Should I get a cast iron pan? (Tame my fear, or talk me out of the idea)
June 30, 2020 1:51 PM Subscribe
Due to safety concerns and a recent fumes scare, I'm finally thinking of retiring my three Teflon pans. Thing is, I LOVE them. I cooked on a cast iron pan once and everything stuck to it and it was impossible to clean. What I love about Teflon is that the clean-up is so easy, it's easy to flip eggs or meat since everything slides in it, etc. Should I get cast iron and why? If so, which brand/model? What are the other options for someone who is relatively rough on cooking equipment?
Things shouldn't stick to cast iron TOO much if it's well-seasoned. It's more sticky than teflon/nonstick, yes, but less sticky than other kinds of pans in my experience.
posted by mekily at 1:58 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by mekily at 1:58 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Cast iron is really easy in practice. You don't need to season it yourself if you buy something preseasoned (like almost all cast iron you can buy), just cook with fat, and clean out with hot water and a scrubber -- then dry off on the stovetop. That's it. It'll get more and more non-stick over time.
Lodge is fine, cheap and available everywhere.
posted by so fucking future at 2:01 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
Lodge is fine, cheap and available everywhere.
posted by so fucking future at 2:01 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
Ah, I forgot to mention pieces. I'd start with a skillet, sized to whatever is useful for the amount of cooking you're usually doing. A nice second piece would be a dutch oven.
posted by jquinby at 2:02 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jquinby at 2:02 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Lodge makes great cast iron pans and they are relatively inexpensive. You can get a "pre-seasoned" one, which will mean that it's pretty non-stick right from the factory.
The down side of cast iron is that you need to maintain that "seasoning" by: 1) generally not using soap to clean it (you can use a *little* on a well-seasoned pan, but it's generally good to stay away from it), 2) drying it thoroughly after you use it (and never soaking it in the sink), and 3) periodically re-seasoning it. To address these last two points, I usually dry my cast iron on the stove burner after using it and rub a thin layer of vegetable oil on it (and let it cool off on its own).
I really like my cast iron pan, but it's not as easy to clean up and maintain as the teflon pans. On the other hand, it is incredibly durable - you can use metal utensils in it without worrying and it's basically bulletproof (probably literally in addition to figuratively). I mean, I've literally forgotten my pan on the burner with the burner on for, like, 45 minutes and, while I don't recommend that, the pan wasn't damaged. If you ever "let it go" and it develops rust, you can actually "bring it back" by doing a hardcore re-seasoning, too.
posted by Betelgeuse at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
The down side of cast iron is that you need to maintain that "seasoning" by: 1) generally not using soap to clean it (you can use a *little* on a well-seasoned pan, but it's generally good to stay away from it), 2) drying it thoroughly after you use it (and never soaking it in the sink), and 3) periodically re-seasoning it. To address these last two points, I usually dry my cast iron on the stove burner after using it and rub a thin layer of vegetable oil on it (and let it cool off on its own).
I really like my cast iron pan, but it's not as easy to clean up and maintain as the teflon pans. On the other hand, it is incredibly durable - you can use metal utensils in it without worrying and it's basically bulletproof (probably literally in addition to figuratively). I mean, I've literally forgotten my pan on the burner with the burner on for, like, 45 minutes and, while I don't recommend that, the pan wasn't damaged. If you ever "let it go" and it develops rust, you can actually "bring it back" by doing a hardcore re-seasoning, too.
posted by Betelgeuse at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I love love love love love love love my cast iron and I cook many things in it, but I still prefer a little Teflon pan for eggs. No matter what I do, they stick to the cast iron, and they just don't need the kind of cooking surface cast iron gives you.
It is easy to get into an anxiety knot about cleaning cast iron, but it doesn't have to be that way. Most of the trick is to season it, avoid scrubbing the hell out of it, and don't use soap and water to clean it. The advice above is great. Teflon can easily be ruined; ruining cast iron requires a sustained commitment to bad cleaning practices. Even if it gets unseasoned, it can be fixed pretty easily.
posted by billjings at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
It is easy to get into an anxiety knot about cleaning cast iron, but it doesn't have to be that way. Most of the trick is to season it, avoid scrubbing the hell out of it, and don't use soap and water to clean it. The advice above is great. Teflon can easily be ruined; ruining cast iron requires a sustained commitment to bad cleaning practices. Even if it gets unseasoned, it can be fixed pretty easily.
posted by billjings at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
I've never been able to get the hang of cast iron for many reasons. I rarely use mine and hate it when I do.
There is such a thing as carbon steel that is much lighter. I keep meaning to try it.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
There is such a thing as carbon steel that is much lighter. I keep meaning to try it.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [7 favorites]
I switched to cast iron for many of the same reasons you list a few years ago. I purchased two pre-seasoned cast iron pans from the Lodge for $10 or something stupidly cheap.
It was hard at first--they were pre-seasoned, but stuff still stuck easily and I wasn't used to cooking with a pan that retained heat the way cast iron pans do. After a brief transition period, I now exclusively use my cast iron pans (I got rid of my teflon pans) and they work great for eggs and other things that used to "stick" easily.
When I'm done with my pan, I just wipe it out. If it has something stuck to it or I cooked something that leaves residue (like refried beans or a sauce), I scrub it with soap and water before immediately drying it and putting oil on it. I've never re-seasoned my pans or treated them particularly carefully.
posted by lucy.jakobs at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
It was hard at first--they were pre-seasoned, but stuff still stuck easily and I wasn't used to cooking with a pan that retained heat the way cast iron pans do. After a brief transition period, I now exclusively use my cast iron pans (I got rid of my teflon pans) and they work great for eggs and other things that used to "stick" easily.
When I'm done with my pan, I just wipe it out. If it has something stuck to it or I cooked something that leaves residue (like refried beans or a sauce), I scrub it with soap and water before immediately drying it and putting oil on it. I've never re-seasoned my pans or treated them particularly carefully.
posted by lucy.jakobs at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
The key to keeping things from sticking in both cast iron and stainless cookware is to get them very hot before adding the oil, then heat them again before adding the food. Once someone told me this, cooking in them was easy.
posted by summerstorm at 2:10 PM on June 30, 2020 [18 favorites]
posted by summerstorm at 2:10 PM on June 30, 2020 [18 favorites]
I don’t have many regrets in life, but one regret I do have is that I ever wasted money on Teflon-coated pans. Cast iron is the way to go. It’s cheap, heats beautifully, is almost indestructible, and you’ll have it for life.
As others have mentioned, you’ll need to cook with more oil to build up the seasoning. The more you use it, the more the seasoning will develop. There’s a learning curve, but it’s worth it.
You can use soap to clean the pan, if necessary, but try to avoid it, as the grease-cutting nature of dish soap will wear away your seasoning. Get yourself some chain mail (look for “The Ringer”) and use that and some water to scrape away any stuck-on food, and it’ll help you clean the pan without hurting the seasoning. Beats a Brillo pad, too.
Black cast iron is great, but we also have some of the enameled dutch ovens, and they are wonderful. Super easy to clean, durable, pretty, and useful for almost anything—rice, pasta, soups, oatmeal, sauces. Le Creuset is expensive but heirloom quality. Lodge makes some great enameled cast iron dutch ovens that are a LOT cheaper.
Go cast iron, and don’t look back.
posted by vitout at 2:11 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
As others have mentioned, you’ll need to cook with more oil to build up the seasoning. The more you use it, the more the seasoning will develop. There’s a learning curve, but it’s worth it.
You can use soap to clean the pan, if necessary, but try to avoid it, as the grease-cutting nature of dish soap will wear away your seasoning. Get yourself some chain mail (look for “The Ringer”) and use that and some water to scrape away any stuck-on food, and it’ll help you clean the pan without hurting the seasoning. Beats a Brillo pad, too.
Black cast iron is great, but we also have some of the enameled dutch ovens, and they are wonderful. Super easy to clean, durable, pretty, and useful for almost anything—rice, pasta, soups, oatmeal, sauces. Le Creuset is expensive but heirloom quality. Lodge makes some great enameled cast iron dutch ovens that are a LOT cheaper.
Go cast iron, and don’t look back.
posted by vitout at 2:11 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
cast iron is a nightmare. it weighs a ton, everything sticks to it unless you baby it for your entire life. everyone who was forced to use cast iron when there was nothing else to use, aka our grandparents, if asked if they would want to use it again or use a nonstick pan, would likely club us to death with a 10 ton greasy iron pan.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:11 PM on June 30, 2020 [20 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 2:11 PM on June 30, 2020 [20 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks - very helpful so far, all! In case it matters, I wanted to say that in my pans, I'm usually cooking scrambled eggs, omelettes, making veg stir-fry, or (often) searing meat. I have two crockpots that I use for any sort of long slow cooking.
posted by ClaireBear at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by ClaireBear at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2020
Another aspect to consider is that there's a big beautiful world of browning and searing foods that can't be done very well with teflon cookware. Also you can't stick it in the oven. Cast iron and stainless steel give you so many more possibilities for cooking.
posted by theory at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by theory at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Also, what about carbon steel? How does it compare to either Teflon or cast iron?
posted by ClaireBear at 2:17 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by ClaireBear at 2:17 PM on June 30, 2020
We've got cast iron, stainless, and no-stick here. There are some things we use no-stick for (pasta sauces especially), many things we mostly use cast iron for. Scrambled eggs just seem to turn out better in cast iron.
If you get a cast-iron skillet:
- Make sure it's got a really smooth surface. Cooking on a pebbly surface is a PITA.
- Get one of those little hot-pad sleeves that slides over the handle because the whole thing gets hot.
- If it's a large skillet, get one with two handles.
We're not too precious about cleaning the cast iron. We've got a little square of chainmail that we scour it out with, and if we cooked something especially sticky in it, we'll scour it some more with table salt and a paper towel.
Cast iron retains a lot of heat, so you may need to adjust your cooking technique.
posted by adamrice at 2:21 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you get a cast-iron skillet:
- Make sure it's got a really smooth surface. Cooking on a pebbly surface is a PITA.
- Get one of those little hot-pad sleeves that slides over the handle because the whole thing gets hot.
- If it's a large skillet, get one with two handles.
We're not too precious about cleaning the cast iron. We've got a little square of chainmail that we scour it out with, and if we cooked something especially sticky in it, we'll scour it some more with table salt and a paper towel.
Cast iron retains a lot of heat, so you may need to adjust your cooking technique.
posted by adamrice at 2:21 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
There are other non-stick surfaces besides Teflon. There are anodized surfaces, ceramic surfaces, etc. I’d look into them before I made a commitment to cast iron. I have a couple of anodized skillets that I do quite a bit of searing and browning with, and they perform marvelously.
