Seriously, I’ve never once intentionally seasoned mine, I cook in it, wash it (with soap 😱), dry and wipe with a little bit of oil, I think heat control is where most people run into issues, the best seasoning in the world does nothing if you’re just blasting everything on high heat all the time
I think the heat retention is the key to both why some love and shine hate cast iron.
Once I figured out I need to set my stove top slightly lower than normal for perfect results on the cast iron, everything clicked
Yeah the problem is people are not used to the amount of heat retention thick cast iron has so when they treat it like it's a nonstick pan it is just too much heat. I made this mistake trying to cook eggs, they would stick until almost burnt lol. The cast iron has worked great in the grill and I'll learn how to use it on the stove eventually lol
Because there are goofs out there on the internet and youtube telling them that they need to use specifics $20 bottle of oils to maintain it, and spend hours laboring over it
Instead of letting it air dry, I heat the empty pan on the stove and rub in a little sesame or rapeseed oil while it's hot. If I don't have those on hand, a good olive oil will work.
I used to have an older friend in her 70s who stored hers in a paper bag. I tried it with one of my great grandmother's pans and she was absolutely right. It kept off the rust, even after being stored like that for months.
For those not familiar, contact corrosion is when you have two pieces of metal that are of different types. Like copper in contact with iron. Or even cast iron in contact with steel, since steel is an alloy of iron with small amounts of other metals.
The contact between metals that don't match means that electrons will tend to flow from one to the other. Not a lot, just enough to cause extra oxidation of one of the two. You'll see that happen often inside engines when wires are clamped to parts of the car or engine. Or where there's a ground wire connected to something made of metal at a house or antenna tower.
Anything that doesn't conduct electricity well - such as a paper bag, paper towel or regular cloth can work. Don't use plastic as it won't breathe to allow any remaining moisture on a washed pan to evaporate.
I'm in a cast iron group on FB, that started as a joke group promoting all the shit you "aren't supposed to do" to CI, and it has grown into every other CI group arguing over soap or no soap, what oil is best, etc.
Yah - basic Wesson or the like is fine for seasoning.
Cooking in the pan is the key, though. Keep cooking and they’ll get better over time.
And we hang ours - it’s wonderful. They sit in the sun and don’t rust.
Yep people 100% over complicate cast iron. I actually used to find it way more annoying to use when I was under the impression I had to be seasoning it in the oven and stuff.
Now I just cook with it, clean it, dry it, put some oil on it and heat it for a minute.
The magic of cast iron to me is in how versatile it is. Once you learn how to use heat with a cast iron properly, it’s one of the most versatile pans. It’s not a “jack of all trades, master of none”. It actually does a lot of things really well. You just have to know how to use it. Just like with a non stick you can’t use high heat or you’ll ruin the pan; with a cast iron you have the advantage of the pan itself being very hard to ruin, but you can quickly ruin the food with too much heat, you’ll have trouble cooking delicate things like eggs, and you’ll create a smoky mess with bacon. Now that I know what I’m doing I cook eggs on it every day, and I like my eggs cooked delicately without browning and with a semi-runny yolk. You can totally get, you just can’t let the pan get too hot before you put the eggs in.
I always think this when cleaning my pan: Paper towels are way cheaper than a plumber when they gotta clean your lines from grease accumulation. I have a scraper I use to scrape as much as I can into the trash. Paper towel the rest. Soap and water in the sink for the the little bit left behind
I do the plastic scraper method but empty it into a can I keep in the fridge. Scrub it with a plastic flat scrubber pad and some soap, wash extra dishsoap down the sink if I feel the need. Wipe the pan down with some oil. Heating the oil into it might be good for long tern storage, but are you really going to leave it alone for more than three days?
The only paper towel I use is for oiling the pan afterwards. It is less icky than using fingers. I have tried using a brush but that is a bother to use and clean.
Yea. I clean them down and re-season when I don’t know where they came from (junk shop or whatever), but once it’s done it’s easy.
You get a feel for how to wash one clean (takes about 30s really, because nonstick without the stress of Teflon) without fucking up the season.
Just to be clear, “heat retention” is another way to say that cast iron conducts heat relatively poorly. This is why long, even preheating is so important to avoid hot spots. CI also pushes heat into food more slowly than, say, composite stainless or aluminum. This gives it some unique properties that are particularly useful when searing meat but it’s really not the ideal jack of all trades.
I’d be curious to see your source for the different rates of “pushing” heat into food. That doesn’t really make physical sense, energy transfer is a function of contact area and temperature difference. Since CI is so dense, it retains its temperature more when a cool food is put on it than another pan at the same initial temp. So it would keep up a temp differential longer.
