Cast Iron

[negiqboyz]

Does it make your food taste better?

I heard so many nice and nasty things about it ..

bad - hard to clean or can't clean, takes forever to heat up or cool down, heavy, sticky, etc



good - good evenly, last forever, and good for your health ..

It's making a comeback .. so what do ya'll think? I don't have one .. mine are stainless steel or teflon or those ceramic ones .. throw them out if worn cuz they're awfully cheap ..

[ralphrepo]

While nostalgic and emotionally compelling, there are hidden dangers to cast iron cookware. For people with Hemochromatosis (excess iron in their blood), there is a potential that even more iron may leech from the pan into their food, thereby increasing their intake and raising their serum iron to dangerous levels. The risk from ceramic or enamel coated ones (especially those made in China, Mexico, India, et cetera) is the heavy metal content that is at levels of up to 1000 times what is considered toxic by the EPA. One has to be really careful and do a lot of personal research before using any of these items.

For me personally, stainless steel is the easiest and least worrisome.

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/ga...ted=all&src=pm
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.c...ast-iron-pans/
http://www.ehow.com/about_5246664_da...ron-food_.html

[kontradictions]

I love cooking with cast iron especially when I'm cooking steaks. It holds it's heat well and it's easier to keep it at a steady temperature than stainless.

All you really need to worry about is maintaining the cast iron. See below.

[Dan]

As Kontra said, I understand cast iron is good for its heat properties, and that many use cast iron to throw into the oven. Can stainless be thrown into the oven as well?

[CrazyMoFo]

My George Formen Grill cooks really good steak too! hahahaha

I just ordered a batch of Omaha Filet Mignon, taking advantage of their father's day special.

Can't wait to get them!

Don't clown on me for using George Formen grill, I'm no Iron chef. All I know is, it's quick and dirty and evenly cooks the steak the way I like it! LOL

[kontradictions]

As Kontra said, I understand cast iron is good for its heat properties, and that many use cast iron to throw into the oven. Can stainless be thrown into the oven as well?

The good ones should do just fine in the oven. Read the instructions on them and they should tell you.

But be ready to pay a pretty penny for oven safe stainless pans. They're not cheap.

[negiqboyz]

Just ordered the stove top iron cast grill .. hopefully, it will be good.

[ducdiva]

I always though cast iron is a pain to clean after cooking.

[Aoes]

ur... really not supposed to "clean" cast iron... u gotta learn to not fck up ur cooking, and all u do is wipe it down with a little hot water... that's what keeps the cast iron in good condition and the flavors to be richer...

if u can't seem to cook correctly and it gets sticky or u just can't resist cleaning it... stick in the oven for a while, 30-40mins, let the heat burn up whatever it is that's sticky, use salt and a little water and scrape it off... u soap it, u fck it up...

[ralphrepo]

ur... really not supposed to "clean" cast iron... u gotta learn to not fck up ur cooking, and all u do is wipe it down with a little hot water... that's what keeps the cast iron in good condition and the flavors to be richer... if u can't seem to cook correctly and it gets sticky or u just can't resist cleaning it... stick in the oven for a while, 30-40mins, let the heat burn up whatever it is that's sticky, use salt and a little water and scrape it off... u soap it, u fck it up...

My limited understanding of the whole cast iron process is that the goal (called conditioning or seasoning the pan) is to achieve a thin layer of persistent grease onto the pan, allowing the cast iron to evenly heat yet remain virtually "nonstick" in its use. This was obviously very useful in the days before teflon or other industrial or chemically applied coatings. Also, according to the following video, there is no additional 'taste' to cast iron food; if there is, then the pan just isn't clean. It's a fine line between proper conditioning and having a pan remain dirty:



Here's a thread from another forum where they discussed (almost a decade ago, LOL...) the various dos and don'ts of cast iron pan maintenance: LINK and another guy who is obviously very dedicated to his cast iron:

[Aoes]

depends, sometimes it can leave a metallic taste, sometimes if you cook a lot of garlic for example, that taste can remain... bacon is another one... but at the end of the day, it really depends on how and how well u season the pan... canola/veggie oil would leave no taste after fresh seasoning for example...

[Hartia]

its cast iron....it rusts.....that stuff i aint putting in myself....

[ralphrepo]

its cast iron....it rusts.....that stuff i aint putting in myself....

FYI, anytime you eat read meat, you're getting the same stuff in you whether you know it or not, LOL...

[Knoctur_nal]

its good for bush cooking

[ribsandbbqbeef]

Been cooking for over 10 yrs with my trusted 12" Lodge American made cast iron skillet. Heats up quickly, distributes the heat evenly, great tasting food, easy to clean.

On cleaning: I just sprinkle a teaspoon to tablespoon of kosher salt in the skillet, scour it, wipe it clean with oiled paper towel, and heat it for 2 minutes, and I'm done. No muss, no fuss.

So I say, go for it, and get one. Every decent kitchen should have at least a cast iron skillet.