I’ve tried and tried to love cast iron, but it’s just too damned heavy and fiddly. Getting it seasoned (and keeping it seasoned) is more work than I want to invest in cookware. There’s also that bit where you never wash them. That kind of iks me out a bit. The cast iron surface, even after seasoning, isn’t a plate-smooth surface. It’s not going to be clean by just wiping it out.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [6 favorites]
I’ve tried and tried to love cast iron, but it’s just too damned heavy and fiddly. Getting it seasoned (and keeping it seasoned) is more work than I want to invest in cookware. There’s also that bit where you never wash them. That kind of iks me out a bit. The cast iron surface, even after seasoning, isn’t a plate-smooth surface. It’s not going to be clean by just wiping it out.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [6 favorites]
Cast iron is great, but it has a maintenance burden. If you're just looking for everyday cookware that does't typically stick, then any high-grade steel is going to be fine.
OTOH, Lodge is dead f*ing cheap, too.
However bear in mind that cast iron's heating is idiosyncratic -- it'll HOLD heat like crazy, which is good, but it heats up unevenly vs. steel or copper, and this can be bad in some contexts. Steel or copper is a better all-around choice, and lacks the weaknesses of seasoned cast iron (like, I have no issue cooking tomatoes or other acidic foods in my steel stuff, but I'd never put it in cast iron).
There's also a (somewhat pricey) middle ground in enamel-coated cast iron, of which the most famous example is Le Creuset. This is basically cast iron you can scrub with soap because of the coating, but you still have the uneven heating and heat-sink aspects of iron.
I have no experience with carbon steel. My "regular" pans are a mix of an upmarket sub-brand of Revereware they created 25 or more years ago to compete with AllClad + actual AllClad.
(The RevereWare stuff is "ProLine," and I don't think they make it anymore; I got my set for about 50% off because it turns out nobody wanted to pay near-AllClad prices for RevereWare no matter how nice they looked, so I got AllClad-quality stuff on the cheap. Not that this helps you.)
posted by uberchet at 2:24 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
OTOH, Lodge is dead f*ing cheap, too.
However bear in mind that cast iron's heating is idiosyncratic -- it'll HOLD heat like crazy, which is good, but it heats up unevenly vs. steel or copper, and this can be bad in some contexts. Steel or copper is a better all-around choice, and lacks the weaknesses of seasoned cast iron (like, I have no issue cooking tomatoes or other acidic foods in my steel stuff, but I'd never put it in cast iron).
There's also a (somewhat pricey) middle ground in enamel-coated cast iron, of which the most famous example is Le Creuset. This is basically cast iron you can scrub with soap because of the coating, but you still have the uneven heating and heat-sink aspects of iron.
I have no experience with carbon steel. My "regular" pans are a mix of an upmarket sub-brand of Revereware they created 25 or more years ago to compete with AllClad + actual AllClad.
(The RevereWare stuff is "ProLine," and I don't think they make it anymore; I got my set for about 50% off because it turns out nobody wanted to pay near-AllClad prices for RevereWare no matter how nice they looked, so I got AllClad-quality stuff on the cheap. Not that this helps you.)
posted by uberchet at 2:24 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Being able to club somebody to death with it seems like an argument in favor of cast iron. (I kid).
I have three sizes of nonstick (cheap but well-reviewed T-Fal I replace when eggs start to stick), two sizes of stainless, and three of cast iron (I had one, and my mom sent me two more when she lost the grip strength to handle them). Because I have nonstick skillets I never bother to cook eggs in cast iron. It can be done, but I don't want to spend the time on cleaning the pan if it goes wrong. The stainless skillets are nice for searing when I know I'm going to put something acidic in the same pan afterward. I'll use cast iron to sear meat when I'm not going to use the same pan for tomato-based sauce, and for weekend potatoes where the extra heat retention makes for a better contrast between crisp edges and creamy interiors. The nonstick stuff I hand wash, I'm not afraid to put stainless in the dishwasher, and the cast iron I mostly wipe out with a paper towel and kosher salt when needed.
In other words, I recommend having some of everything and not just using one thing exclusively.
posted by fedward at 2:27 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
I have three sizes of nonstick (cheap but well-reviewed T-Fal I replace when eggs start to stick), two sizes of stainless, and three of cast iron (I had one, and my mom sent me two more when she lost the grip strength to handle them). Because I have nonstick skillets I never bother to cook eggs in cast iron. It can be done, but I don't want to spend the time on cleaning the pan if it goes wrong. The stainless skillets are nice for searing when I know I'm going to put something acidic in the same pan afterward. I'll use cast iron to sear meat when I'm not going to use the same pan for tomato-based sauce, and for weekend potatoes where the extra heat retention makes for a better contrast between crisp edges and creamy interiors. The nonstick stuff I hand wash, I'm not afraid to put stainless in the dishwasher, and the cast iron I mostly wipe out with a paper towel and kosher salt when needed.
In other words, I recommend having some of everything and not just using one thing exclusively.
posted by fedward at 2:27 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
The cast iron surface, even after seasoning, isn’t a plate-smooth surface. It’s not going to be clean by just wiping it out.There are some newer players in the cast iron market selling cast iron skillets with nearly mirror-smooth interiors, but I'll be damned if I can remember the name. It's not Finex.
But you're usually cooking with pretty serious heat in cast iron. So food safety isn't as much of an issue.
posted by uberchet at 2:32 PM on June 30, 2020
Carbon steel requires more skill and care than cast iron imo, is less robust, has less variety readily available, and costs more. The stakes are low, just get a $20 pre-seasoned 12" Lodge pan and try it. If you don't like it you can sell it for $10 (seriously). But nothing will come close to the longevity and toughness of cast iron, or sear meat so well. Sure, you can baby cast iron, but you don't have to. You can also abuse it, it's fine and ultimately very forgiving once you get the hang of it. I follow the middle path.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:33 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:33 PM on June 30, 2020
I bought a rusty cast iron skillet at a thrift store 32 years ago. The seasoning instructions are stamped on the bottom. It was one of few things that survived a house fire and that is the only time I had to reseason it. I have another one that belonged to my stepfather's grandma. He was born in 1913. No fuss with that one either.
Someone gave me some Lodge and it's ok but nothing like my old pans. I don't know why.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:44 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
Someone gave me some Lodge and it's ok but nothing like my old pans. I don't know why.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:44 PM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
The really old cast iron skillets are smooth. I've read that there was a change in the manufacturing process at some point rather than old skillets having been worn down with age. The really old ones are thinner and lighter, too. I randomly lucked into finding an ~100 year old one at Goodwill a few years back and it's not in the best shape (there's a trace of rust on the bottom that will someday do it in unless I put a lot of work into redoing it) but I love it because it's smooth and comparatively light. Plus there's something very comforting these days about cooking breakfast on something that's weathered a hundred years of bullshit and still working fine.
posted by needs more cowbell at 2:46 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by needs more cowbell at 2:46 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
I have never been able to get the hang of cooking eggs on cast iron. But I find it's quite easy to cook them on stainless steel (the brand I have is All-Clad).
But if you're a meat-eater, cast iron will be your new obsession! You just have to get used to the idea that the meat will "release itself" from the pan when it's ready. You have to be comfortable with not pushing it around the way you can on non-stick pans.
posted by cranberrymonger at 2:46 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
But if you're a meat-eater, cast iron will be your new obsession! You just have to get used to the idea that the meat will "release itself" from the pan when it's ready. You have to be comfortable with not pushing it around the way you can on non-stick pans.
posted by cranberrymonger at 2:46 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
They are heavy, if you are not great if you have any sort of disability in your hands as they are hard to maneuver. I have issues with grip strength & hand pain & find them very hard to use, but they can't be beat for things like steak or bacon.
posted by wwax at 2:56 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by wwax at 2:56 PM on June 30, 2020
Whatever you switch to, you'll have to shift your technique for cooking everything. I'm so used to cooking on cast iron that I really struggle when I have to cook on my MIL's nonstick (not that things stick, but fritters fall apart, I can't flip things easily, I have to use those awful plastic spatulas).
I do almost all the cooking and nothing ever sticks in my cast iron skillets. Until my wife tries to cook eggs. So, yeah, it's all about what you get used to.
posted by rikschell at 3:04 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I do almost all the cooking and nothing ever sticks in my cast iron skillets. Until my wife tries to cook eggs. So, yeah, it's all about what you get used to.
posted by rikschell at 3:04 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
We use cast iron a lot. We have a gas stove. When seasoned well, it heats food evenly and quickly.
Cast iron is great for getting a good sear on fish, chicken, beef, and pork over heat, and then throwing it into the oven to finish.
I have some usage tips. Some of this might sound daunting, but in fact, it isn't really all that much more than what you'd do with any other cooking gear.
Figure on the first few uses being time to get accustomed to changes in cooking heat levels and time in your recipes.
Don't cook anything where you would reduce with an acidic (e.g. tomato-based) sauce in the same pan. Acid will leech away seasoning. If you want to make reduction sauces from the fond, use a separate (non-cast-iron) sauté pan.
To clean it, we use a chainmail-like scrubber with hot water to get food bits off.
If it is well-seasoned, the big stuff comes off easy. No need to overdo it, just a few swipes and rinse off.
Don't leave it wet — always dry it off after cleaning, to keep from rusting. Running the pan under heat for a couple minutes drives off moisture.
It will cool quickly and you can then coat it with a thin layer of oil and put it away.
With this minimal prep, it is then ready for quick reuse for your next meal.
Seconding the observation that larger cast iron pans are a bit heavier than most, which should be a consideration if you have any physical ailments or disabilities that would preclude lifting heavy stuff.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:11 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Cast iron is great for getting a good sear on fish, chicken, beef, and pork over heat, and then throwing it into the oven to finish.
I have some usage tips. Some of this might sound daunting, but in fact, it isn't really all that much more than what you'd do with any other cooking gear.
Figure on the first few uses being time to get accustomed to changes in cooking heat levels and time in your recipes.
Don't cook anything where you would reduce with an acidic (e.g. tomato-based) sauce in the same pan. Acid will leech away seasoning. If you want to make reduction sauces from the fond, use a separate (non-cast-iron) sauté pan.
To clean it, we use a chainmail-like scrubber with hot water to get food bits off.
If it is well-seasoned, the big stuff comes off easy. No need to overdo it, just a few swipes and rinse off.
Don't leave it wet — always dry it off after cleaning, to keep from rusting. Running the pan under heat for a couple minutes drives off moisture.
It will cool quickly and you can then coat it with a thin layer of oil and put it away.
With this minimal prep, it is then ready for quick reuse for your next meal.
Seconding the observation that larger cast iron pans are a bit heavier than most, which should be a consideration if you have any physical ailments or disabilities that would preclude lifting heavy stuff.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:11 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I think you should get one. I like them, and cook on them regularly. Carbon steel is functionally the same for care and stickyness as cast iron. I find them easy to cook with, and like them more than nonstick analogs...but I've been cooking on cast iron for coming up on two decades. I came to carbon steel later, but thats because I was specifically tired of paying for nonstick coated cookware, because even the high end stuff wears out. I cook a lot, so I wore out a lot of skillets. There is a technique to cooking on them, and it is a touch harder than cooking on a nonstick coated pan...but the results are far better (IMHO).