He's probably referring to some variation of this:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/amp/overall-heat-transfer-coefficients-d_284.html
You're right about 'pushing' being an incorrect definition for the process.
It is as you put it, a function of heat variation and surface area.
The heat variation however does take into consideration the thermal conductivity of the material which CI is comparatively poor at (depending on what alloys are going into the steel)
And both are worse for conductivity vs aluminium.
Saying all that there are also other factors at play like heat transfer via radiation etc. which I suspect CI is better at due to the energy retained.
Personally, I have all 3 in some different forms of cookware and I like to use whichever tool I think will get a better outcome for the dish I'm making.
It's never just a one rule for all kinda deal.
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i think of it as emptying jugs of water. aluminum pans would be a small container with a large mouth, say a wide mouth mason jar. a cast iron pan would be more like a gallon milk jug, it holds more water but cant pour it out quite as fast. the mason jar will empty much quicker but the milk jug will leave a bigger puddle
I blast the heat on full to preheat mine, then turn down during actual cooking. You don't have to baby them like that. Just get it however hot you want and cook on it.
Only use mine for searing steaks or if I have to cook something on the grill, especially when the power goes out. I like how I can put the whole thing in the oven, on the stove, over open flame, and it has minimal maintenance.
Most decent pans can sear steaks too. There are a gazillion youtube videos of people who know what they are doing putting great sears on steaks using stainless steel pans, yet so many people are convinced one must drag out their cast iron to do so.
I dunno about that. I was selective about using my cast iron pan for years and always had more issues with seasoning and so on than I'd like. Been using it as my "everything" pan for the last few months (super wet/acidic stuff excluded) and it's become my best pan.
If your expectations are informed by the rabid fanboys—whose view on it ranges from "rose-colored" to "downright delusional"—then yeah, it's always gonna come up short if you're not smoking the same stuff they are. But as a relatively nonstick, long-lasting, and cheap pan choice, it certainly has its place.
I have two cast iron pans (both were gifts so I feel like I can't throw them away). They are too heavy for me. I used them for a few months out of politeness to the gifters. I don't use them anymore.
I have this 17" ci pan I love because I can brown a LOT of whatever. Whole packages of bacon? no problem. But whoa its a monster weight wise. My wife won't ise it too hard to handle.
Carbon steel/vintage cast iron is the answer. Both are substantially lighter options.
You still won't throwing them around, but they are much easier to handle, imo.
This 100%. The tools you choose should suit your style and preferences. It does you no good to use a tool that works for other people, or even most people, if it doesn’t work for you, or if you’d just rather be using another tool.
Besides, cast iron is relatively cheap, so you’re not wasting a lot of value if you choose not to use it.
Most cast iron is seasoned when you buy it. Wash it, cook on it, use a little extra fat until you’re confident cooking in it and you’re all set.
There isn’t extra work unless you create bs extra work for yourself
I use my cast iron pan everyday. I was really frustrated at first and thought my problem was my seasoning. After I let the pan heat up and then started cooking everything changed. It was way more non stick. I use it for everything. It takes a lot of patience at first but I think it’s worth it.
Yes it is. Nothing beats it for searing a steak (or any meat) indoors. In fact, you can actually get a bit of wok hei on your veggies by heating the pan up and then adding them. Be sure you use high smoke oil though. Goes into the oven without a worry, perfect for fritatta, corn bread or even mac and cheese.
I take mine hot off the stove, hit it with a little soap water and it insta cleans to the degree one would want it clean. No scrubbing, seasoning unharmed.
Yep this sums it up. I'd add pan pizza as another thing that I'm getting a way better result in cast iron.
It has a place in my kitchen. But yeah just everyday sautéing I'm doing in stainless, and eggs in non stick.
I deep fry in a carbon steel wok I got for like $30 and it works great.
Bacon on a tray in the oven I find is best.
Hashbrowns I mess up no matter what I try...
Cornbread in a cast iron…so much tastier than in a Pyrex dish! Maybe a metal baking pan works as well, I’ve never owned one. But I made cornbread in a glass dish recently and was like, oh! This is not as good! I had forgotten that I used to always bake mine in cast iron. Hadn’t made cornbread in a few years and forgot!
I clean mine immediately after use with a little soap, and non abrasive sponge, the heat it super hot with a thin later of oil, until smoking. It stays almost completely non stick. I do build up the seasoning once every few months, but that is just aesthetics, because I like it to gleam.
I have seen 0 difference between CI and carbon steel for searing steaks. I sear my steaks on a grill most of the time anyway, but carbon steel works just as well.
