cast iron

[W5GA]

Who here uses it? We have many different pans, pots, Dutch ovens - all either Wagner or Griswold. Only a few modern non-sticks. The wife uses some for this, some for that. I use an iron griddle for eggs, and an antique iron waffle iron. Watcha got?

[K7SGJ]

17, 15, 12, 10,8, and 6 inch cast skillets. Also have a cast griddle I use with the coleman. Love em. Some were my grandmothers; I have a 6 inch square that was hers. The newer ones are Lodge I believe. Absolutely no substitute for even cooking. Particularly nice for fish and chicken.

[W3MIV]

I have one ancient skillet by Wagner that I use solely for cornbread. I also have a unbranded "chicken fryer" of unknown ancestry -- it is an oval shape, two inches deep, about nine wide and sixteen inches long inside. Handles on each end, which preclude its use in my oven which is too small to accommodate such a pan. Used to use it on the grill outdoors, but haven't tetched it in yahrs.

Nowadays I use clad-stainless for everything and scour them with Brillo (no detergent shall ever touch one of my pots or pans, least of all auto-dishwasher stuff).

[WØTKX]

I have a large ancient one with a busted handle.

Used as a broiler pan on the bottom rack, not in a broiler "drawer".

[W5GA]

The newer ones are Lodge I believe.
The Lodge is much more polite if you take an angle grinder and make 'em smooth. Still good though.

[KG4CGC]

Just a 10 incher for cornbread.

[kc7jty]

10" griddle, brand x, had it from new for about 20 years. Dedicated to my daily fried egg. Nothing but EV olive oil touches it. Extremely slightly higher in the center than the edges.

[NQ6U]

I have some Le Creuset cast iron stuff from France that's really sweet but most of my cooking is done using stainless-clad copper sauce pans.

[kc7jty]

Carl, have you ever used San Marzano canned tomatoes? I payed $3.88 for a 28oz can of these http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511aJHnukQL._SL500_AA300_.jpgat Wally world.
The best canned tomatoes I ever had were from Italy but had no salt, calcium chloride, or citric acid in them. These have salt, they better be good.

[KC2UGV]

All I have is a 10" skillet and a griddle. Only used for breakfast, and the occasional steak or salmon.

[W1GUH]

Only thing to use unless the recipe needs something that won't discolor a sauce. And clean-up is a snap.

Hmmmmm...cooking placenta in cast-iron?

[NQ6U]

Yep, I sure have, Bill. San Marzano are the best canned tomatoes for sugo (pasta sauce). I can't afford to use them every time but I always do when it really matters.

[K7SGJ]

I use em in Grandmas lasagna recipe. Good stuff.

[W1GUH]

And one of the best things is when you use cast iron over a campfire, then use it in your home...you'll get the wonderful campfire aroma!

[W3WN]

Who here uses it? We have many different pans, pots, Dutch ovens - all either Wagner or Griswold. Only a few modern non-sticks. The wife uses some for this, some for that. I use an iron griddle for eggs, and an antique iron waffle iron. Watcha got?My ex kept my pans and skillets. One of these days, I have to go out and replace them. Only reason I haven't is that I've got shelves full of All-Clad seconds from when I worked there. Even though some of it is the cheap stuff (Emerilware), the price was right (free!)

[w2amr]

I got a lot of cast iron, & cookin' with gas.:dance:

4836

[n2ize]

Carl, have you ever used San Marzano canned tomatoes? I payed $3.88 for a 28oz can of these http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511aJHnukQL._SL500_AA300_.jpgat Wally world.
The best canned tomatoes I ever had were from Italy but had no salt, calcium chloride, or citric acid in them. These have salt, they better be good.

Yeah, my Mom sometimes uses them to prepare spaghetti sauce. They are pretty good, the sauce always comes out excellent. However, often she will mix different brands. I think she does pay considerably less than 3.88/can. But my folks usually by the stuff in bulk when they can get a good price. They'll buy a case or two. It has a good shelf life.