Both are not as fussy as folks make them out to be. Once the pan is 'seasoned' you can totally wash them up with soap and water. 'Seasoning' cast iron cookware creates a polymer layer that, while not permanent, is pretty resilient, and not at all dented by soap. I wash my well seasoned cast iron in soap and water. I dry it out well, and then brush on a tiny bit of oil to prevent any rust from forming. I've was converted away from the cast iron fussiness a few years ago, and my well seasoned cookware doesn't appear to give two fucks; soap and water everytime and *GASP* even a green scrubby if something's really stuck on. They're fine, and they cook just as good as before when I was religious about keeping them 'in good shape.'
The best advice I got when learning how to cook on cast iron was twofold; use a little more oil than you normally would, and give it a minute.Use a little more oil is pretty straightforward, but give it a minute needs some elaboration. One of the weird things to get used to is that you can't just move food around willy nilly and expect it to work. Even with a little more oil, cast iron isn't as slippery as nonstick coatings. Things tend to stick, at first, in cast iron cookery, but then once a maillard crust forms on the food, it will release. So wait a minute. Just hold on. Try again in a second. This is unsettling and hard to gauge if you're coming from nonstick-coating land, and you'll think its fucked. Just try to remember its a fundamentally different cooking surface, and it will behave different. Start with easy things that won't likely stick and then move onto harder things like eggs and fish (I do still keep a small 10" nonstick pan around for delicate fish, but it doesn't see much use these days).
posted by furnace.heart at 3:18 PM on June 30, 2020 [11 favorites]
Both are not as fussy as folks make them out to be. Once the pan is 'seasoned' you can totally wash them up with soap and water. 'Seasoning' cast iron cookware creates a polymer layer that, while not permanent, is pretty resilient, and not at all dented by soap. I wash my well seasoned cast iron in soap and water. I dry it out well, and then brush on a tiny bit of oil to prevent any rust from forming. I've was converted away from the cast iron fussiness a few years ago, and my well seasoned cookware doesn't appear to give two fucks; soap and water everytime and *GASP* even a green scrubby if something's really stuck on. They're fine, and they cook just as good as before when I was religious about keeping them 'in good shape.'
The best advice I got when learning how to cook on cast iron was twofold; use a little more oil than you normally would, and give it a minute.Use a little more oil is pretty straightforward, but give it a minute needs some elaboration. One of the weird things to get used to is that you can't just move food around willy nilly and expect it to work. Even with a little more oil, cast iron isn't as slippery as nonstick coatings. Things tend to stick, at first, in cast iron cookery, but then once a maillard crust forms on the food, it will release. So wait a minute. Just hold on. Try again in a second. This is unsettling and hard to gauge if you're coming from nonstick-coating land, and you'll think its fucked. Just try to remember its a fundamentally different cooking surface, and it will behave different. Start with easy things that won't likely stick and then move onto harder things like eggs and fish (I do still keep a small 10" nonstick pan around for delicate fish, but it doesn't see much use these days).
posted by furnace.heart at 3:18 PM on June 30, 2020 [11 favorites]
I use teflon, stainless steel, and cast iron, using an induction cooktop. I have, in the past, also used anodized aluminum but got rid of it.
Teflon is good for eggs. I keep my teflon safe by putting hand towels on their cooking surface so they don't get scratched while in storage.
My cast iron pieces are a round griddle and a skillet. The skillet is the most recent purchase, and I'm still working up a good layer of seasoning on it, although it arrived "decently" seasoned -- it's the "Blacklock" line from Lodge and while it's more expensive than their normal line I think it's worth it, as it is much lighter. The griddle is used for things like dosas, while the skillet has recently seen most of its action making that pan pizza recipe that King Arthur Flour published (omg, so good). When it cools down a bit I expect to be frying chicken fairly often (that's one of the things I got it for).
My daily usage tends to be stainless steel, in part because I have the broadest array of pieces (three sauce pans, two different sized skillets and a stock pot). It's quite indestructible, Barkeepers Friend works well to clean it, and once you realize the part about how meats "release" once they're appropriately cooked, I don't find them much harder to use than teflon.
I got rid of my aluminum cookware after some of got stripped by a combination of cooking acidic items (charred tomato) and then via the dishwasher. I decided that if I was going to have to baby it, I'd stick with something slicker (teflon) or more durable (stainless, cast iron).
...so I guess what I'm saying is why pick just one approach? You can use different tools for different jobs, different cooking surfaces for different cooking processes.
posted by aramaic at 3:22 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Teflon is good for eggs. I keep my teflon safe by putting hand towels on their cooking surface so they don't get scratched while in storage.
My cast iron pieces are a round griddle and a skillet. The skillet is the most recent purchase, and I'm still working up a good layer of seasoning on it, although it arrived "decently" seasoned -- it's the "Blacklock" line from Lodge and while it's more expensive than their normal line I think it's worth it, as it is much lighter. The griddle is used for things like dosas, while the skillet has recently seen most of its action making that pan pizza recipe that King Arthur Flour published (omg, so good). When it cools down a bit I expect to be frying chicken fairly often (that's one of the things I got it for).
My daily usage tends to be stainless steel, in part because I have the broadest array of pieces (three sauce pans, two different sized skillets and a stock pot). It's quite indestructible, Barkeepers Friend works well to clean it, and once you realize the part about how meats "release" once they're appropriately cooked, I don't find them much harder to use than teflon.
I got rid of my aluminum cookware after some of got stripped by a combination of cooking acidic items (charred tomato) and then via the dishwasher. I decided that if I was going to have to baby it, I'd stick with something slicker (teflon) or more durable (stainless, cast iron).
...so I guess what I'm saying is why pick just one approach? You can use different tools for different jobs, different cooking surfaces for different cooking processes.
posted by aramaic at 3:22 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
> I wanted to say that in my pans, I'm usually cooking scrambled eggs, omelettes, making veg stir-fry, or (often) searing meat.
Cast iron is bad for eggs. One of the things people tend not to talk about with cast iron, especially relative to aluminum pans, is how unevenly they heat. I won't say it's impossible to make a properly cooked omelette in a cast iron pan, but you'll be working a lot harder to accomplish it.
You also have to avoid or at least minimize cooking acidic foods (like tomatoes) because they'll come out tasting metallic.
Cast iron also kinda sucks on anything other than gas stoves. On ceramic element burners, it's difficult for them to get sufficient contact with the heating element. On induction stoves they work great but the rough underside will scratch the glass badly.
Cast iron is non-stick, but not non-stick in the way teflon pans are. This is harder to explain, but the best way to describe it is when you want a good sear on meat, on a cast iron pan the meat will just lift off the pan once it's properly seared, but not before then. When you have foods that don't sear well (or which you don't want to sear, like eggs), you have to be conscientious and sometimes generous with oil to keep them from sticking.
Cast iron is great, I cook with one of a decent collection of cast iron pans nearly every day. If you'd like me to blather on about why I use them when they suck so much, please ask! But I worry sometimes that it gets oversold; cast iron is an excellent complement to a cookware set but I would find it miserable to cook with nothing else.
Carbon steel might be a good compromise, unfortunately one I don't have a lot of experience with so I can't help you much. You have to treat it like you would cast iron, including thoroughly seasoning it before its first use.
But if you have the budget I would recommend starting by investigating enameled and ceramic-coated pans. They are available with aluminum substrate and will be much better for foods like eggs.
posted by ardgedee at 3:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Cast iron is bad for eggs. One of the things people tend not to talk about with cast iron, especially relative to aluminum pans, is how unevenly they heat. I won't say it's impossible to make a properly cooked omelette in a cast iron pan, but you'll be working a lot harder to accomplish it.
You also have to avoid or at least minimize cooking acidic foods (like tomatoes) because they'll come out tasting metallic.
Cast iron also kinda sucks on anything other than gas stoves. On ceramic element burners, it's difficult for them to get sufficient contact with the heating element. On induction stoves they work great but the rough underside will scratch the glass badly.
Cast iron is non-stick, but not non-stick in the way teflon pans are. This is harder to explain, but the best way to describe it is when you want a good sear on meat, on a cast iron pan the meat will just lift off the pan once it's properly seared, but not before then. When you have foods that don't sear well (or which you don't want to sear, like eggs), you have to be conscientious and sometimes generous with oil to keep them from sticking.
Cast iron is great, I cook with one of a decent collection of cast iron pans nearly every day. If you'd like me to blather on about why I use them when they suck so much, please ask! But I worry sometimes that it gets oversold; cast iron is an excellent complement to a cookware set but I would find it miserable to cook with nothing else.
Carbon steel might be a good compromise, unfortunately one I don't have a lot of experience with so I can't help you much. You have to treat it like you would cast iron, including thoroughly seasoning it before its first use.
But if you have the budget I would recommend starting by investigating enameled and ceramic-coated pans. They are available with aluminum substrate and will be much better for foods like eggs.
posted by ardgedee at 3:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
I have tried, lord know I have tried over many years, to use and enjoy cast iron, and ... nah, for the reasons others have mentioned (weight, maintenance, persistent greasiness). As you can see, though, many do love it, and you might want to try getting one for the specific use case that you mention of searing meat, and see how it works for you. For the other specific uses you mention, really, I think some kind of nonstick is going to serve you best, and I will testify that I truly love my nonstick Swiss Diamond skillet, which doesn't contain any PFOA/Teflon and has lasted beautifully for many years.
posted by Kat Allison at 3:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Kat Allison at 3:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
As I understand it, as long as you don't mistreat a nonstick pan you should be fine and safe:
1. Never heat the pan above medium.
2. Don't use metal utensils - silicone or wood only.
In other words, use it only for eggs and DON'T use it for searing. Cast iron is good for searing, but it takes a while for the pan to heat up fully - it's not a good heat conductor. I usually give it at least 5 minutes on the burner before I start using it. Cast iron's best trick is that although it's slow to heat, it's good at retaining heat, which makes it good for searing and for things that take a long time to cook - for example using a dutch oven for making pot roast.
For most everything else stainless steel is better (and easier to take care of). Aluminum is an even better heat conductor than steel though, so a good compromise is a "tri-ply" pan, with a layer of aluminum sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel on the bottom of the pan (I've got a set of Cuisinart Multiclad Pro and they work great). That should be fine for just about everything else besides eggs, assuming as someone mentioned above that you get the pan heated up to temp before putting the food in - hot pan, cold oil.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:24 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
1. Never heat the pan above medium.
2. Don't use metal utensils - silicone or wood only.
In other words, use it only for eggs and DON'T use it for searing. Cast iron is good for searing, but it takes a while for the pan to heat up fully - it's not a good heat conductor. I usually give it at least 5 minutes on the burner before I start using it. Cast iron's best trick is that although it's slow to heat, it's good at retaining heat, which makes it good for searing and for things that take a long time to cook - for example using a dutch oven for making pot roast.