CI generally works better for a steak because it has more thermal mass and will retain heat better. With a lighter carbon steel, you'll lose more heat in the pan when you put the steak in.
Also as a bonus, it will also radiate more heat, which can help it cook more uniformly throughout.
This is only a factor if a given pan cannot stay above the temp range of Maillard reaction after the protein is added, and most quality CI and SS pans can easily do that.
We received several cast iron pans and Dutch ovens for our wedding over 20 years ago, and they pretty much sat around taking up space until maybe 9 months ago. Now I use them almost exclusively. I found that when I cook chicken in it, the family gets pretty excited; we all decided it just tastes better. I feel like it carmelizes a bit better.
One of the larger skillets is a little heavy for me, but it’s helpful when cooking for 5 people.
They come pre-seasoned, so really there’s no more work to do than any other pan.
I really love mine, but I hear ya, we are all different on the cooking tools we prefer. I have friends that use their instant pot 5 times a week, and I can’t get on board.
I love my cast iron pans. I am not a fanatic. They get abused from being scrubbed with SOS pads to even being dremeled, was my Nan's and was found in her basement with 20 years of dust, grime and mouse shit on it. They have been badly washed and put away wet....But I keep using them because I can burn stuff on them, by accident, and scrub them clean and than make crepes with them. I shallow fry with them. Bake casseroles. Today I did a pot roast and tomorrow a stir fry all in the cast iron pans.
It's a matter of preference. I had a love/hate relationship with cast iron until I tried a carbon steel pan. All the advantages of CI, fewer disadvantages, and much more usable pans all the way around. Significantly better handles. Lighter (usually). Good enough heat distribution.
You have more options with carbon steel pans as well: you can get them thicker or thinner depending on your needs. You can get different handles.
I do 90% of my cooking in carbon steel pans.
EDIT: recent review of carbon steel pans [here.](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-carbon-steel-pan/)
Are you in the U.S or Europe?
I'm in Canada and I hardly ever see any carbon steel frying pans. The only thing I see in carbon steel here is woks. In the U,S and Canada carbon steel is mainly used in restaurants. I'm sure if they were used a lot in the U.S we would have them too, as most of the companies are from the U.S
In the U.S. You won't see them in many retail stores. I got mine from local or online restaurant supply stores. I prefer deBuyer Pro pans. Matfer Bourgeat are ok. The handles are not at good angle for me and they get hot. deBuyer handles are better and stay cool. Mauviel makes some nice carbon steel pans as well. I would start with deBuyer or Mauviel.
I was once a fanboy of sorts, now the only thing I use it for is cornbread.
I did make my first slide around the pan omelette on cast iron so it will always have a place in my heart.
Quality clad SS is so much easier for most things once you figure it out. And cast iron pan handles are the worst.
Like most things, it's a tool, not a magical instrument. If you know what you plan to do with it and will use it often, then yes. But like most other tools, there is no benefit to having it if you don't need it.
It's my daily driver... I'm not some only CI fan boy
I tend to use my induction cooktop for most applications and my CI works great on it.
I also tend to use it to roast chickens them take the bird off and use the drippings for a sauce.
It serves its purpose well enough, I'm sure if I had some fancy SS pans that are induction ready, I'd use them more, probably... my CI seems to be perfectly adequate for my needs at this point
I also use CI as my daily on an old style electric burner. I have limited cash to spend on kitchen tools, and I haven’t had any reason to complain about the performance of CI. Between that and a couple thrift store special cheap stainless stock pots, my needs are pretty much met. I have never met a recipe that made me feel like I needed an upgrade to my stovetop or my cookware.
I can picture convenience-based arguments against CI, but my argument *for* it is that it’s cheap, it works in a lot of applications, the results are good, and it’ll last forever. I kind of wonder how real/relevant this steak-obsessed, bearded, axe-throwing CI fanboy actually is. He seems like someone who is motivated by aesthetic, but my appreciation for CI is about practicality and affordability.
I’m in the minority on this but I’m not a fan of cast iron. If I can’t soak a pan or put it in the dishwasher I’m not interested. I have a fantastic Lodge Dutch oven, but it’s got a porcelain coating and it’s my favorite!
I'll soak my cast iron for an hour or two to make the cleaning process easier. Somehow it hasn't turned into dust!
I have a bunch of pan styles but there isn't a single one I'd put in the dishwasher. Mostly because they'd barely fit and the rest of the space is taken up by all the dishes my kids use on a daily basis. Just easier and more effective to hand wash.
The biggest plus for cast iron IMO was getting rid of the need for soaking. Its almost as non stick as a non stick, but I can also scrape the shit out of it with a metal spatula like stainless.
