Cast iron pan skillet did not work out as I wanted to

[zoiks]

You're supposed to keep it seasoned with oil and not wash it, just wipe it out with a paper towel. I think the rough surface keeps bacteria from being able to survive on it's surface.

This. Put some oil on it and then bake it in the oven for a few hours.

 

[kage69]

Disagree.

CI pans are great for their intended uses. Great for searing, even heat distribution and a non-stick surface that is better than teflon and non-toxic. It even adds dietary iron to your meals.

The reason why it becomes an heirloom is because the pan is nearly indestructible and will last for hundreds of years.

Its more for practical reason although I can see why hipsters latch onto them too.

Agreed, for the most part. As I understand it, the beneficial iron is only imbued to acidic foods, not all foods. Searing a steak or piece of chicken? No supplement. Browning some beef for a ragut and then simmering until meal time? Extra iron for all!

And cast iron will last for a hundred years (maybe more) providing you keep it dry. I know too many people who take a wet CI pan and throw it on a flame to dry and then wonder why they have rust everywhere. Gotta dry it first with a towel, then use heat to evaporate what you can't see. Then immediately grease/oil it.

 

[kage69]

I can't say it enough; flaxseed, flaxseed, flaxseed!

Only canola comes close, and even then flaxseed oil is still way better. Search for the other cast iron threads here, one that I made has a link to this woman's cast iron site. Reading her stuff is an education and she is bang on the money with her advice.

 

[Nintendesert]

Disagree.

CI pans are great for their intended uses. Great for searing, even heat distribution and a non-stick surface that is better than teflon and non-toxic. It even adds dietary iron to your meals.

The reason why it becomes an heirloom is because the pan is nearly indestructible and will last for hundreds of years.

Its more for practical reason although I can see why hipsters latch onto them too.

That's the big reason companies moved away from CI pans, you can't keep reselling pans to people every few years if the things last forever.

 

[Iron Woode]

cast iron makes a lot of sense.

1. it is easy to make and no exotic or expensive metals needed
2. it doesn't wear out. it will out last its owners.
3. after many uses it is non-stick.
4. it is versatile - going from stove top to oven to campfire to table.
5. it is easy to maintain. cleaning is simple.
6. it works at high temps without issues.
7. it adds a bit of iron to your diet. not so good if you have hemochromatosis.
8. if you look around you can get good used pans for cheap.

 

[kage69]

That's the big reason companies moved away from CI pans, you can't keep reselling pans to people every few years if the things last forever.

Well, in the case of Griswold it was competition and workers that hated management. Their quality apparently did a nose dive in the last few years they were operating - sounds like pissed off workers to me.

Lodge is still kicking strong today as far as I know...

 

[NetWareHead]

AI know too many people who take a wet CI pan and throw it on a flame to dry and then wonder why they have rust everywhere. Gotta dry it first with a towel, then use heat to evaporate what you can't see. Then immediately grease/oil it.

Disagree. Don't you think that it a little redundant? After scrubbing my CI in the sink, it goes right on top of a stove to dry, still wet from the sink. The heat dries it out right there. I keep the heat on until it smokes a little to season it some more. I've had CI pans for almost 10 years and I've never dried them first before the drying on the stove. Never any rust.

 

[NetWareHead]

I can't say it enough; flaxseed, flaxseed, flaxseed!

Only canola comes close, and even then flaxseed oil is still way better. Search for the other cast iron threads here, one that I made has a link to this woman's cast iron site. Reading her stuff is an education and she is bang on the money with her advice.

Yes...I have seen great results with flaxseed oil and want to get a bottle to try this out myself. I use either lard or canola oil depending on what is more readily available at the time. My seasonings are great and very non-stick. Eggs dont stick and I can make crepes with minimal oil too.

 

[momeNt]

Do not forget also that using cast iron pans use far more energy to cook a meal with than aluminum/copper pans clad stainless steel (tin) pans.

You should keep cast iron available if you need high heat sears, or are cooking cornbread. The environment will thank you if you designate everything else to aluminum/copper/stainless cookware.

 

[silverpig]

Decades? Horseshit. Calphalon is indeed better than cheap Teflon pieces, but lets not get carried away here. I've retired 2 Calphalon fry pans in the past, and had them for far shorter than 10 years, let alone 20 or more (and I take care of my stuff). IIRC I got about 5 or 6 years use out of mine. I went back to cast iron, although I do have some Cuisinart ceramic saute pans for the wife (she hates lifting and cleaning cast iron) which are to be used with silicone spatulas and that's it. They'll be chucked and replaced as needed.