For most everything else stainless steel is better (and easier to take care of). Aluminum is an even better heat conductor than steel though, so a good compromise is a "tri-ply" pan, with a layer of aluminum sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel on the bottom of the pan (I've got a set of Cuisinart Multiclad Pro and they work great). That should be fine for just about everything else besides eggs, assuming as someone mentioned above that you get the pan heated up to temp before putting the food in - hot pan, cold oil.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:24 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Meant to add--Swiss Diamond pans are expensive, but IMO they are worth it.
posted by Kat Allison at 3:24 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by Kat Allison at 3:24 PM on June 30, 2020
And sorry, one more thing--you mention needing a pan for vegie stir-frys, and I have to say cast iron would really be NOT good for that. Stir-frying relies on having a cooking vessel--whether a wok or something more flat-bottomed--that will heat up and cool down very quickly, and as others have mentioned, cast iron's virtues are 180 degrees the opposite of that.
posted by Kat Allison at 3:32 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Kat Allison at 3:32 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Just keep using your Teflon if you love it. Nothing is better for eggs. Everything else is a pain.
I once seasoned my cast iron well enough that I could easily flip fried eggs, but it didn't last. Now I use a really good teflon pan and it's just so luxurious.
You might laugh, but being able to routinely and easily flip a fried egg without destroying it is IMPORTANT to my quality of life. Compared to the other risks in my life (especially this year), I think any chance of teflon poisoning just isn't worth worrying about.
posted by fritley at 3:37 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
I once seasoned my cast iron well enough that I could easily flip fried eggs, but it didn't last. Now I use a really good teflon pan and it's just so luxurious.
You might laugh, but being able to routinely and easily flip a fried egg without destroying it is IMPORTANT to my quality of life. Compared to the other risks in my life (especially this year), I think any chance of teflon poisoning just isn't worth worrying about.
posted by fritley at 3:37 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
with regard to your updates -- IME cast iron is useless for stir-fry because you cannot flip anything in it, unless you have enormous, atypical strength in your wrist and hand. It's far too heavy. Ditto omelets which require certain quick wrist actions. Plus I've never managed to get it slick enough to cook eggs decently.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:46 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:46 PM on June 30, 2020
Also, since you asked about carbon steel pans, check out this AskMe from a couple years ago regarding carbon steel vs. tri-ply.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:07 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:07 PM on June 30, 2020
I love eggs in a carbon-steel French style shallow skillet. Omelette, scrambled, that twirly thing with chopsticks. Crêpes!
posted by clew at 4:19 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by clew at 4:19 PM on June 30, 2020
I use my large Lodge cast iron pan for all sauteeing, egg cooking, some meat cooking. It cleans fairly easily if seasoned. It also adds iron to your diet. I quit Teflon years ago.
posted by DixieBaby at 4:20 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by DixieBaby at 4:20 PM on June 30, 2020
I have a large stainless steel skillet, a medium aluminium granite with a non-stick coating, and a small heavy body Teflon. I plan on getting a small cast iron pan for frying eggs and meat. Small because I have weak wrists and dodgy joints, and no desire to sprain my wrist (again) while cooking.
I generally buy cheap tiny Teflon and replace frequently - the tiny one for scrambles, the medium non-stick has been wonderful for pancakes and crepes, the stainless steel is fantastic for pretty much everything else. Understanding the release time for whatever you're cooking makes a huge difference regardless of pan, and stainless steel is easy to clean in my experience.
posted by geek anachronism at 4:22 PM on June 30, 2020
I generally buy cheap tiny Teflon and replace frequently - the tiny one for scrambles, the medium non-stick has been wonderful for pancakes and crepes, the stainless steel is fantastic for pretty much everything else. Understanding the release time for whatever you're cooking makes a huge difference regardless of pan, and stainless steel is easy to clean in my experience.
posted by geek anachronism at 4:22 PM on June 30, 2020
Since ceramic pans have been mentioned, I’ll say I bought a supposedly nonstick fancy ceramic pan a few years ago. It was not remotely nonstick. Huge waste of money.
posted by FencingGal at 4:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by FencingGal at 4:23 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
From reading down like halfway, I guess most people love their cast iron skillets.
I, however, hated mine and ended up eventually throwing it away. It had a sticky coating on it, even though I followed the directions to a tee. It was also very heavy for the amount of food you could fit in it. I kept using it even though I didn't like it, partly because I had anemia and was hoping it would help with that (I can't tolerate iron pills) and partly because it was supposed to get better with proper care. It didn't. It remained perpetually sticky.
I don't really understand what cast iron is supposed to provide that regular pans don't, other than the iron. I use mainly stainless steel pans now, and they are fine. Relatively easy to clean, food doesn't stick if you heat up properly and use sufficient butter or oil.
We have an aluminum pan that I don't trust (aluminum is thought to be a potential contributor to Alzheimer's). But I and anyone I've lived with got rid of all Teflon years ago because it is extremely dangerous and often fatal for birds if it is overheated/burned. I don't think it's especially good for humans, either.
posted by nirblegee at 4:32 PM on June 30, 2020
I, however, hated mine and ended up eventually throwing it away. It had a sticky coating on it, even though I followed the directions to a tee. It was also very heavy for the amount of food you could fit in it. I kept using it even though I didn't like it, partly because I had anemia and was hoping it would help with that (I can't tolerate iron pills) and partly because it was supposed to get better with proper care. It didn't. It remained perpetually sticky.
I don't really understand what cast iron is supposed to provide that regular pans don't, other than the iron. I use mainly stainless steel pans now, and they are fine. Relatively easy to clean, food doesn't stick if you heat up properly and use sufficient butter or oil.
We have an aluminum pan that I don't trust (aluminum is thought to be a potential contributor to Alzheimer's). But I and anyone I've lived with got rid of all Teflon years ago because it is extremely dangerous and often fatal for birds if it is overheated/burned. I don't think it's especially good for humans, either.
posted by nirblegee at 4:32 PM on June 30, 2020
Have you tried aluminium?
It is the mainstay of a professional kitchen because it conducts heat better than anything except copper, and yet it's cheaper and lighter than cast iron.
Also, you don't have to baby it at all. Scour it with steel wool if you want.
I have carbon steel, cast iron, All-Clad tri-ply, and nonstick pans, but 90% of the time I reach for my aluminium.
Give it a try. As with cast iron, you'll be out at most $20. Probably more like $10.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 4:32 PM on June 30, 2020
It is the mainstay of a professional kitchen because it conducts heat better than anything except copper, and yet it's cheaper and lighter than cast iron.
Also, you don't have to baby it at all. Scour it with steel wool if you want.
I have carbon steel, cast iron, All-Clad tri-ply, and nonstick pans, but 90% of the time I reach for my aluminium.
Give it a try. As with cast iron, you'll be out at most $20. Probably more like $10.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 4:32 PM on June 30, 2020
I have all the pans. Some years ago we decided to gradually transition away from teflon because the reasons you mention, but we didn't throw the teflon pans away completely. At this point we still have a little tiny teflon pan for individually fried eggs. It needs to go, but I haven't found a new tiny pan yet.
We have some ceramic coated steel pans for egg dishes and some other uses, I just cooked meatballs in one today, first on the stovetop for browning, then in the oven. I think I will keep on having this type of pan, though the ceramic coating wears down over time, so you have to replace them now and again. Frying fresh whole fish seems to be easier with a ceramic pan.
My wok is a carbon steel marvel. I love it. You cannot get anything better for stir-fries and just about every other food known to man. It is perfectly seasoned, and I wash it with soap every day. Yes, eggs stick a bit to it, but it is still very easy to clean. I wouldn't make a French omelet in it, but if I were forced to choose only one pan, that would be it.
I have an aluminium karahi (Indian wok-style pan). It is also in pretty constant use, and not just for Indian food, but to be honest, it's mostly because my cast-iron karahi is a bit small.
Apart from the wok, I have a few other carbon steel pans, and I love them for very specific uses. They are very big, and less heavy than cast iron would be at that size, so they are useful for cooking for many. Like two chickens at the same time in the oven, or a big flounder, or paella. Carbon steel has many of the same qualities as cast iron, but it can warp and that can be a problem. I have a carbon steel skillet that is really beautiful and cost me a whole 10 dollars, but there are tons of things I can't use it for because it is so warped. I used it for roasting sesame seeds today, and for that it is far better than any coated skillet I've ever owned. I could have used it for those meatballs and they would probably have been better, but I would have been bothered because of the extra effort.
Lately, I've begun buying second hand copper pans at yard sales, and they get a lot of use here. Before I was alway put off by the price, but now when I have them, I can see how great they are for all types of uses.
And now finally the cast-iron. I learnt to cook from my gran, and she mostly had cast iron. I kept on giving her teflon, which she promptly over-heated and scratched, she didn't get the concept. So I inherited a lot of cast iron from her, and since I have bought some, too. I just bought a new enameled pan a couple of months ago.
For me, cast-iron is a very relaxing way to cook. It is very stable, it can handle high heat, and it can go low and slow, you can easily move your pan into a low oven if you need to slow cook something. Though I wrote above that I use ceramic for eggs, I use a cast-iron pan for Spanish tortilla because of the very stable heat.
For searing meat, there is nothing like cast iron. I love the fact that they are so robust. Again, a well seasoned pan can be washed with soap and you won't get any metallic taste from it, but if you worry about it, buy enameled. Le Creuset has a black enamel that looks and works like non-enameled cast iron and it is fantastic. It's also really expensive, but for something your grandchildren will inherit and use not so much, compared to the teflon pans that have to be replaced all the time. It's a different way of cooking from the teflon pans, and you need to get used to it. But once you do, you don't go back.
I share my apartment with my daughter, her best friend and their boyfriends, and it has been interesting to me to see how they prefer the cast-iron and copper pans intuitively. The cast-iron karahi is the most used pan in our household. I never talked with them about it, and they are just learning to cook during corona by trial and error (though my daughter has worked as a line cook so not starting from scratch), to me that says that the quality of these classic pans is not about foodie hype.
BTW, I visited some friends who always have the latest fashion in kitchen stuff, and they had all le Creuset pans now. They put everything in the dishwasher and claimed it was fine. Their pots and pans looked fine, so they were probably right.
posted by mumimor at 4:33 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
We have some ceramic coated steel pans for egg dishes and some other uses, I just cooked meatballs in one today, first on the stovetop for browning, then in the oven. I think I will keep on having this type of pan, though the ceramic coating wears down over time, so you have to replace them now and again. Frying fresh whole fish seems to be easier with a ceramic pan.
My wok is a carbon steel marvel. I love it. You cannot get anything better for stir-fries and just about every other food known to man. It is perfectly seasoned, and I wash it with soap every day. Yes, eggs stick a bit to it, but it is still very easy to clean. I wouldn't make a French omelet in it, but if I were forced to choose only one pan, that would be it.
I have an aluminium karahi (Indian wok-style pan). It is also in pretty constant use, and not just for Indian food, but to be honest, it's mostly because my cast-iron karahi is a bit small.