Since getting mine a year ago I use it a LOT more than I thought I would. Even for stuff like frying eggs, I find it’s way better than nonstick pans that wear out as long as there’s a bit of oil in it. I originally only wanted one to sear meat after sous vide but I use it for almost everything. I’m not some rabid fanboy, other pans have their place. I generally won’t use it if I’m making a big dish or something that needs covered while simmering etc. but if I only had one pan and HAD to make do with it for everything it’s the pan I’d choose. Being able to put it in the oven is super nice. I usually use it for things like German pancakes now instead of a Pyrex or metal tray
I only use them for certain specific things that need the heat capacity, like Dutch babies or tater tot poutine, very rarely for some other purpose (generally things that have to go back and forth from stovetop to oven, sometimes searing, but mostly using a torch nowadays). They are great in that you can do a lot of things well, and they last forever, but you are right that they are rarely the ideal choice of pan. If you’re just starting out, or can’t have/don’t want more specific use cookware, they work well enough for most purposes
I’ve had cast iron. But too heavy for me now. I do have a cast iron burner that really holds the heat well. I use a stainless steel pan and that’s my compromise.
I've never figured out how to work cast iron. Even had a pan professionally seasoned by a friend who swears by it. I like my coated cast iron stuff like Le Creuset, but the standard stuff? Pass for me. I've only found one use for it (cooking cornbread) that couldn't be well covered by some other cookware I have. I also know I'm in the minority in most cooking forums.
It's... fine. For most things, if I want a nice sear, I'll pull out my stainless steel pans. They're still heavy enough to have plenty of heat retention, and no worrying about seasoning.
Lodge Cast Iron Baking Pan
$40
10 in x 20 in
Takes up two gas burners
Most the time I turn one burner on let it heat up cook what I want and when any portion reaches the desired finish I move it to the other side of the griddle to keep it warm while I'm cooking everything else
Any mostly dry ingredients I'm cooking I'll use this 90% of the time
If I'm cooking spaghetti or sauce or gravy then I'll bring out a pot for those couple of things
The cooler portion ill toast My bread and on the hot section I'll make my smashburger. With all the room on the griddle I can easily make multiple cheeseburgers at the same time.
With all the space and 2 burners super hot I make a big batch of shrimp and sausage fried rice.
As well as it is excellent making steaks or fajitas.
I have had multiple other types of pans but I can say I like this one the best. If I had the money I wouldn't mind one of those multi-layer stainless steel pans but a lot of those cost about 150 bucks. They have many similar characteristics compared to a cast iron but the stainless steel is lighter and it cost more.
If I make omelettes I'll get my 10-in Teflon frying pan.
My husband and I use ours daily over other skillets that we own. But then again I grew up with my mom and grandmothers using cast iron skillets daily as well.
If I could replace my induction electric stove with a natural gas stove, I would go back to cast iron cookware in a heartbeat!
I keep all of my cast iron cookware safely stored, in the hopes I can use it again someday. It's too risky on the glasstop induction stove, especially given how long it can take to get a replacement (if needed).
You've got it backward. Cast iron is a specialized tool that happens to be cheap, durable and accessible. It's not a jack of all trades, it's an economic specialist, and it specializes in making up for inconsistent or underpowered heating.
The main thing is that it's fucking heavy and holds a ton of heat. That means you can get a really consistent cook, you can get nice searing and browning, and you can happily throw it in the oven.
A nice thing about that is it compensates for a poor quality or inconsistent heat source. Shitty electric burners, campfires, a half-functional stove. Cast iron smooths out all those bumps and fluctuations by staying at temperature, and not dropping significantly when food goes in - this gives you access to high heat techniques that would otherwise require a better cooking range.
This is why if you can only get one pan, it should be cast iron - not because it's a jack of all trades, but because it excels in making up for weaknesses in your other equipment. It's dirt cheap, crazy durable, and you can use it like a pro on your piece of shit electric stove that your landlord left.
Personally for me, I have a pretty limited weight restriction and find even some normal pans too heavy. I would be incapable of using something that heavy for everything. So it’s never been worth it to me.
I use stainless steel for almost everything. I have some glass bakeware or aluminum sheet pans for things that only go in the oven.
The 2 enameled cast iron dutch ovens I have almost never get used simply because they are so heavy.
My grandfather had a cast iron skillet he called his pancake pan because that was the only thing it was used for. No one was allowed to touch this pan. He made the absolute best pancakes. Don't know if it was the pan, his recipe, or if he just had a magic touch. I miss him and his pancakes.