Did Calphalon come out with a new line that's really badass and I just didn't hear about it?

I agree with you. I got some Calphalon anodized infused cookware 6 years ago. The big pan is warped (bottom of the pan is domed so it doesn't sit flat anymore), and the non-stick pan has some good flakes of teflon missing. Nothing has ever been in the dishwasher, and only silicone utensils were used on the non-stick pan.

That said, I do really like the pots. They're light and conduct well.

 

[jaedaliu]

Do not forget also that using cast iron pans use far more energy to cook a meal with than aluminum/copper pans clad stainless steel (tin) pans.

You should keep cast iron available if you need high heat sears, or are cooking cornbread. The environment will thank you if you designate everything else to aluminum/copper/stainless cookware.

Yes, it takes a little bit more energy to heat up the mass of the cast iron than a thinner pan. Maybe you should have everyone cook by bringing things to temperature, then tossing into an insulated container. that's even less energy spent!

Or better yet, an insulated slow cooker, so there's super low levels of energy loss to convection and radiation!

Yeah, that's the ticket! The environment will thank you if you cook on your car's engine block right after you get home from work, and recycle all your light bulbs.

I guess I'm joking. Cast iron's great for even heat. Though, some day I'm buying an aluminum block.

 

[kage69]

Disagree. Don't you think that it a little redundant?

Nope. Putting a wet cast iron pan on the heat will cause the areas of water to boil off, and when they are gone you're left with small areas of rust colored deposits. Some of it is likely mineral content of the water, which may account for our the different results. I do have hard water...

A small amount of water boiling off on iron actually accelerates oxidizing IRC, but if there is enough polymerized fat (seasoning) between the two substances I guess you might be able to avoid it. All I know is if I don't give it a quick wipe with paper towel and put it directly on the heat to dry, the end result is brown patches everywhere. Every single person I know who knows what they are doing with cast iron does the same thing and for the same reason. YMMV.

 

[W.C. Nimoy]

^my experience is the same as kage's.

 

[sourceninja]

I don't even bother to heat dry it. Again my pan is older than I am, but I just wipe it dry with a paper towel.

 

[momeNt]

Yes, it takes a little bit more energy to heat up the mass of the cast iron than a thinner pan. Maybe you should have everyone cook by bringing things to temperature, then tossing into an insulated container. that's even less energy spent!

Or better yet, an insulated slow cooker, so there's super low levels of energy loss to convection and radiation!

Yeah, that's the ticket! The environment will thank you if you cook on your car's engine block right after you get home from work, and recycle all your light bulbs.

I guess I'm joking. Cast iron's great for even heat. Though, some day I'm buying an aluminum block.

It has to do with thickness and thermal conductivity. The fact that its thick and iron just makes it worse.

Certain times of the year it may be less of a detriment. When your house needs to be heated the inefficiency of the cast iron pan is less harmful, the opposite is true though when your home needs to be cooled.

There is no need to get hyper-defensive and start with the hyperbole. I'm simply pointing out that cast iron is less efficient than other methods, both in time and energy efficiency. All cookware has its drawbacks, cast iron included.

 

[TwiceOver]

Nope. Putting a wet cast iron pan on the heat will cause the areas of water to boil off, and when they are gone you're left with small areas of rust colored deposits. Some of it is likely mineral content of the water, which may account for our the different results. I do have hard water...

A small amount of water boiling off on iron actually accelerates oxidizing IRC, but if there is enough polymerized fat (seasoning) between the two substances I guess you might be able to avoid it. All I know is if I don't give it a quick wipe with paper towel and put it directly on the heat to dry, the end result is brown patches everywhere. Every single person I know who knows what they are doing with cast iron does the same thing and for the same reason. YMMV.

I put mine on the burner soaking wet right out of the sink. No rust spots or anything like that. Then again, I oil mine every time I clean it, not just for storage.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Decades? Horseshit. Calphalon is indeed better than cheap Teflon pieces, but lets not get carried away here. I've retired 2 Calphalon fry pans in the past, and had them for far shorter than 10 years, let alone 20 or more (and I take care of my stuff). IIRC I got about 5 or 6 years use out of mine. I went back to cast iron, although I do have some Cuisinart ceramic saute pans for the wife (she hates lifting and cleaning cast iron) which are to be used with silicone spatulas and that's it. They'll be chucked and replaced as needed.