Apart from the wok, I have a few other carbon steel pans, and I love them for very specific uses. They are very big, and less heavy than cast iron would be at that size, so they are useful for cooking for many. Like two chickens at the same time in the oven, or a big flounder, or paella. Carbon steel has many of the same qualities as cast iron, but it can warp and that can be a problem. I have a carbon steel skillet that is really beautiful and cost me a whole 10 dollars, but there are tons of things I can't use it for because it is so warped. I used it for roasting sesame seeds today, and for that it is far better than any coated skillet I've ever owned. I could have used it for those meatballs and they would probably have been better, but I would have been bothered because of the extra effort.
Lately, I've begun buying second hand copper pans at yard sales, and they get a lot of use here. Before I was alway put off by the price, but now when I have them, I can see how great they are for all types of uses.
And now finally the cast-iron. I learnt to cook from my gran, and she mostly had cast iron. I kept on giving her teflon, which she promptly over-heated and scratched, she didn't get the concept. So I inherited a lot of cast iron from her, and since I have bought some, too. I just bought a new enameled pan a couple of months ago.
For me, cast-iron is a very relaxing way to cook. It is very stable, it can handle high heat, and it can go low and slow, you can easily move your pan into a low oven if you need to slow cook something. Though I wrote above that I use ceramic for eggs, I use a cast-iron pan for Spanish tortilla because of the very stable heat.
For searing meat, there is nothing like cast iron. I love the fact that they are so robust. Again, a well seasoned pan can be washed with soap and you won't get any metallic taste from it, but if you worry about it, buy enameled. Le Creuset has a black enamel that looks and works like non-enameled cast iron and it is fantastic. It's also really expensive, but for something your grandchildren will inherit and use not so much, compared to the teflon pans that have to be replaced all the time. It's a different way of cooking from the teflon pans, and you need to get used to it. But once you do, you don't go back.
I share my apartment with my daughter, her best friend and their boyfriends, and it has been interesting to me to see how they prefer the cast-iron and copper pans intuitively. The cast-iron karahi is the most used pan in our household. I never talked with them about it, and they are just learning to cook during corona by trial and error (though my daughter has worked as a line cook so not starting from scratch), to me that says that the quality of these classic pans is not about foodie hype.
BTW, I visited some friends who always have the latest fashion in kitchen stuff, and they had all le Creuset pans now. They put everything in the dishwasher and claimed it was fine. Their pots and pans looked fine, so they were probably right.
posted by mumimor at 4:33 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Cast iron and carbon steel will never be as stick-resistant as a pan with a PTFE coating. For many things this doesn't matter much, but for things like beaten eggs it can make a big difference. Generally speaking when you see a video of an egg sliding around on a cast iron pan it's a sunny-side-up fried egg, the pan had plenty of fat on it and the cook was skilled at scraping the egg free from the surface. I love cast iron and have several ancestral pieces that are more than 100 years old, but I prefer carbon steel.
I have to disagree with SaltySalticid's assertion that carbon steel has less variety readily available and costs more. I have found the variety of shapes and sizes to be much greater for carbon steel and the prices to be comparable if you buy from the right places. I also find that carbon steel has shapes that are much more usable compared to cast iron. For example, i you want a frypan instead of a skillet -- which is to say a pan with short curved sides instead of taller vertical sides -- you can't get that in cast iron. Definitely made sure you get it in a thick gauge, however. Thin carbon steel can warp and isn't worth buying.
Eggs is where you are going to have the most difficulty adjusting. It is possible to cook amazing omelets in a carbon steel pan, but it takes a good bit of mastery not to mention butter. I have been using my carbon steel omelette pan for 20 years. That said, there is no reason not to get thick aluminum pan with an internal PTFE coating and use that pan only for omelettes.
If you decide to take a stab at acquiring secondhand copper cookware, as mumimor suggests, there are a few things you will want to take into consideration. For example, the thickness of copper pans can differ greatly depending on the contemplated use of the pan. This is not a huge big deal except in the case of "table service" copper pans. These pieces are ostensibly frypans and saucepans and gratin pans and whatnot, but they are meant to be used to bring the food to the tableside after the food has been cooked in another vessel. They are for presentation purposes only and not thick enough for real cooking. You want something that is 2.0 mm thick at a minimum and 2.5 mm or thicker is better. In addition, most of the stuff you see secondhand will have an old fashioned internal coating of tin rather than a lining of bonded stainless steel. This is important for three reasons: First, the melting point of tin is around 450F/232C, which means that you can only cook with moderate heat. Second is that you will need to make sure you use non-metal utensils to avoid scratching the lining. Third is that the pans will need to be re-tinned once the copper starts showing through, which can be expensive. This is not something you want to put off because you don't want to get copper poisoning through chronic low-level exposure to excess copper.
posted by slkinsey at 4:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
I have to disagree with SaltySalticid's assertion that carbon steel has less variety readily available and costs more. I have found the variety of shapes and sizes to be much greater for carbon steel and the prices to be comparable if you buy from the right places. I also find that carbon steel has shapes that are much more usable compared to cast iron. For example, i you want a frypan instead of a skillet -- which is to say a pan with short curved sides instead of taller vertical sides -- you can't get that in cast iron. Definitely made sure you get it in a thick gauge, however. Thin carbon steel can warp and isn't worth buying.
Eggs is where you are going to have the most difficulty adjusting. It is possible to cook amazing omelets in a carbon steel pan, but it takes a good bit of mastery not to mention butter. I have been using my carbon steel omelette pan for 20 years. That said, there is no reason not to get thick aluminum pan with an internal PTFE coating and use that pan only for omelettes.
If you decide to take a stab at acquiring secondhand copper cookware, as mumimor suggests, there are a few things you will want to take into consideration. For example, the thickness of copper pans can differ greatly depending on the contemplated use of the pan. This is not a huge big deal except in the case of "table service" copper pans. These pieces are ostensibly frypans and saucepans and gratin pans and whatnot, but they are meant to be used to bring the food to the tableside after the food has been cooked in another vessel. They are for presentation purposes only and not thick enough for real cooking. You want something that is 2.0 mm thick at a minimum and 2.5 mm or thicker is better. In addition, most of the stuff you see secondhand will have an old fashioned internal coating of tin rather than a lining of bonded stainless steel. This is important for three reasons: First, the melting point of tin is around 450F/232C, which means that you can only cook with moderate heat. Second is that you will need to make sure you use non-metal utensils to avoid scratching the lining. Third is that the pans will need to be re-tinned once the copper starts showing through, which can be expensive. This is not something you want to put off because you don't want to get copper poisoning through chronic low-level exposure to excess copper.
posted by slkinsey at 4:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
I bought cheap teflon knockoff pans and had to replace them every few years. We use a lodge 12 inch cast iron pan exclusively now. It's incredible. I do crepes once a week and regularly do scrambled eggs and omelettes, and nothing every sticks to it. Trick is to re-season every few months (like others have said, thorough scrubbing and an hour in the oven upside down and oiled up with foil underneath so your oven doesn't get messy. Once I'm done each time, I either wipe it down with a paper towel and turn the burner on for a minute for it to dry with a tsp of olive oil, or I break out the chain mail and scrub for one minute with water (no soap) and then dry it.
posted by Happydaz at 4:55 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by Happydaz at 4:55 PM on June 30, 2020
Just to back up slkinsey: I spent quite a few hours educating myself on copper pans before I began buying them. There is a lot of useless stuff out there.
posted by mumimor at 5:06 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by mumimor at 5:06 PM on June 30, 2020
I only use black / carbon steel pans. They're much lighter than cast iron, inexpensive, take a beating, and I can throw them in the car and take them camping if I want. I have a very large one that I use for pretty much all large family meals, and I much smaller one that I use if I'm cooking for one or two. The latter is almost exclusively used to make eggs, mostly omelettes, scrambled eggs, and recently stir fried eggs with tomatoes (holy god where has this been all my life). Both have been non-stick since the first time I seasoned them maybe 12 years ago.
I don't need excessive amounts of butter or oil to make eggs. I sometimes use some olive oil for fried eggs but that's because I like crispy fried edges and a basted top rather than for its lubricating properties. I usually include some cold butter in my eggs when scrambling them (a la Gordon Ramsay).
The key for me was realising that these pans can get blazing hot, and seem to get much hotter at a similar flame level than a similarly sized pan made from something else. Above a certain temp, they seem to lose their non-stick powers (they come back when the pan is cooled and rinsed out with hot water). A medium heat is more than enough, then turn the flame down when you've added your food. Ta da - eggs slide out every time.
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 5:15 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don't need excessive amounts of butter or oil to make eggs. I sometimes use some olive oil for fried eggs but that's because I like crispy fried edges and a basted top rather than for its lubricating properties. I usually include some cold butter in my eggs when scrambling them (a la Gordon Ramsay).
The key for me was realising that these pans can get blazing hot, and seem to get much hotter at a similar flame level than a similarly sized pan made from something else. Above a certain temp, they seem to lose their non-stick powers (they come back when the pan is cooled and rinsed out with hot water). A medium heat is more than enough, then turn the flame down when you've added your food. Ta da - eggs slide out every time.
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 5:15 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Cast iron pans are like carbon steel knives. If you like the process of cooking with them, including the upkeep, they are enjoyable to use. If you don't care for the upkeep part, they're just needy cookware that won't be used.
I use cast iron sometimes when their properties have an advantage. Sometimes, there is no advantage, in which case, I don't bother. For my mom, may as well be cooking with a boat anchor. She simply isn't going to use something so heavy.
Interestingly, the most used cast iron in my household is a humongous enameled dutch oven.
posted by 2N2222 at 5:22 PM on June 30, 2020
I use cast iron sometimes when their properties have an advantage. Sometimes, there is no advantage, in which case, I don't bother. For my mom, may as well be cooking with a boat anchor. She simply isn't going to use something so heavy.
Interestingly, the most used cast iron in my household is a humongous enameled dutch oven.
posted by 2N2222 at 5:22 PM on June 30, 2020
I have my Mom's cast iron skillets - medium and large, and a very big Lodge skillet. Old cast iron is sometimes thinner, which is nice as my arthritis worsens. More important, the surface of my old skillets was spun smooth on a grinder; that's how it was made back then. I use oil to fry and scramble eggs, they don't stick unless there's an oil-free patch, and even then, not much. The big Lodge skillet has a pebbled surface, I haven't used it for eggs, mostly big stir-fries or fried rice. It's pretty heavy. I love my cast iron skillets, use them all the time.
Everybody who uses cast iron has cleaning and seasoning preferences. Iron is a little bit porous; I do not ever let a cast iron pan sit in soapy water. The dishwasher is Nope. If I make curry, the next dish may taste of curry a bit. I use a metal scrubby, they last a couple years, and water, maybe a soapy sponge if there's a lot of grease. If the skillet seems dry or, gasp, rusty, I make bacon. It's literally made of iron, it is not delicate.
Spun-smooth cast iron is not as non-stick as Teflon, but making it doesn't produce toxic waste, and with cast iron, you get a little bit of iron in your diet. I have gotten nice skillets at Goodwill, but that requires luck. Haven't tried carbon steel.
posted by theora55 at 5:33 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Everybody who uses cast iron has cleaning and seasoning preferences. Iron is a little bit porous; I do not ever let a cast iron pan sit in soapy water. The dishwasher is Nope. If I make curry, the next dish may taste of curry a bit. I use a metal scrubby, they last a couple years, and water, maybe a soapy sponge if there's a lot of grease. If the skillet seems dry or, gasp, rusty, I make bacon. It's literally made of iron, it is not delicate.
