Ideal Bite

Years ago my husband and I bought a really old house with a decrepit shed out back. I cleaned out layers of old straw and other unmentionables and at the bottom of the muck was an old, old cast-iron pan. It looked like it had been in several fires. I thought it would only be good for yard-art but I cleaned it up, scraped off most of the weird, dried black gunk that was all over it, seasoned it, and it's now the BEST omelette pan I have EVER used, bar none. Perfect size, perfect slope. A caveat about cast iron, though; anything made with tomatoes will ruin the seasoning of the pan and WILL cause sticking, so if you're making tomato sauce, stick with the stainless steel.

Hey Biters! I use four cast iron frying pans, a cast iron chicken fryer, and a Dutch oven. Yes, they are heavy, but they look beautiful when they hang on a wall. My advice: Buy domestic or buy antiques! This is a piece of cookware that's actually still made in the good ol' US of A, and those made here (i.e. Lodge) are far superior in quality to those made in China (i.e. Emeril). Support our ecomony! Side note: Lynn is right about the tomatoes or anything else acidic - don't use cast iron.

I NEVER use soap on my cast iron. Anything that sticks will come off with a soaking in really hot water then scraping with a plastic scrub pad, never steel wool. I wash with hot water, wipe with a sponge then heat on the stove to make sure it dries all the way thru. Remember cast iron is porous. You'll know it's dry when all water drops evaporate or after about 2-3 min. Then I wipe the inside and outside, carefully because it's hot, with cooking oil and sit on an oven rack until cool. That way the oil can soak into the finish rather than just sitting on the surface. I've had some of my pans for 40 yrs and definitely the old cast iron is better than the new for smoothness and density.

I second the comments to buy used cast iron cookware (from antique stores, thrift stores, eBay). You may be interested to know that the older Griswold brand pans are lighter (as well as smoother as already mentioned). The oldest and lightest pans have ERIE on the bottom and not GRISWOLD, even though they were made by Griswold. They were made in the 1870-1880s. They do cost more, though, because they're collectible.

Yes, cast iron is the best. My parents used it and my Dad made the best pot roast ever in it. Just braise, add whatever veggies and seasonings you like and stick in the oven on low for the afternoon! Also, a tip about tomoato based dishes, spaghetti sauce and chili turn out great, but don't let the sauce sit in the pan, it will affect the taste, when it's done, move it to a glass serving or storage dish.

I can attest to the agelessness of cast iron cookware. I'm 71 and treasure my cast iron dutch oven, nest of casseroles, multiple-size skillets, cornbread and muffin pans, big and small griddles as well as a huge orange LeCreuset dutch oven. Have used some of them for over 50 years! Some of my skillets belonged to my German grandmother and are from the 19th century! They were handed down to my mother. And then to ME! Porcelain-lined cast iron can be cleaned with mild soap and rinsed very well, but I NEVER EVER touch soap to my "raw" cast iron. Cast iron is porous and too much use of soap over time will eventually leave a "soapy" taste so I avoid using any soap at all. After seasoning in the oven with canola oil (inside and out as another Biter said) I cook almost EVERYTHING in my cast iron. (Boiling water only in my porcelain-lined casseroles.) Then to clean I scour the raw cast iron with kosher salt and a touch of water...dry well and THEN sit it on the open flame of my gas stove for a few minutes to get it hot enough to dry really well. A spritz of spray canola in the bottom when it's cooling and spread with a paper towel makes it ready for the next use. There's not a speck of rust on any of them...it almost goes without saying but they've never seen the inside of a dishwasher. That'd be heresy! Note: One of my grandma's skillets had a crusty grease build-up on its outside bottom from years of use so I "sanded" off the residue with my electric sander and seasoned it again. Good as new: it's IRON, after all. My Grandma used it on a wood-fired stove so it has a real history and probably belongs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History where they have an old old kitchen...

If you find an old rusty cast iron pan, put it in a campfire and burn the rust off. Clean with steel wool. Then start as if it is a new pan and season it. Some of my best pan have had this treatment. It works on ancient too thickly grease coated antiques, too.

Cast Iron Skillets and frying pans are the way to go. So many people seem to love non stick, but a properly seasoned cast iron skillet won't stick either and will last much longer. The annoying thing about non stick is that they lose the coating, especially if you ever use any sort of metal object to flip your food. Cast iron is just so much more durable and over time will save you a lot of money and provide a better quality cooking experience all the way around. Just maintain it properly and it will last for years.

growing up in the deep south, i learned as a very small child firsthand about 'firing the skillets'. this was as routine as a chicken killin'. the iron skillets, dutch ovens, etc. would get a build-up of grease on the outside [especially the most heavily used on gas stoves]. we would build a good sized fire in the backyard and place the pans in the fire till all of the junk was burned off. meanwhile the children were given fresh, clean sand and a pail of water. we would use this to thoroughly scour the bottoms and outsides of all the other pans. the iron pans, after being inspected by my grandma and declared clean, were also scrubbed with sand and water, rinsed and dried well, then seasoned with lard inside and out.then heated pretty hot. to this day i would not think of seasoning an iron pot with anything but pure bacon grease. my mama always said that veg oil would make them sticky so never use anything but solid shortening or good bacon grease. and i never did. by the way, the chicken killin' was true. that's how they would keep me entertained. my favorite mammy would come over to help with the slaughter. i thought i had to be under her all the time so they would let me sit on the porch and watch the show. that kept me out of the way. hasn't been that long ago. i am 53 today. deep in the heart of dixie.

i thought i had to be under her all the time so they would let me sit on the porch and watch the show. that kept me out of the way. hasn't been that long ago. Education Diploma | Doctorate Psychology | PhD computer science