In a most gratifying retro step, I’ve replaced my non-stick cookware in favor of old-fashioned, heavy, heat-retaining, and black–as-coal cast iron. Although I’ve always had a cast iron skillet- because you can’t make decent cornbread without one- and a Dutch oven, I’ve recently laden my pot rack with bigger or smaller versions of both and have added a couple of griddles. I may even get an ableskiver pan before I’m finished.
In an era of diva cookware, when the latest culinary pseudo-celebrity slaps his or her name on the latest colorful pan right off the boat, I chose to stay a little closer to home. Lodge Cast Iron of South Pittsburg, Tennessee is (sigh) America’s only cookware foundry. Since 1896, they’ve made an impressive array of superior pieces that you’ll purchase once in a lifetime. Some of their original skillets may well be still in use. www.lodgemfg.com
To say that cast iron is time-proven is obvious. It’s been around since humans moved from the Stone Age to, well, the Iron Age. Its performance is reliable and it’s almost indestructible. It wears like iron, afterall.
None of which can be said of the slippery stuff; non-stick cookware really is as temperamental as a diva, preferring temperatures none-to-hot and only the gentlest of utensils. Too much heat or a metal tool ruins it. Are we really supposed to cook with this? Sometimes searing flames and sharp blades are necessary. Cast iron is quite content with the blast furnace temperatures that form it, and you could probably take a hammer and chisel to it without much harm. Just check with any auction house; cast iron lasts practically forever, and antique Griswold pieces sell for princely sums.
There’s also a disturbing mystery about that non-stick coating. Just what is it, and where does it go when it inevitably wears off? I’ve never owned a piece that at least half of the coating was gone in just a few years. Some is washed away, no doubt, but much is certainly consumed. Does that matter? I don’t know. I do know that human bodies like iron and benefit from it.
Doesn’t food stick to cast iron? Overall, no. Pieces come pre-seasoned and if you keep them that way (no detergent, please, and certainly no dishwasher!) cast iron is as reliable as the slick stuff and a far superior choice. Bryn Brooke Manor serves eggs and pancakes cooked on cast iron all season. Trust me; we do not make more work for ourselves, and certainly not when it comes to clean-up!
Cast iron is heavy, allowing for great heat retention. Less fuel is used and I find most foods just cook better. To protect hands from hot handles, get some of the colorful covers that Lodge offers, or find them at a craft show. Think of the weight as an aid in upper body strength development. Lodge also makes pieces with stay-cool handles and with colorful enamel exteriors, if you’d like to match décor.
Let them hype the designer schlock with the distended prices. For my money, spent one time only, American- made cast iron cookware is the best value going.
Hi Brenda,
Loved the article on the cast iron skillet. I too have gone over to the dark side. They are great.
Doug