Spun-smooth cast iron is not as non-stick as Teflon, but making it doesn't produce toxic waste, and with cast iron, you get a little bit of iron in your diet. I have gotten nice skillets at Goodwill, but that requires luck. Haven't tried carbon steel.
posted by theora55 at 5:33 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Anything where you go stove to oven or vice versa is great with cast iron. I make tomato sauce in mine no problem. You can roast all sorts of things in it and nothing is better for fried chicken. It's great stuff. It would be hell on earth to make an omelet in one, though, because you need a light, nimble, fast-heating pan so you can flip the omelet and so you don't burn the butter.
How do you make an omelet in anything other than a little nonstick? And how do you do it in a nonstick if you can't heat the pan up past medium? I had two little cheap white nonsticks I got at Tuesday morning that I used as omelet pans and just didn't worry about fumes.
Now I only have one of those little pans because I inadvertently canned a couple of fried eggs in hot bacon grease in the other one two or three weeks ago. The lid WILL NOT COME OFF. It is sitting in the backyard right now with the entombed fried eggs in it waiting for somebody to get around to drilling through the bottom of the pan to let air in so as to save the ancestral lid (from another pan set inherited from his father). Of course I can't go to Tuesday Morning to replace it; I would contract COVID-19 immediately, no question. I should've made the fried eggs in the cast iron where I fried the bacon instead of getting all elaborate. The eggs would've turned out fine and I'd still have two cheap omelet pans.
In conclusion, you might like cast iron, especially if you do a lot of switching back and forth from stovetop to oven. You don't have to fiddle with it overmuch, just handwash it as you would any pan (no dishwasher) and cook greasy things in it and it'll stay seasoned. Omelets are easiest in nonstick and the pan probably doesn't stay hot enough for long enough to kill you. Do not put a closefitting lid on a hot pan with nothing but grease and food in it; if there's no water in the pan to make steam so you can pop the lid off, you risk sealing the pan shut with your breakfast inside. Forever.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
How do you make an omelet in anything other than a little nonstick? And how do you do it in a nonstick if you can't heat the pan up past medium? I had two little cheap white nonsticks I got at Tuesday morning that I used as omelet pans and just didn't worry about fumes.
Now I only have one of those little pans because I inadvertently canned a couple of fried eggs in hot bacon grease in the other one two or three weeks ago. The lid WILL NOT COME OFF. It is sitting in the backyard right now with the entombed fried eggs in it waiting for somebody to get around to drilling through the bottom of the pan to let air in so as to save the ancestral lid (from another pan set inherited from his father). Of course I can't go to Tuesday Morning to replace it; I would contract COVID-19 immediately, no question. I should've made the fried eggs in the cast iron where I fried the bacon instead of getting all elaborate. The eggs would've turned out fine and I'd still have two cheap omelet pans.
In conclusion, you might like cast iron, especially if you do a lot of switching back and forth from stovetop to oven. You don't have to fiddle with it overmuch, just handwash it as you would any pan (no dishwasher) and cook greasy things in it and it'll stay seasoned. Omelets are easiest in nonstick and the pan probably doesn't stay hot enough for long enough to kill you. Do not put a closefitting lid on a hot pan with nothing but grease and food in it; if there's no water in the pan to make steam so you can pop the lid off, you risk sealing the pan shut with your breakfast inside. Forever.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
Cheap works - that are made of steel and look like steel - season exactly the way cast iron does and are about as non-stick: coat lightly with oil, remove the wooden handle and bake, or stick on the hob for some time (10-15 minutes, say, but longer is better). It will smoke; it should smoke. Run your extractor or risk your smoke alarm tripping. It should go glossy black with hints of an oily blue. Avoid suspiciously black works in your shop, they are typically coated. The sort you want is a cheap one from your local Chinese supermarket, typically $10 or so, sometimes cheaper, with no weight to it.
Chain mail pot scourers work well on cast iron. I have used them on my wok as well. Standard pan scrubbies also work, mind, but my kitchen needs more chain mail.
And when you wash either cast iron or steel (with or without soapy water - I use with - but not in the dishwasher) put it back on the hob for a few minutes over heat to dry or it will get rust streaks.
You can oil it with an oily piece of kitchen towel and heat it again to improve the seasoning, but, again, use a light hand, and this isn't usually necessary.
You can also wipe it down with another piece of kitchen towel after drying - not unusual that this comes away a bit sooty, which is fine. I usually don't use my dish towel on it for this reason, too.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:05 PM on June 30, 2020
Chain mail pot scourers work well on cast iron. I have used them on my wok as well. Standard pan scrubbies also work, mind, but my kitchen needs more chain mail.
And when you wash either cast iron or steel (with or without soapy water - I use with - but not in the dishwasher) put it back on the hob for a few minutes over heat to dry or it will get rust streaks.
You can oil it with an oily piece of kitchen towel and heat it again to improve the seasoning, but, again, use a light hand, and this isn't usually necessary.
You can also wipe it down with another piece of kitchen towel after drying - not unusual that this comes away a bit sooty, which is fine. I usually don't use my dish towel on it for this reason, too.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:05 PM on June 30, 2020
I have 2 Lodge skillets, a stainless skillet and pot/Dutch oven thing, and some new-fangled space age skillets I bought at Costco. I also have access to 2 cast iron skillets at work.
That being said, I use my cast iron and the communal skillets almost exclusively. I love cast iron and grew up eating out of it. They’re great for everything. I keep mine oiled and leave them in the oven and even bake stuff in them all the time.
The kicker for eggs in cast iron is oil. I cook my bacon and pour most of the grease out till there’s a thin layer on the cooking surface. Delicious fried eggs. I also use duck fat, olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, and coconut oil. All of these fats work wonders. If you’re not feeling the grill you can broil an amazing steak using the oven. Roasted veggies in cast iron are so good.
I suppose there is a learning curve but I watched my mama in the kitchen often, and she used an heirloom iron skillet and an electric skillet for almost all of her frying/sautéing, so I just kind of picked it up.
Reseasoning is easy; you need oil, an oven, and some tinfoil (so the oil doesn’t drip down into your oven). I love the way it heats up food (no I don’t own a microwave).
Yes buy a skillet, a piece of chainmail or a bamboo/synthetic scraper, NEVER put soap in it (I have seen it happen and I swear it changes the flavor of food - no soap has ever touched my skillets), and to “clean” them I fill them up with water and turn the burner to high and let all the detritus float off. Then I scrape, heat to dry, thin layer of oil (don’t forget the sides!) and back into the oven. FWIW I have a electric glass cooktop at home and gas burners at work.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 6:50 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
That being said, I use my cast iron and the communal skillets almost exclusively. I love cast iron and grew up eating out of it. They’re great for everything. I keep mine oiled and leave them in the oven and even bake stuff in them all the time.
The kicker for eggs in cast iron is oil. I cook my bacon and pour most of the grease out till there’s a thin layer on the cooking surface. Delicious fried eggs. I also use duck fat, olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, and coconut oil. All of these fats work wonders. If you’re not feeling the grill you can broil an amazing steak using the oven. Roasted veggies in cast iron are so good.
I suppose there is a learning curve but I watched my mama in the kitchen often, and she used an heirloom iron skillet and an electric skillet for almost all of her frying/sautéing, so I just kind of picked it up.
Reseasoning is easy; you need oil, an oven, and some tinfoil (so the oil doesn’t drip down into your oven). I love the way it heats up food (no I don’t own a microwave).
Yes buy a skillet, a piece of chainmail or a bamboo/synthetic scraper, NEVER put soap in it (I have seen it happen and I swear it changes the flavor of food - no soap has ever touched my skillets), and to “clean” them I fill them up with water and turn the burner to high and let all the detritus float off. Then I scrape, heat to dry, thin layer of oil (don’t forget the sides!) and back into the oven. FWIW I have a electric glass cooktop at home and gas burners at work.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 6:50 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
People tend to have all kinds of rituals around cast iron. You can develop your own ritual if you like. Personally I recommend getting a seasoned pan, maybe a vintage used one from eBay, don't be particularly precious about cleaning it, and you will probably end up liking the results. I just wash mine like I wash everything else, with soap and water and a sponge. I never season it, and it's wonderful. Nothing meaningfully sticks, not even eggs (use enough oil!), I get beautiful browning. My pans are both about 40 years old and not enameled.
posted by k8lin at 7:37 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by k8lin at 7:37 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you care a lot more about the stir fries and scrambled eggs than the hunk-of-meat searing and omelettes, get a carbon steel wok instead. The care is basically the same as cast iron (don’t use soap, scrub with water and/or salt, heat to dry and then oil), but it is SO MUCH lighter, it heats/cools way faster, I find it far easier to clean because it has a smooth surface, and the shape is much easier for stir frying.
I still use Teflon pans for omelettes and fried eggs and a lot smaller cooking tasks and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven for almost anything else. I could never get the hang of cast iron because I couldn’t figure out how to clean a hot, heavy piece of metal without almost burning myself or waiting so long I forgot about it.
posted by A Blue Moon at 7:41 PM on June 30, 2020
I still use Teflon pans for omelettes and fried eggs and a lot smaller cooking tasks and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven for almost anything else. I could never get the hang of cast iron because I couldn’t figure out how to clean a hot, heavy piece of metal without almost burning myself or waiting so long I forgot about it.
posted by A Blue Moon at 7:41 PM on June 30, 2020
Just another vote for YES cast iron. It's what we use exclusively now. Well seasoned-pans, we have no sticking. Making pancakes, crepes, make eggs, no issue for us at all. We don't use soap to clean - just water and scrubbing with a soft brush. We seasoned OLD thrift store pans, then we oil after every use by heating to be warm to touch, adding a teaspoon of oil, rubbing it in (with the burner still on warm) with a cloth napkin/towel, letting it warm for another minute and turning it off. We're super happy with the set-up. It took a few months of practice to get it right.
posted by anya32 at 8:18 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by anya32 at 8:18 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
It's best to have a mix of pots and pans — nonstick, stainless and cast iron. Maybe a carbon steel saute pan and wok too. Different tools for different jobs. Although some become personal standbys: my cast iron comal never leaves my stovetop, for instance.
If the cleaning and seasoning and issues with certain foods in regular cast iron intimidates you, then get enameled cast iron.
If you don't mind some nicks and dings and a little crazing of the enamel, there's tons of it used on ebay. You don't need to buy new LeCreuset or Staub.
Or, if you do want new, the Martha Stewart line sold at Macy's is pretty good, and the Crofton line sold at Aldi is acceptable, though it has more visible irregularities.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:41 PM on June 30, 2020
If the cleaning and seasoning and issues with certain foods in regular cast iron intimidates you, then get enameled cast iron.
If you don't mind some nicks and dings and a little crazing of the enamel, there's tons of it used on ebay. You don't need to buy new LeCreuset or Staub.