[KC9ECI]

cast iron griddle, cast iron skillet, two cast iron dutch ovens, one with a rounded lid and one with a flat lid, and a cast iron breadpan. Love the stuff. Had to twist my wife's arm a little early one, but she's finally on board with the cast iron.

[kc7jty]

Yeah, my Mom sometimes uses them to prepare spaghetti sauce. They are pretty good, the sauce always comes out excellent. However, often she will mix different brands. I think she does pay considerably less than 3.88/can. But my folks usually by the stuff in bulk when they can get a good price. They'll buy a case or two. It has a good shelf life.
Planning to open the can tomorrow to make bread pizzas.

[n2ize]

Planning to open the can tomorrow to make bread pizzas.

Those are peeled tomatoes. When my Mom uses them she generally runs them through a strainer or a food processor to crush out as much of the juice from the tomatoes. She'll do that with three or four cans and add it to a large pot into which she has already added oil , cooked garlic and other stuff Then she'll add flavorings, i.e. bay leaves, basil, maybe some sugar if the tomatoes are bitter, meatballs, etc, Then she'll cook the sauce for several hours.

[w3bny]

Nowadays I use clad-stainless for everything and scour them with Brillo (no detergent shall ever touch one of my pots or pans, least of all auto-dishwasher stuff).

Uhh...Just checking but isnt Brillo chock full-o-detergent just like an SOS pad? I even checked the Brillo website and yeah...Detergent!

Nevermind....strip and shine has no soap.

Anyhoo... I clean my cast iron with kosher salt then rub back down with lard or bacon grease. (kosher salt and swine...gawd...)

[n2ize]

Uhh...Just checking but isnt Brillo chock full-o-detergent just like an SOS pad? I even checked the Brillo website and yeah...Detergent!

Nevermind....strip and shine has no soap.

Anyhoo... I clean my cast iron with kosher salt then rub back down with lard or bacon grease. (kosher salt and swine...gawd...)

You can also use steel wool in place of Brillo. Matter of fact steel woll is basically iron so you'd be cleaning iron with iron.

My parents used to have a set of nice iron pans. Unfortunately they stopped using them when some health freak told them that iron is no good for your heath and it causes this, that and the other thing. Dunno what happened to the old iron pans. Probably laying in back of the garage somewhere.

[W1GUH]

Never use soap on cast iron. It'll take out the seasoning. Just get rid of the grease and scour with steel wool (NOT the kind with soap), or stainless-steel wool. Wipe it dry and it's ready for another go.

What's the problem with detergent on stainless steel? OTOH, I don't use upscale pots and pans. Good ol' Farberware is plenty good for this amateur chef.

[W3MIV]

To the best of my knowledge both SOS and Brillo pads are still impregnated with soap, not detergent. Brillo got its red color from a mixture of rouge and soap. Soap contains fat, and the fat will clean seasoned cast iron without destroying the seasoning -- of course, you cannot scrub with steel wool so hard that you negate the qualities of the soap.

I treat my cookware ONLY with Brillo or SOS pads. Test it by using a Brillo pad to clean a bright, polished stainless saucepan or skillet. Rinse and notice how the water wants to bead? That is the result of a waxy residue from soap, not detergent which contains surfactants that destroy water's surface tension.

Too many people cannot tell the difference between soap and detergent. Those people should stay the hell out of the kitchen. Go to Wendy's or some other such dive.

[kc7jty]

I'm not diving at Wendy's.
My seasoned cast iron used to get a light scrub with liquid dish DETERGENT and a knitted plastic scrubber ball on occasion way back when I made hamburgers on it. Just do it lightly to get the crud off without cutting into the surface patina, dry immediately, then re apply oil or melted grease to the entire surface on top.
My griddle right now looks like 25% in the center is raw cast iron, but it's perfectly seasoned.