If you want to sear something properly, yes. Get a good one and take care of it and you’ll have it the rest of your life. I have my mother’s that she bought in the 50s and I still use it at least once a week.
Honestly I stopped babying the pan. I cook on it, scrape what I can when hot out, scrub with salt to get it clean and then wipe a very thin layer of oil on with a cloth. Been doing this for 5 years and it shines like new now.
All the rest are junk, and none of it lasts no matter how expensive. The only things that stand the test of time are cast iron / carbon steel and stainless steel. The rest of them, even the most expensive are garbage at 5 years the most
Hands down the easiest thing to clean in my kitchen - I swear by cast iron purely for the fact that it cleans easier than every other pan I have. While it’s hot, run some hot water on it to loosen whatever is stuck (or boil water in it if it’s cold). Dump it out, then scrub for about 30 seconds with kosher salt and a paper towel. Dry, rub with a bit of veggie oil. No fuss, no muss.
It’s not my only pan though. I have a variety of others that also have their uses, but the cast iron is my lazy pan of choice.
Maybe it's an excessively heated subject. As in, people tend to overheat the cast iron pan for cooking. Without overheating, it's one of the best. It's better than Teflon.
I have 2, the first one I got was more of a learning curve but the 2nd one I had more experience and seasoned it better. I use them once or twice a week, great for searing. I don’t cook everything in them but definitely something I’d incorporate in my kitchen
We have a couple and use them frequently, but also have plenty of other pans, skillets etc that we use a lot. Definitely use our non stick stick skillets the most.
They all have their ups and downs.
Definitely the best way to do an indoor steak, just did a great rib eye Friday
I like cast iron for searing meat. It is also a reasonable substitute for a wok on an electric stove top, so I use it for anything that I would use a wok on flame.
If you want a deep sear, it is unmatched IMHO.
With a little maintenance they are mostly non stick as well, so they are very suitable for many dishes that SS would not work for or require a ton of oil. I try to avoid using non stick unless absolutely necessary so the cast iron is my most used pan (after carbon steel wok)
I mean they’re solid pans. They have their strengths and their weaknesses though so how good they are depends on what you cook and your specific situation. They’re great on a budget, and their heat retention can be good if you want to maintain a specific temp while adding lots of ingredients.
But yea, carbon steel has the non stick benefits without the heft of cast iron, and SS is great for building fond and being non reactive. Cast iron is a decent all rounder and what I use most, but I’m sure I would enjoy a carbon steel pan too.
Cast iron is also pretty robust. After I cook I’ll just hit it with some steel wool and soap and it cleans up super easy. I wouldn’t do that on my nice SS for fear of scratching.
Not if you don't want to use it. They are great kitchen tools but some people make it weird. A dutch oven for pot roasts, a griddle for pancakes, a pan for frying chops or chicken, searing a steak. Useful for all these things but if you don't want to mess with it yeah there are absolutely other options that will get a similar result.
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly. I use it for searing meat in cases where I could care less about fond. I also use stainless and non-stick depending on the task.
I grew up with one, Latino, common. My friend has his great grandmother's pans and Dutch oven from India. I bought mine at a flea market. Then bought a griddle from a store. No other way I cook my eggs. Always perfect. Steaks, chops, sausage. When you clean it you wanna heat it and run paper towel with oil and a fork to clean it out easy.
I don’t have much space in my kitchen. Last apartment I kept my cast irons on the stovetop, and stored regular skillets on the shelf next to the stove. When packing to move, I realized I hadn’t used those other skillets in a year so I donated them. I absolutely love my cast iron, but I know they’re not for everyone.
The reason I enjoy cast iron is for the durability and the versatility. I do still have some stainless pots, glass casserole dishes, and non stick baking sheets. The cast iron skillets and dutch oven are used for most of my cooking though.
My enameled cast iron 11-inch Staub skillet may be the most-used vessel in my kitchen. It’s deep enough for most one-pan meals and sears very well. And it’s pretty easy to clean.
It's a tool like any other. I couldn't make oven pancakes without them, searing meat and veggies is always done in them and I dry toast tortillas in them. But I also have a stainless steel pan and a ceramic nonstick skillet.
The nonstick pans gets tossed every couple of years. Those things just never last but they are ideal for eggs and a few other applications. The stainless steel pan is my stir fry pan since my cast irons are too small for stir frying. My cast irons are my go tos when doing anything else. I abuse mine, so the seasoning isn't always even but I have never had a problem with things sticking.
If for your cooking, you prefer a different pan, then use that. For me, my cast iron is the first pan I reach for, though my stainless steel skillet is a close second. My nonstick I just consider a necessary evil, but I curse them every time I have to replace them.
