About a year ago I made my first forays into using cast iron skillets in an effort to get away from non-stick pans (here's a link to that post, "The Cast Iron Skillet -- Nature's Teflon"). After a year, I've completely ceased using my non-stick pan and am thinking about getting a 10" iron skillet to complete my collection of 3 bears skillets -- it would be the mama skillet.There is a certain satisfaction when you can slide sunny-side up eggs out of a cast iron skillet with a minimum of fuss, and I say to all those in the non-stick pan camp that it is much easier to use cast iron. Here's my bullet-list of points I'd like to make about why i heart cast iron skillets:
- They cost less to buy new, and even less to buy used. You might have to take a bit of sandpaper to a used one, depending on how much it has rusted, but ultimately they will cost a third of what you would pay for a high-end non-stick coated pan.
- They last longer. I've used the baby bear skillet off and on for over 10 years, whereas I've gone through about 3 non-stick pans in that same amount of time. Two of the pans eventually got scratches, one of them had the bejeezus burned out of it, making it completely unusuable. And, honestly, how many of us have used a non-stick pan even after it's gotten a scratch, full-well knowing that teeny-tiny microscopic flecks of coating would be leeching into food? I know I have, because the dang things cost so much money to replace.
- You can use forks, metal spatulas, hunting knives, whatever you have on-hand to cook with when using a cast-iron skillet, whereas you have to use plastic or silicon with a non-stick pan. Actually, I've gotten around that by using bamboo rice paddles, but with mixed results.
- Cast iron skillets give you the added bonus of a little bit of iron in everything you cook, whereas non-stick coatings have no nutritional value whatsoever (and I refer you to the second bullet-point to illustrate what you don't want in your food when cooking with non-stick pans).
- If you read the post I wrote a year ago, Tracy left a great reason in the comments for not using Teflon or other non-stick coated skillets: Her birds are highly suseptible to the toxic fumes from an overheated non-stick pan.
10 comments:
I grew up with cast iron and prefer my stainless steel actually.
Thanks for commenting, Nicole -- I use my stainless steel skillet a lot less since switching to cast iron. I can't seem to cook much without stuff sticking to it. How do you use yours?
Mmmmmm! I love cast iron and am having a b!tch of a time finding them:) My nan has a million of them in her press and if they weren't so heavy, I would seriously consider stealing them next time I'm home for a visit and flying them back to Ireland with me!
Mammy, you just blew my mind -- I would have thought cast iron cookware would be plentiful in Ireland. See, as an ignorant American, I am often predisposed to thinking about anything outside of the states as being what I see on TV. So, Ireland is all green and quaint like in "The Quiet Man" and John Wayne is knocking people around left and right amongst the leprechauns and Donnybrooks and whatnot. And, they have tons of cast iron cookware.
My sympathies, and I would be interested to know if you could actually bring a cast iron skillet onto a plane as a carry-on.
Michele,
My secret is the "Misto" (refillable spray bottle) which allows me to spray olive oil on the pans a little thicker than with a product like Pam. Also, I find since the surface is so smooth food slides right off.
I will say, cast iron is still best for frying anything :)
Man, I've been wanting to get a misto -- they're way more eco than the spray non-stick I use for microwaving :)
And, in defense of stainless steel, they are about as indestructible as cast iron -- I just burned the bejeezus out of one of my Revere sauce pans in a failed attempt to make bbq sauce. After soaking it overnite the baked crud came completely off and I used a little brillo on it -- good as new!
Echo your ideas about cast iron cookware. Seldom use anything else in our kitchen and the clean up is a snap.
I was just thinking about this post before you commented! Was using the baby bear skillet and thinking how easy it is use and take care of. I end up burning scrambled eggs in it a lot and have to scrub it out, much to the detriment of the non-stick surface. BUT, I can always season it in the oven again. Such is the beauty of the cast iron skillet!
Totally agree with your ideas about cast iron cookware. I use it every day and find it to be very non-stick and easy to clean. It lasts for generations. You better put it in your will. This was a common practice in the past.
Thanks for that bit of history! I hereby bequeath to my son my comic book collection and my cast iron cookware!
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