[kc7jty]

Those are peeled tomatoes. When my Mom uses them she generally runs them through a strainer or a food processor to crush out as much of the juice from the tomatoes. She'll do that with three or four cans and add it to a large pot into which she has already added oil , cooked garlic and other stuff Then she'll add flavorings, i.e. bay leaves, basil, maybe some sugar if the tomatoes are bitter, meatballs, etc, Then she'll cook the sauce for several hours.
Yep... good 'ol meat gravy.

[KC2UGV]

To the best of my knowledge both SOS and Brillo pads are still impregnated with soap, not detergent. Brillo got its red color from a mixture of rouge and soap. Soap contains fat, and the fat will clean seasoned cast iron without destroying the seasoning -- of course, you cannot scrub with steel wool so hard that you negate the qualities of the soap.

I treat my cookware ONLY with Brillo or SOS pads. Test it by using a Brillo pad to clean a bright, polished stainless saucepan or skillet. Rinse and notice how the water wants to bead? That is the result of a waxy residue from soap, not detergent which contains surfactants that destroy water's surface tension.

Too many people cannot tell the difference between soap and detergent. Those people should stay the hell out of the kitchen. Go to Wendy's or some other such dive.

Not many people know the difference between soap and detergents :)

[kc7jty]

Well, I had the Cento maters on bread pizza, not bad. Quite sweet, good flavor, but I think the no salt plum tomatoes from Italia are best.

[W1GUH]

'UGV:


Not many people know the difference between soap and detergents
And even fewer care! I certainly don't. Soap is soap.

[W3MIV]

Soap is soap.

Yup. And detergent is detergent, and n'er the twain shall meet.

[W1GUH]

I'll Mark those words!

[KC2UGV]

'UGV:


And even fewer care! I certainly don't. Soap is soap.



Yup. And detergent is detergent, and n'er the twain shall meet.

They might meet at the surfactant :)

[n2ize]

Never use soap on cast iron. It'll take out the seasoning.

Seasoning ?? Please. cast iron is cast iron..

[W3MIV]

John: Cast iron cookware must be seasoned prior to use, and the seasoning must be carefully preserved else the food will stick and burn and the pan will need forceful cleaning. The seasoning is neither salt nor pepper, but a layer of heat-congealed fat that was the precursor of Teflon.

[W1GUH]

Best used to cook over a fire of seasoned firewood.

[NQ6U]

And you should have four of each cast iron pan, one for every season. It would be gauche in the extreme to use a white enameled pan after Labor Day.

[K7SGJ]

Great book. A pan for all seasons.

[W1GUH]

And you should have four of each cast iron pan, one for every season. It would be gauche in the extreme to use a white enameled pan after Labor Day.

When isn't it gauche to use a white enameled pan?

[kf0rt]

When isn't it gauche to use a white enameled pan?

When it's 1924.

[n2ize]

When isn't it gauche to use a white enameled pan?

Those we so popular when I was a kid. Everyone had them. Mostly either the white enamel pots with the red handles and trim and matching top. Equally popular was the deep blue enamel with the white speckles. I still have a coffee pot like that.

[W1GUH]

And I refuse to give up my "deep blue enamel with the white speckles" roasting pan. The comfort factor of using that to roast a turkey is wonderful!

http://www.recipetips.com/images/glossary/r/roastingpan.jpg

[W3MIV]

And I refuse to give up my "deep blue enamel with the white speckles" roasting pan. The comfort factor of using that to roast a turkey is wonderful!

http://www.recipetips.com/images/glossary/r/roastingpan.jpg

If that pan set were cast iron, with a turkey in it, you'd be hard pressed to lift it into and out of an oven.

[W3WN]

And I refuse to give up my "deep blue enamel with the white speckles" roasting pan. The comfort factor of using that to roast a turkey is wonderful!

http://www.recipetips.com/images/glossary/r/roastingpan.jpgI bought one of those something like 30 years ago. Still have it. Close to indestructible, and goodness knows, over the years, the kids have tried.