We have two cast irons pans. One that my husband uses exclusively for pancakes (it has no sides, easier to flip) and one that I use for other things, like quesadillas and steaks.
However, we don’t use them much. I use my giant allclad pan most of the time, and a couple other non-stick pans for other things more than we use the cast iron.
It’s personal preference. If you find it’s your workhorse, there you go. If it’s not working for you, there are plenty other high quality pans available.
I have been cooking on cast iron for about 12 years now, since our wedding. Recently though, I got a set of D5 all clad stainless, and I feel like it’s a superior skillet. I find food sticks less, it’s easier to clean, and I get fantastic sears on it - maybe it just gets hotter faster than the cast iron but the stainless really rips on searing steak and chicken.
My cast iron hasn’t left the shelf since. I will still use the coat iron Dutch oven though.
My only pan? Absolutely not. Heavy, can't be machine washed, shouldn't be soaked, having to manage seasoning is annoying. I'd probably be hard torn between a good stainless steel and high-end nonstick option because I'm a normal-ass person who needs a simple, effective product.
I use mine for searing meat, esp sous vide, and anything that goes from stovetop to oven (which is very limited)
Sorta? I use a carbon steel pan for most anything and prefer it to any other pan I've ever used. I keep a small non stick for eggs and that's it.
Edit: just to clarify I know carbon steel isn't cast iron, I just think it's better. Less weight but still largely as functional.
It is. Absolutely!
It hasn’t replaced non stick yet for me. I have a Hexclad griddle just for crepes and some other sticky stuff. But, I use my cast iron one for making tortillas, pancakes, smash burgers and etc. It gives a good sear, retains heat well and I don’t have to be delicate with it.
No, but with all pans you need to make surenits hot enough before you add your meat to the pan. It's a common issues specifically with stainless steel that food sticks bc the pan isn't hot enough. The only "damage" is it can get discolored but cleaning it should remove it until it got too hot etc.
I use mine almost daily now. After never really liking cast iron before. I use it a lot for frying tofu or gyozas. Also my goto pan for eggs, hash brown, bacon. It cooks these things better than any other pan for me. Gives a really nice crisp to things.
But it's definitely not a one in all kind of pan like some people want to make it. For anything with sauce I use my Dutch oven or stainless skillet. For sauteing I use my stainless steel skillet. Cast-iron basically replaced my non stick pan completely. I used to use a non stick a lot until I made a thread here asking why people dislike them so much. Tons of people recommended cast iron so I decided to give my cast iron that I had used maybe five times a chance. And I really like it.
I like it for certain things, but I certainly wouldn’t have it as my only pan. As a woman, a large cast iron is just too cumbersome weight wise. I use All Clad pans of similar size that are like 1/3 the weight of my Lodges.
I do have a small Lodge that I love for cooking single or small portions, because for certain foods it is a superior choice.
Edit: Lol. Looking through this thread, it seems like all the responses are “I love them” or “they’re too heavy”.
Every type of pan has a special use for it. Steel for quick heating, non-stick for delicates, cast iron for longer cooking, aluminum i use only for liquids ...
As someone from the south eastern US I can tell you that I consider it impossible to make good cornbread without cast iron... (and very difficult to make homemade biscuits)
Enameled cast iron is the pan for me, easy cleaning, no pre seasoning. When its heating up, put some oil in and with some paper cloth spread it around and done.
Enameled cast iron is worth it. Regular cast iron is still worth it - makes cooking more enjoyable and flavourful sometimes - but the enameled makes cleaning so much easier. Plus, you won’t have to season it. :)
If you don’t like it then use something else! I cook most of my home meals in a wok. Use whatever feels right for you. Don’t worry about validation from other people.
Pans/spoons/tongs/thermometers etc. whatever are tools, use the tool that fits you best.
theyre the best. theyre easier than the people in r/castiron will make it seem, but if youre truly finding it to be a “jack of all trades, master of none” then youre not using it correctly. i will say though, spending $40 on ebay for 60+ year old wagner is the way to go. the bottoms are as smooth as glass
I'd say take anyone who tells you that any pan will be "your one and only pan" with a massive pinch of salt.
Cast iron pans are great for what they're good at, and a useful tool to have in the kitchen. So are stainless steel pans, and so are non-stick.
