Originally posted by: galvanizedyankee
There was a thread awhile back on cast iron pans.
Those are cheapies, the good'ens are so smooth on the inside a match can't be struck on it to light the burner
Give it time and these cast iron pans will become like that. Of course, you're looking at 10-20 years of use probably.
Cast iron is king. The only disadvantage is they're not always big enough in diameter.
Yeah, you have to season a cast iron pan, but you only do it once. They usually come with instructions, however, they state to use an oven at 350°, which is too "cold". Even the people at Lodge admit 500° is better, but they don't want people freaking out if their pan starts to smoke at that temperature.
More info can be found here:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/FAQ/FAQ400s.htm#409a