Or, if you do want new, the Martha Stewart line sold at Macy's is pretty good, and the Crofton line sold at Aldi is acceptable, though it has more visible irregularities.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:41 PM on June 30, 2020
I skipped to the end because Mefites LOVE cast iron, and I never will. Everything likes to burn, it's ridiculously heavy, and I hate seasoning and cleaning it. But I am very fond of this pan, which I've been delighted with for over a decade. I have it in two sizes. It does all the magic cast iron things, weighs a ton less, and is a breeze to clean.
posted by bearwife at 9:38 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by bearwife at 9:38 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I used cast iron for a while - about a year I guess - and the novelty wore off very quickly. You can't clean cast iron the way you can clean pretty much literally every single other thing in your kitchen - that is, with hot water and soap, in a sink or a dishwasher - because if you do that, you clean off the "seasoning" (that is, baked-in fat) and you're back to square one.
No question it cooks good and is versatile, and as the above thread attests, people are mad for the stuff and have no problems with it. But I hate washing-up as much as anybody, and the last thing I want to do after preparing a meal is TWO special lots of washing up for the special cast iron skillet (or whatever).
Plus, because of how hot they get, they are way messier, by my observation. And when you've got a big single piece of metal conducting all that heat, the chances of being a dumbass and grabbing onto the handle without a kitchen towel or baking glove or the like increase exponentially until you get used to it. But yes you can get cast iron with wooden handles.
Anyway, not for me, but I'd recommend giving it an honest go and seeing what happens.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:49 PM on June 30, 2020
No question it cooks good and is versatile, and as the above thread attests, people are mad for the stuff and have no problems with it. But I hate washing-up as much as anybody, and the last thing I want to do after preparing a meal is TWO special lots of washing up for the special cast iron skillet (or whatever).
Plus, because of how hot they get, they are way messier, by my observation. And when you've got a big single piece of metal conducting all that heat, the chances of being a dumbass and grabbing onto the handle without a kitchen towel or baking glove or the like increase exponentially until you get used to it. But yes you can get cast iron with wooden handles.
Anyway, not for me, but I'd recommend giving it an honest go and seeing what happens.
posted by turbid dahlia at 9:49 PM on June 30, 2020
I have cast iron, carbon steel, and triple clad stainless steel. They’re all great for different reasons. But I keep one Teflon pan for scrambled eggs. I can do fried eggs in any pan, but cleaning any of the others after scrambling eggs is a pain in the ass.
posted by Weeping_angel at 9:53 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by Weeping_angel at 9:53 PM on June 30, 2020
he chances of being a dumbass and grabbing onto the handle without a kitchen towel or baking glove or the like increase exponentially until you get used to it.
At which point the curve is merely logarithmic.
These are that type of moment when time slows down and you hear yourself thinking noooooooo just as your palm makes contact.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:54 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
At which point the curve is merely logarithmic.
These are that type of moment when time slows down and you hear yourself thinking noooooooo just as your palm makes contact.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:54 PM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
With 61 answers, there's rather a lot of YMMV. :) Here's what works for me, re the dishes you say you normally make:
* scrambled eggs, omelettes: Eggs are THE reason I still keep a nonstick skillet around (along with the occasional pancakes). I've tried them on multiple pieces of well-seasoned cast iron and they're just a fail; they stick, they don't slide no matter how much oil or butter I use, they fall apart (fried eggs) and tear (omelettes), and they're just too damned heavy and sticky to get those nice pancake-style flips.
* making veg stir-fry: carbon steel wok! Lightweight, gets hot QUICKLY, is what you want for that quick sizzle and toss.
* searing meat: this is where cast iron shines. Searing hunks of meat, making bacon, browning ground meat, pan-frying chicken - all of these will get/maintain your cast iron pan's seasoning to the point that you can also do things in it like skillet cornbread, pies, biscuits. We do have silicone handle guards to slip on/off because we do a fair bit of one-dish oven+stovetop recipes, but mostly we just try to use potholders when necessary.
I do have an enameled cast iron pan for slow cooking/long braises and it is awesome.
I also keep a number of stainless steel pans on hand for everything else - both a skillet (sauteing veg) and a couple of saucepans (soupy things, pasta); the stuff above are my specialty pots and pans, but my stainless steel options are great general-purpose tools.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
* scrambled eggs, omelettes: Eggs are THE reason I still keep a nonstick skillet around (along with the occasional pancakes). I've tried them on multiple pieces of well-seasoned cast iron and they're just a fail; they stick, they don't slide no matter how much oil or butter I use, they fall apart (fried eggs) and tear (omelettes), and they're just too damned heavy and sticky to get those nice pancake-style flips.
* making veg stir-fry: carbon steel wok! Lightweight, gets hot QUICKLY, is what you want for that quick sizzle and toss.
* searing meat: this is where cast iron shines. Searing hunks of meat, making bacon, browning ground meat, pan-frying chicken - all of these will get/maintain your cast iron pan's seasoning to the point that you can also do things in it like skillet cornbread, pies, biscuits. We do have silicone handle guards to slip on/off because we do a fair bit of one-dish oven+stovetop recipes, but mostly we just try to use potholders when necessary.
I do have an enameled cast iron pan for slow cooking/long braises and it is awesome.
I also keep a number of stainless steel pans on hand for everything else - both a skillet (sauteing veg) and a couple of saucepans (soupy things, pasta); the stuff above are my specialty pots and pans, but my stainless steel options are great general-purpose tools.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:52 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I bought a set of stainless steel pots and pans twenty years ago and never looked back. I use them for everything and I love them. I've never really used teflon because even that long ago there was talk of it being bad for you.
Stainless is soooo easy. I have a heavy bottom glass covers set, and I used it for everything. It looks almost like the day I bought it (with the exception of one of the giant pots that was used in the kitchen of a restaurant I owned for a few years that wasn't cleaned properly on its outside while in use so that still has some scorched on stuff on it, doesn't affect it's use though).
On the rare occasion I've scorched anything on it I just soak and steel wool it, with some soak time everything comes off relatively easily. When I make scrambled eggs there's the light coating of cooked eggs on them, but again, put them under water and use the rough side of the sponge or a brush and it comes right off. For fried eggs, I've never had a problem getting them out as long as I've buttered the pan and used a spatula, not quite as easy as teflon, but not at all difficult, either.
I've tried cast iron and for reasons others have mentioned, it's not for me. I need things low maintenence and not fussy to use.
I can't recommend stainless highly enough. This was a set I bought a while ago for my country place, it's no longer available, but anything similar with the heavy copper bottoms would cook and last just as well I assume.
posted by newpotato at 2:56 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
Stainless is soooo easy. I have a heavy bottom glass covers set, and I used it for everything. It looks almost like the day I bought it (with the exception of one of the giant pots that was used in the kitchen of a restaurant I owned for a few years that wasn't cleaned properly on its outside while in use so that still has some scorched on stuff on it, doesn't affect it's use though).
On the rare occasion I've scorched anything on it I just soak and steel wool it, with some soak time everything comes off relatively easily. When I make scrambled eggs there's the light coating of cooked eggs on them, but again, put them under water and use the rough side of the sponge or a brush and it comes right off. For fried eggs, I've never had a problem getting them out as long as I've buttered the pan and used a spatula, not quite as easy as teflon, but not at all difficult, either.
I've tried cast iron and for reasons others have mentioned, it's not for me. I need things low maintenence and not fussy to use.
I can't recommend stainless highly enough. This was a set I bought a while ago for my country place, it's no longer available, but anything similar with the heavy copper bottoms would cook and last just as well I assume.
posted by newpotato at 2:56 AM on July 1, 2020 [2 favorites]
I’ve got a slightly different perspective: I’ve avoided cast iron because of the upkeep. But for the past three months I was the nighttime dishwasher at my sister’s house, and she and her husband cook with it all the time, so I’ve gotten lots of practice cleaning the stuff.
Here’s my steps:
1. Rinse
2. Pan scraper (if needed)
3. Throw some salt in and scrub it around with a paper towel (if needed)
4. Oil (if needed)
Many times, I only needed step one.
I’m not intimidated by cast iron anymore.
posted by ocherdraco at 3:49 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here’s my steps:
1. Rinse
2. Pan scraper (if needed)
3. Throw some salt in and scrub it around with a paper towel (if needed)
4. Oil (if needed)
Many times, I only needed step one.
I’m not intimidated by cast iron anymore.
posted by ocherdraco at 3:49 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Lately I clean my cast iron by just putting some hot water in it and turning the burner on for a bit right after I cook to heat the water a bit more. I use the same wood spatula/scraper I use for cooking to scrape up anything that's stuck, dump the hot water out in the sink, and then I'm usually good to go.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:30 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:30 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't think I can add much to the multiple takes on cast iron, but when my teflon frying pan had to be retired a few years ago, I replaced it with a cheap job lot ceramic pan, and it's been one of the best kitchen purchases I've ever made.
Someone above in the thread had a different reaction, but my ceramic pan is now one of the pots I used most often- reliably non-stick, much lighter and easier care than cast iron, and doesn't scratch or flake easily like teflon. I do usually use a tiny bit of cooking spray before I scramble eggs or sautee things, but I did that in teflon pans too.
I've probably used this one pan close to daily for 3 years, and it has nothing more than a few faint scratches where I've been careless with using metal implements in it. There are some uses that a cast iron pan is absolutely the best thing for, but if I had to keep only one frying pan forever, it would be the $15 ceramic one.
posted by Dorothea Ladislaw at 4:39 AM on July 1, 2020
Someone above in the thread had a different reaction, but my ceramic pan is now one of the pots I used most often- reliably non-stick, much lighter and easier care than cast iron, and doesn't scratch or flake easily like teflon. I do usually use a tiny bit of cooking spray before I scramble eggs or sautee things, but I did that in teflon pans too.
I've probably used this one pan close to daily for 3 years, and it has nothing more than a few faint scratches where I've been careless with using metal implements in it. There are some uses that a cast iron pan is absolutely the best thing for, but if I had to keep only one frying pan forever, it would be the $15 ceramic one.
posted by Dorothea Ladislaw at 4:39 AM on July 1, 2020
I have never had any luck with cast iron, but my allclad pans work great for everything I used to use nonstick for.
posted by chaiminda at 6:17 AM on July 1, 2020
posted by chaiminda at 6:17 AM on July 1, 2020
I exclusively use cast iron and was unaware of all the care and idiosyncrasies of it before this thread.
It's been pretty simple and straightforward for me.
I never use soap. If there is stuck on food, I use water with steel wool to scrape it off. After washing, I wipe it dry with a paper towel and add a little oil if needed (not often).
If it just has a bit of garlic or onion left over from my last time cooking, I often just leave the scraps and cook again.
Eggs work great with butter and I don't find they stick.
posted by EarnestDeer at 6:45 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's been pretty simple and straightforward for me.
I never use soap. If there is stuck on food, I use water with steel wool to scrape it off. After washing, I wipe it dry with a paper towel and add a little oil if needed (not often).