Did Calphalon come out with a new line that's really badass and I just didn't hear about it?

Hmm, maybe I'm wrong about Calphalon. But my in-laws got a full set of Circulon cookware about 15 years ago and everything is still good as new. We got our set as a wedding present 3 years ago and it's been great (fingers crossed).

I have been told that hard anodized nonstick is much more durable than your typical cheap pans with a nonstick coating that flakes off within a year or two. So far, that seems to be true.

 

[Cerb]

Agreed, just get hard anodized nonstick cookware (like Circulon or Calphalon) and you're good for decades. And you can actually wash it. It's the cheap nonstick stuff that wears out quickly.

Even the old Calphalon, that has a reasonably durable coating, and is warp-resistant, is no less stick-prone than SS, IME, but worse at browning.

I have been told that hard anodized nonstick is much more durable than your typical cheap pans with a nonstick coating that flakes off within a year or two. So far, that seems to be true.

You were told wrong.

Hard anodize is as durable as the quality of the anodizing, and hardness of the aluminum underneath it. I'm not fond of Calphalon, but the ones my mother has from the 80s are still in alright shape (never get used, anymore, though...between myself, my father, and her brother, we've converted her to CI 🙂).

But, if not done really well, or using soft aluminum, HA will wear off easily. The anodized layer is a very hard ceramic surface. If done poorly, it may be uneven, pourous, and flake off. If done well, but over soft, easy-to-shape, aluminum, then it will get cracked up and loosen over time.

 

[Acanthus]

Why doesn't anyone get 50 year old (or older) hand me down aluminum cookware from grandparents? Could it be that there was no such thing as aluminum back then? Or could it be that back then, people cooked meals about 365 days a year & preferred quality/practicality.

You want hipster gimmicks? Go to the pots and pans section of a store. "OMG! It's the Martha Stewart 8 pot collection" or "omg, I just HAVE to have the Rachel Ray cookware" or "I want the Paula Dean 12 piece non-stick cookware." Or, "omg, this ceramic coated cookware - what an incredible invention!" (Cast iron coated with ceramic has been around since the 1800s.) You call US hipsters for using pans that have been used for generations while the majority of people fall for every marketing gimmick?

Actually, the reason for the emergence of anodized cookware (again) is because DuPont has agreed to stop making teflon coatings by 2015 because they flake off into food and are carcinogenic.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2005-07-19-teflon_x.htm

 

[Vic Vega]

Too many variable with cast iron? Well, by my count it's two less than putting on pants so I don't see what the problem is unless you're an idiot.

 

[Vic Vega]

What happens when you use soap and water to clean?

You fucking don't.

 

[notposting]

The flaxseed oil seasoning method really works well. And thar be science behind it.

However, I use regular cast iron along with carbon steel, tri ply clad, non-stick, enameled cast iron, aluminum...find the right pan for the job and use that.

 

[Cerb]

This depends on the type of electric stove.

No, it doesn't. You even included the most important word in your bolding (hint: it's the same as a recent MS flop). The bottom and outer sides will not stay properly protected by cooking at low temps alone, and induction is still using low temps. Gas stoves are pretty expensive in the south, since most homes don't have anything else that needs gas, so they're uncommon. Induction may not abrade the surface like a coil stove, but it's also not going to heat the surface like a flame, which allows for some carbonization, on the annoying side of the pan.

 

[bradly1101]

The flaxseed oil seasoning method really works well. And thar be science behind it.

However, I use regular cast iron along with carbon steel, tri ply clad, non-stick, enameled cast iron, aluminum...find the right pan for the job and use that.

I thought we were supposed to avoid aluminum. At least one study showed higher brain levels of aluminum in people who died of Alzheimers.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=1076&tid=34

 

[Howard]

Nope. Putting a wet cast iron pan on the heat will cause the areas of water to boil off, and when they are gone you're left with small areas of rust colored deposits. Some of it is likely mineral content of the water, which may account for our the different results. I do have hard water...

A small amount of water boiling off on iron actually accelerates oxidizing IRC, but if there is enough polymerized fat (seasoning) between the two substances I guess you might be able to avoid it. All I know is if I don't give it a quick wipe with paper towel and put it directly on the heat to dry, the end result is brown patches everywhere. Every single person I know who knows what they are doing with cast iron does the same thing and for the same reason. YMMV.

Maybe if your water has a lot of iron in it. It won't cause rust if the seasoning is built up sufficiently.