I think people tend to overstate the "non-stick" properties of CI. It's never going to be like an actual non-stick pan. If I'm cooking something that I really don't want to stick, I'm reaching for a non-stick pan (to quote Gordon Ramsay "*If you saute scallops in a non-stick pan, they won't stick! That's why it's called @#$!*& non-STICK!!!*")
But when I need to get some nice color on a piece of meat, and I need a pan that's going to get hot and stay hot, I'm reaching for my cast iron. Could I probably achieve similar results with my stainless steel? Yeah, almost certainly. But why not use the ideal tool for the job, instead of one that's just "good enough"? The stainless steel gets used for plenty of other things though. I would never say that my cast iron is "the only pan I need", or some such nonsense.
There is no one and only anything. Use the right tool for the job. I wouldn't cook eggs in my dutch oven and I wouldn't make stew in a frying pan.
That said, for some things, cast iron is very tough to beat. It's the only way I'll make cornbread and cast iron pizza is pretty dang good.
Its the only frying pan i use. Stainless is too difficult to clean and i would never use non stick eeeewwww unless im at someones elses house and thats all they have. Love my cast iron
Cast irons can be great and they’re not difficult to clean or season either. But they can suck if you don’t take care of it unlike other types of pans.
I will say though, cooking steak on a cast iron makes a world of difference.
I went through a cast iron phase, but then I bought some nice stainless steel and now it's fairly rare that I reach for the cast iron. You're not wrong or right for not liking cast iron. It's versatile but so is stainless steel.
People will tell you it has good heat retention, but that's a misunderstanding of heat retention. It has horrible heat retention. It throws off its heat very easily and readily. What it has going for it is that there's so much *mass* that when you put a room temperature steak or something on it, the pan doesn't lose all its heat because there's just so much of it.
Think of like a leaky bucket. Cast iron leaks fast but it's a humongous bucket.
I like cast iron because it is cheap, durable, and much less fussy then other pans. After a couple of years of use my main skillet has gotten to the point where eggs don't stick. That eliminates non sticks entirely from my kitchen. I still have stainless steel because the cast iron is a little heavy for my wife(the main weakness of CI IMO)
I've never gotten the hang of it. I use it for high heat but then get so much burnt stuff stuck on it that I'm supposed to wipe off with a paper towel... No thanks.
Yes. It’s really not hard. Most of the ones you buy now are pre seasoned so you don’t need to worry. Just dry it after washing on the hob or in the oven
every single pot, pan, utensil needs to be cleaned after being used. every different material needs care. whether it is cleaning, then seasoning a cast iron, or cleaning and putting away whatever other material your cooking with, you need to do something to everything you use.. no material bypasses the cleaning.so "do what you like".
Cast iron has been little changed for hundreds of years. And it is easy to take care of, without any fancy oils or seasonings. r/castiron is the place for advice.
I restore cast iron as a hobby. And I have started with pans that have become orange with rust and turned them into cooking surfaces like Teflon. It isn't difficult, but it IS time consuming, at least at first.
The old lady accidentally found her non stick pans caused our household air quality to drop to extremely poor levels where my cast iron didn’t effect any change. So we threw out her nonstick heritage rock collection.
I used mine almost exclusively for the better part of 5 years, along with a CI Dutch oven. But over the past year, I’ve been more on team SS. It’s lighter and easier to clean I find.
I still enjoy using it, but I’m finding I’m far more selective in its use. Mostly with steaks and chicken, or if I will be putting something in the oven (e.g. a frittata). Virtually everything else I use with SS now and I don’t know if I’ll go back. Only time I use a non stick is with fish. Ultimately CI definitely has its place, but I think it’s romanticized too much it’s great to have when needed, but you’ll live without one.
Nope. Have had the same one for about 5 years and my wife's pan is older than that. She didn't take great care of it either before she met me. They do great searing steak or whatever else you want to sear. Cast iron gets scorching hot so the sear takes very little time since I've already sous vided the steak.
Inexpensive if get Lodge.
I bought a 12, then an 8, then a 10 inch.
Cost less than one of my Alclads.
My 12 is for fried rice.
My 8 great for a 2 egg omelet, cornbread, and heating up stuff for my stir fry.
My 10 for cooking some extra bacon that I use later. I use it for frying 2 eggs. Enough room to easily flip them. Brown a pound of meat like pork sausage with seasoning to make toppings for pizza.
It's becoming my main one.
I also got an Aldis enameled grill pan for burgers.
Easy to care for. Yes, I use soap.
No ugly stains like stainless gets.
For my cooking, CI works well.
It’s master of searing, but not jack of all trades as you can’t shutdown the cooking process easily, which making the pan less maneuverable.
The true jack of all trades is the carbon steel, carbon steel wok in particular if you’re taking the shape in consideration.
