Cast-iron skillet: Enamelled on the outside but not on the inside?
April 21, 2016 8:53 AM   Subscribe

I am looking for a very specific kind of cast-iron skillet: one where the outside is colorfully enamelled but the inside is just plain old cast iron. Do such skillets exist?

I have seen this Le Creuset, which appears to be what I'm looking for, though I can't be sure. Confirmation one way or the other on that would be helpful. Beyond that, I'm interested in finding others.

Notes:
- The size I'm after is 10 inches, give or take half an inch.
- It's mostly for looks, so whether it's the Greatest Cast Iron Pan Ever is not really important.
- I am in Canada but the skillet can be available either in the United States or Canada.
posted by veggieboy to Food & Drink (15 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Le Creuset is what you're looking for.
posted by chevyvan at 9:08 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


Brand name:Lodge. https://www.lodgemfg.com
posted by SemiSalt at 9:08 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think Aldi has one once a year or so.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 9:10 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have that Le Creuset skillet and it's great, use it all the time. But, the inner black part is a different texture than my plain Lodge cast iron skillet. It is smoother and never seems to lose its seasoning and it's easier to clean than the plain cast iron. It may have some sort of special coating or seasoning the Lodge doesn't have, but it's definitely not a shiny enamel like the outside.
posted by john_snow at 9:15 AM on April 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm pretty sure the Le Creuset and Lodge skillets which have enamel on the outside also have enamel on the inside, it's just a matte black that looks like plain cast iron.
posted by noneuclidean at 9:17 AM on April 21, 2016 [10 favorites]


Yes, I read the descriptions on both and they are definitely fully enameled.
posted by telepanda at 9:20 AM on April 21, 2016


Yes, According to the Lodge FAQ:

"There is no exposed cast iron on your enameled cookware. The black cooking surfaces, pot rims and lid rims are matte porcelain."

Le Creuset is the same: "matte black interior enamel" not cast iron on the cooking surfaces.
posted by The Bellman at 9:27 AM on April 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


You need to go vintage and look for a pan made by the French company Cousances. I have one of these -- picked it up at a flea market for $3.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:29 AM on April 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


The only Le Creuset that I have is colour on the outside, cream on the inside, but I do know a little bit about enameling (for jewelry purposes, not larger items like pots).

But, from what I understand about enamel, I don't think that enameling just the outside is a thing that could really happen, because you need to have enamel on both sides of the piece to keep the enamel from cracking due to differential expansion and the like. In the jewelry world, it's called counter-enamel.

So I would understand the the Le Creuset, black-on-the-inside, to probably be just enamel covered with a non-stick coating.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:46 AM on April 21, 2016 [1 favorite]


We had a Le Creuset pan like that and it wasn't bare cast iron on the inside. I remember trying to look up what it was to make sure I was cleaning it properly and found that it was enamelled. That pan met an unfortunate end when either my mother or one of our cats knocked it off the counter and it broke in two, so bear in mind that cast iron isn't as tough as its weight may lead you to believe. (My mom blames the cats and I want to believe her but...)
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:20 AM on April 21, 2016


Interesting. We have Le Creuset pan and it is exactly like cast iron, to the point that the surface rusts if it's washed with soap and left to air dry. It's enameled on the outside. Perhaps the inside enamel wore off? We do cook acidic foods in it (ie, deglazing with white wine or occasionally cooking tomatoes in it).

If not, it sounds like there is a version out there that would meet your needs.
posted by valoius at 11:25 AM on April 21, 2016


That pan met an unfortunate end when either my mother or one of our cats knocked it off the counter and it broke in two, so bear in mind that cast iron isn't as tough as its weight may lead you to believe. (My mom blames the cats and I want to believe her but...)

That pan probably had a hairline crack when it fell, resulting in its split. You can easily cause hairline cracks by setting an empty pan over a high flame for any period of time -- which people often do when preheating the pan. Cast iron is tough, but it can also be abused.

Just putting in a plug for human error. :)

posted by mudpuppie at 11:46 AM on April 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


Interesting. We have Le Creuset pan and it is exactly like cast iron, to the point that the surface rusts if it's washed with soap and left to air dry. It's enameled on the outside. Perhaps the inside enamel wore off? We do cook acidic foods in it (ie, deglazing with white wine or occasionally cooking tomatoes in it).

AFAIK, my oldest le Creuset roasting pan is raw but seasoned cast iron inside and enamel outside, but they don't make it this way anymore, for new ones the black inside is some sort of enamel treatment. So you need to look for vintage if it is important for you that the inside really is raw iron. BTW, I put everything in it - wine, tomatoes, vinegar. But I think it was a wedding present, in 1990, so it is very well seasoned at this point. Way back, it would have rusty episodes, and then I'd re-season it.

sparklemotion is probably right about the technology, but the iron is so heavy that the risk is low, and back in the day, people didn't worry so much about cracks in the enamel - I certainly didn't - I just saw it as a very useful and good roasting pan - not a life-style product. When I cleaned out my gran's cupboards, I almost threw out a huge enameled pan in perfect condition, but then I remembered she really loved it, and now it is a thing to be admired in my kitchen. For me, the return to cast iron is very much about worries about the toxicity of non-stick surfaces at high heat.
posted by mumimor at 3:16 PM on April 21, 2016 [2 favorites]


Seconding that you can get vintage le Creuset with enamel outside and cast iron interior. I purchased one on ebay within the last year.
posted by aspersioncast at 1:28 PM on April 24, 2016


Although I have to say, I have the exact pan from your link in blue (black interior enamel I believe) and it is by far the most used in our kitchen. Behaves like cast iron in all the ways you might want (e.g. caramelizing onions or sticking in the oven), but omelets slide right off, and it's super-easy to clean without the potential toxicity of non-stick.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:26 PM on April 24, 2016


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