If it just has a bit of garlic or onion left over from my last time cooking, I often just leave the scraps and cook again.
Eggs work great with butter and I don't find they stick.
posted by EarnestDeer at 6:45 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't use cast iron as my only pan, but I also couldn't live without mine because then I wouldn't be able to make cast iron pizza.
I don't like it for eggs, but I can see that opinions are mixed on that. Agree with everyone else that cleaning and care are not the mysterious witchcraft that people sometimes make them out to be.
posted by catoclock at 6:56 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't like it for eggs, but I can see that opinions are mixed on that. Agree with everyone else that cleaning and care are not the mysterious witchcraft that people sometimes make them out to be.
posted by catoclock at 6:56 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Okay, I love cast iron. We've had our cast iron Lodge pan for going on ten years now. And yet I continually find it shocking how, on one hand, some people find them difficult and, on the other hand, how much work some put into babying their pan.
Our cast iron is much lower effort than our other pans. Just, in the same way you can't judge a cat for acting differently than a dog, don't expect it to fare well with soap and dishwashers. It's a huge slab of iron, so just don't let it be wet and otherwise treat it like it will outlive you.
Buying Cast Iron:
The pre-seasoned from Lodge is a bit of a joke. It will still need seasoning before it performs. I don't have the patience to even do the multiple layers of oil in the oven thing. If you are okay with meat, make two packages of bacon and fry them hard (eating bacon: optional). If you are not, fry a food that requires a lot of oil. It's not perfect at that point, but it's a decent base layer.
Using Cast Iron:
There have been a few good suggestions, but in general, I find that I need to let it heat a little longer at a slightly lower temp (8 instead of 10 on our stove). Oil is doing double work here, both serving as cooking and adding to your seasoning so I'm generally reasonably generous. You can see when the oil has reached a good temp visually. For things you sear, let things sit more to get the maillard reaction/crust before moving them around. For other stuff, push it around all you want. If something ever sticks, it's no big deal because this is a huge slab of iron and it will scrape off later.
I did buy a silicon holder for the handle, which is helpful. Yes, the pan is very heavy. The most difficult thing I find is pouring grease off after browning meat, which I'll sometimes use a spoon for instead. The pan lives on our glass stovetop so I don't have to move it around as much.
Cleaning Cast Iron (Most of the Time):
I wait until it has cooled a little so it's not too hot to handle, which is usually after we've finished eating. Carry the pan to the sink, and while running water on it, use a plastic scraper to go to town. This generally gets food bits off, and leaves a bit of water and some grease on surface. On an energetic day, put pan on stove and heat the pan on high until the water evaporates. On a lazy day, wipe out the water with a paper towel.
Cleaning Cast Iron (I'm Too Tired Right Now Version):
Eh, whatever, there are some days I am too tired for even that. Unless there's liquid tomatoes sitting in there that are going strip the seasoning, leave it sit with the lid on. The food bits dry on the surface, and next time I'm going to cook I can just scrape it off in the sink and the evaporate the water step becomes preheating the pan.
Oh, No, I Stripped the Seasoning:
If you ever strip the seasoning, you are now rewarded with more bacon.
posted by past unusual at 8:45 AM on July 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
Our cast iron is much lower effort than our other pans. Just, in the same way you can't judge a cat for acting differently than a dog, don't expect it to fare well with soap and dishwashers. It's a huge slab of iron, so just don't let it be wet and otherwise treat it like it will outlive you.
Buying Cast Iron:
The pre-seasoned from Lodge is a bit of a joke. It will still need seasoning before it performs. I don't have the patience to even do the multiple layers of oil in the oven thing. If you are okay with meat, make two packages of bacon and fry them hard (eating bacon: optional). If you are not, fry a food that requires a lot of oil. It's not perfect at that point, but it's a decent base layer.
Using Cast Iron:
There have been a few good suggestions, but in general, I find that I need to let it heat a little longer at a slightly lower temp (8 instead of 10 on our stove). Oil is doing double work here, both serving as cooking and adding to your seasoning so I'm generally reasonably generous. You can see when the oil has reached a good temp visually. For things you sear, let things sit more to get the maillard reaction/crust before moving them around. For other stuff, push it around all you want. If something ever sticks, it's no big deal because this is a huge slab of iron and it will scrape off later.
I did buy a silicon holder for the handle, which is helpful. Yes, the pan is very heavy. The most difficult thing I find is pouring grease off after browning meat, which I'll sometimes use a spoon for instead. The pan lives on our glass stovetop so I don't have to move it around as much.
Cleaning Cast Iron (Most of the Time):
I wait until it has cooled a little so it's not too hot to handle, which is usually after we've finished eating. Carry the pan to the sink, and while running water on it, use a plastic scraper to go to town. This generally gets food bits off, and leaves a bit of water and some grease on surface. On an energetic day, put pan on stove and heat the pan on high until the water evaporates. On a lazy day, wipe out the water with a paper towel.
Cleaning Cast Iron (I'm Too Tired Right Now Version):
Eh, whatever, there are some days I am too tired for even that. Unless there's liquid tomatoes sitting in there that are going strip the seasoning, leave it sit with the lid on. The food bits dry on the surface, and next time I'm going to cook I can just scrape it off in the sink and the evaporate the water step becomes preheating the pan.
Oh, No, I Stripped the Seasoning:
If you ever strip the seasoning, you are now rewarded with more bacon.
posted by past unusual at 8:45 AM on July 1, 2020 [6 favorites]
I don’t like cast iron for reasons stated (although it does work best for steaks tbh, I do use it for that alone).
Otherwise, I use stainless steel, or, my FAVOURITE pan is a super lightweight ceramic lined pan from Masterclass. I think the body might be aluminum, but that doesn’t make contact with the food. (The pan is also pink, which I love.) Cooks evenly, not sure what physics are at play really but everything fried or sautéed turns out great. It’s just very responsive, I feel I have more control over the temp and its effects. Great for meat or veg. Oh and the handle though is stainless steel, doesn’t get hot.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:06 AM on July 1, 2020
Otherwise, I use stainless steel, or, my FAVOURITE pan is a super lightweight ceramic lined pan from Masterclass. I think the body might be aluminum, but that doesn’t make contact with the food. (The pan is also pink, which I love.) Cooks evenly, not sure what physics are at play really but everything fried or sautéed turns out great. It’s just very responsive, I feel I have more control over the temp and its effects. Great for meat or veg. Oh and the handle though is stainless steel, doesn’t get hot.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:06 AM on July 1, 2020
I knew there would be a clamoring for cast iron when I came in here--I do have 2 sizes of cast iron skillets, a Dutch oven, and a grill pan, and I use all of them here and there, but not every day. For me the biggest drawback is, as mentioned above, they get hot ALL over, and lose heat very quickly, so I've got a hot skillet sitting on the stove taking up space for what feels like forever. Also, they are VERY heavy. I mostly use them for things that need to go stove-to-oven. I would never use cast iron for eggs unless I was camping.
For daily use I have some ceramic nonstick that I've replaced almost all my Teflon with. It doesn't stick, weighs nothing, cleans well. You just need to make sure not to use metal utensils, just like you would with Teflon. Great for stir fries and scrambled eggs.
posted by assenav at 11:05 AM on July 1, 2020
For daily use I have some ceramic nonstick that I've replaced almost all my Teflon with. It doesn't stick, weighs nothing, cleans well. You just need to make sure not to use metal utensils, just like you would with Teflon. Great for stir fries and scrambled eggs.
posted by assenav at 11:05 AM on July 1, 2020
I just wanted to add that when I'm cooking soups, stews, grains and similar things that don't work in a skillet, my husband and I love the mystery stainless steel set of nesting pots he got on sale at Ross. They have "stainless steel Indonesia" stamped on the bottom, copper/brass colored handles which never get hot, and nice heavy glass covers that let you see what's up with the food when it's simmering. They are like what newpotato posted. Can't find them on a quick Google search but something like that is a great addition to the kind of quality skillets I linked above. We've been cooking with those for over 25 years.
posted by bearwife at 12:57 PM on July 1, 2020
posted by bearwife at 12:57 PM on July 1, 2020
I have a set of Tremontia ceramic pans from Target and I LOVE them. Nothing sticks. Season them, follow the directions, and food literally just wipes off. It's freaking amazing.
posted by jrobin276 at 5:18 PM on July 1, 2020
posted by jrobin276 at 5:18 PM on July 1, 2020
I don’t think it’s been said yet, but we bake pies, pizza, and bread almost exclusively in cast iron. (Pies get a “rustic” edge whereby an extra-large bottom crust is just flipped up over the sides.) Nothing is better for a nice, brown crust. No soggy bottoms in our house!
posted by the_blizz at 10:14 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by the_blizz at 10:14 AM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
I use cast iron (and re-season frequently) for almost anything, except eggs. Ceramic pans are just a bit easier to flip an egg and don't have any of the issues that teflon has.
Sourdough in my cast iron pan (with a pot as a lid) is perfect for holding in humidity get a nice rise, and then I uncover half way through to get a nice, golden crust. Cornbread is also best in cast iron, IMHO.
posted by Kurichina at 4:38 PM on July 2, 2020
Sourdough in my cast iron pan (with a pot as a lid) is perfect for holding in humidity get a nice rise, and then I uncover half way through to get a nice, golden crust. Cornbread is also best in cast iron, IMHO.
posted by Kurichina at 4:38 PM on July 2, 2020
My cooking repertoire is mostly Korean / Chinese / Japanese, and I don't use cast iron at all, except for a Le Creuset enameled pot I use for deep frying.
I mostly use stainless steel pans, aluminum pots when I want to heat things quickly (e.g. water for Korean ramen noodles), and nonstick pans. I had a carbon steel wok many years ago but I lost it during one of my moves and haven't replaced it since.
I like stainless steel because I can be rough with it and not take any special care when cleaning, unlike cast iron.
Cast iron cookware was not something I saw in Korean home kitchens when I was growing up, and it continues not being part of my regular cooking.
posted by needled at 4:55 PM on July 2, 2020
I mostly use stainless steel pans, aluminum pots when I want to heat things quickly (e.g. water for Korean ramen noodles), and nonstick pans. I had a carbon steel wok many years ago but I lost it during one of my moves and haven't replaced it since.
I like stainless steel because I can be rough with it and not take any special care when cleaning, unlike cast iron.
Cast iron cookware was not something I saw in Korean home kitchens when I was growing up, and it continues not being part of my regular cooking.
posted by needled at 4:55 PM on July 2, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Yeah, you can ruin the seasoning if you cook something really acidic and let it sit, but it's not difficult to reason it and get it back to working use. Wipe on some oil and throw it in the oven at 400-500 for an hour or two; repeat as needed.
The go-to for most folks is Lodge. I recently bought a colossal skillet (like, 22") to use on my grill from Old Bayou. It works a treat when I have to cook for a crowd, which is pretty often.
In conclusion, cast iron is awesome, period. YES.
posted by jquinby at 1:58 PM on June 30, 2020 [8 favorites]