here's a batch of orange sweet rolls I did in the cast iron skillet my husband, Logitech, bought for me:
p.s. I highly recommend ordering stuff from Walmart since, even though they will deliver free to your home for orders over $35, I would still prefer the store pickup option. One reason is you can often get the items the same day or the next day but another important reason is you don't have to worry about Porch Pirates. Since I go to Walmart at least twice a week, it is no problem for me to pick up at the store as I did in this case.
Sfl
Wawa shirt? Must be a Pennsylvania guy...
I use cast iron myself.
The only pan that competes is my Matfer Bourgeat carbon steel skillet. It's lighter than the cast iron and once seasoned (salt and sliced potatoes if you can believe it) it is just as non-stick as a well seasoned cast iron skillet. The lighter weight is a plus.
Been frying eggs daily in the same cast iron pan for 39 years.
Wipe clean of oil and put away. I wash maybe once every 3 weeks. Then recoat with oil and butter and heat for a while. Wipe off oil and it’s done.
If someone else uses it and screws it up. First I clean it then put it in a hot oven coated with oil/butter. Cook the grease back in. Then wipe clean
Recently found that olive oil is great for cooking eggs that won’t stick. I had been using butter before but I have a dairy problem. That is extra virgin olive oil
I’ve got a couple of old cast iron pans from my family and I love them.
Supposedly you get a trace iron supplement from them — which has got to be better than a trace teflon supplement!
Here's a batch of orange sweet rolls I did in the cast iron skillet my husband, Logitech, bought for me:
Cast iron is good for things that benifit in flavor for one reason or another from controlled heat. Thin Carbon steel pans are good for fast high heat work. Both season quickly. In my experience a seasoned Carbon steel is far more slippery than any Teflon I have used.
Cast iron makes things brown which I can't get out of Teflon pans. However, they are not good for glass topped stoves as they will scratch the glass. I have a porcelain coated cast iron pan I got from Costco which works nicely on the stove. It is heavy and I only use it when I want things to brown (e.g. fried potatoes, sausage).
Wow, I sound like a real cook. Don't be deceived. Hamburgers are my specialty. :O)
Walmart also sells their ironware in the sporting goods section for camping - And the seasonal clearances are significant if you get them at the right time.
Now is not the right time though. If you go at the end of the fall they can be found for a dollar.
I used to use cast iron, but I found little in-perceivable spots of rust throughout the pan. Taking care of these pans takes a long time.
I don’t use teflon either - but I do use bare aluminum. Just have to watch the food cooking and use a good cooking spray ALL the time. I got the pump spray can and fill it with EEVO and it works quite well.
PJ, we’ve been using cast iron for a long time now. Yeah, it takes a little more to care for the stuff, but the even heating with less energy is great.
FWIW, we’ve found that the older stuff seems to work a little better than some of the newer stuff on the shelves these days. We will scour yard sales during the summer and will pick up pieces in the $2-$20 range (as long as they’re not pitted) that look so nasty and neglected that they look like they belong in the dump. With a little elbow grease and some restoration techniques (youtube vids helped us), they came out looking like brand new and work great.
IE: last summer while in Maine, we picked up a 1940-50s era 8” skillet for $2 that will cook cornbread to kill for. At the same time we picked up a nice dutch oven for $10. Yeah, both of em looked terrible but came out of restoration looking brand new.
I can’t lift a cast iron pan with one hand. I also have a glass topped stove.
I use cast iron, but I own a tool and die business so a few years ago I resurfaced a couple of new Lodge pans to my liking.
Years and years ago cast iron was poured in steel molds and not sand cast. The molds were polished and the finished surface was far smoother than what you get now.
I was bored and work was slow so I machined the pans with a diamond tool to about a good a finish as you can ever get on cheap cast. No, it will never be as slick as teflon, hell it took Dupont years just to figure out how to get that stuff to stick to the pans itself, but certainly better than stainless steel or copper cookware.
Another hint, if your surface starts to flake, or if some idiot family member leaves it in the sink too long and ruins the finish, it’s easy t get it to the base material like new and start seasoning it again.
If you have an electric self cleaning oven, just pop it in there and hit clean. Few hours later your cast iron cookware is completely bare of any seasoning and ready to oil and start new. Yes, on some cheap ones it can cause it to bow, or so I’ve heard, but it worked great on mine when I had to do it with no problems.
Gimmee those ceramics any day !
My wife got a porcelain coated, pre-seasoned interior. About the size of a paella pan at.....Aldi. $20!!
I’ve used it a few times.
Use cast iron for steaks . Sear flip sear, oven.
BFL
We use a 12-inch Griswold cast iron skillet that has been passed down in the family for years. From the barely readable serial number in the bottom of the handle. I discovered that it was made in 1863 in Erie Pennsylvania. It might be iron, but noting sticks to it.
I use a very old cast iron skillet. The provenance is the 1870s South Carolina. Love it. Wonder how many meals have ben cooked on that?
I love Free Republic.
I have several cast iron utensils, including frying pan, dutch oven and a long flat pan with a matching lid which can be used separately.
I am not very good at using them. My late wife didn’t use them at all and was a good cook.
Mother was born in 1918 and married in 1936. From the time I was able to remember, Mother used her frying pan more than any other utensil. She used grease, a lot of grease in her cooking.
I would not even think of using that much grease but maybe it wasn’t that bad for your health. Mother lived to be 85 and Daddy, 90. I have no idea what ever happened to her frying pan, probably one of my siblings got it.