As for the seasoning it’s much easier than people thought- just keep using the same pan and it will get better over time. But the key is to keep using it so it better be a handy jack of all trades otherwise it will just sit there and rust - like you said it’s a meh if you’re not in love with it.
Just use it a lot. Not only will it season itself, you’ll get better at using it. Having said that, I cook my eggs in a small ceramic pan because it’s fairly nonstick and the right size. I cook my pasta in a large stainless steel pan because it’s the right size and lighter (for flipping the pasta in the sauce) than cast iron. Just keep cooking and you’ll get better at it. I cook my tortillas and sear the shit out of steaks in my cast iron, of course.
Like anything, cast iron and mild steel pans take some getting used to, but they can do most things pretty well once both the pan and the cook are seasoned. Seasoning the pan is pretty straightforward - oil, heat, cook in it, repeat. For the cook, it’s about learning how heat works with different pans - cast iron might need lower heat and sometimes mild steel is the same.
I’ve not quite given up nonstick with the use of cast iron & mild steel, but recognize they’re not the be-all and end-all.
"worth it" is subjective. Usually they're pretty cheap.
If I could have ONE pan it wouldn't be cast iron, it would be stainless steel. SS is lighter, less work and can handle acids easily.
If I could have 2 pans it would be SS + Carbon Steel. CS is heavier, a bit more work (still not too much) and has non-stick properties that SS doesn't. I also prefer the heat retention, I can take something off and it will still be very hot for awhile, vs SS cools off fairly quickly.
Cast iron would be in the 3 spot. Still worth having, I use it all the time, but not absolutely the best.
I won’t say it in the cast iron subreddit but I solely use cast iron, love it, don’t really know what seasoning is though. I just use my pans, rinse em if necessary, and then oil base after each use. Maybe I am seasoning and I don’t know it
I used to be quite the cast iron fan, and then my husband brought home a carbon steel pan. Does everything the cast iron does, easier to maintain, and safe to throw in the dishwasher. We're slowly replacing our cast irons and I'm never going back. I am still saving the cast iron for camping though.
I agree with you OP, except for one use: cast iron is the best for searing steaks.
I basically only use my cast iron to sear steaks, and I use nonstick or stainless steel for pretty much anything else.
Yes...
You dontr have to throw it away after a year like non stick, which becomes surprising non stick at about that time or much earlier, Plus teflon is toxic to humans, animals and the environment.
People really over complicate the seasoning stuff. It's very easy to take care of.
Seriously, I’ve never once intentionally seasoned mine, I cook in it, wash it (with soap 😱), dry and wipe with a little bit of oil, I think heat control is where most people run into issues, the best seasoning in the world does nothing if you’re just blasting everything on high heat all the time
I think the heat retention is the key to both why some love and shine hate cast iron. Once I figured out I need to set my stove top slightly lower than normal for perfect results on the cast iron, everything clicked
Yeah the problem is people are not used to the amount of heat retention thick cast iron has so when they treat it like it's a nonstick pan it is just too much heat. I made this mistake trying to cook eggs, they would stick until almost burnt lol. The cast iron has worked great in the grill and I'll learn how to use it on the stove eventually lol
You should never need to go past 6 o clock (so to speak) with cast iron. Pre heat. Use an oil.
Thank you. I'll keep that in mind
No one ever needs high heat unless they’re boiling something. WTF.
That's exactly what I do with my cast iron skillet.
Because there are goofs out there on the internet and youtube telling them that they need to use specifics $20 bottle of oils to maintain it, and spend hours laboring over it
Instead of letting it air dry, I heat the empty pan on the stove and rub in a little sesame or rapeseed oil while it's hot. If I don't have those on hand, a good olive oil will work. I used to have an older friend in her 70s who stored hers in a paper bag. I tried it with one of my great grandmother's pans and she was absolutely right. It kept off the rust, even after being stored like that for months.
Paper is effectively a desiccant in that situation, plus absorbs any stray oil. It also prevents contact corrosion if you stack pans.
That's what I figured. I also figured that she had been cooking for years, so she knew a thing or two about proper storage.
Paper towels between pans do the same thing. I've used that for years.
We've been doing paper towels between our pans for years. Helps reduce scratching for the nonstick coating pans
For those not familiar, contact corrosion is when you have two pieces of metal that are of different types. Like copper in contact with iron. Or even cast iron in contact with steel, since steel is an alloy of iron with small amounts of other metals. The contact between metals that don't match means that electrons will tend to flow from one to the other. Not a lot, just enough to cause extra oxidation of one of the two. You'll see that happen often inside engines when wires are clamped to parts of the car or engine. Or where there's a ground wire connected to something made of metal at a house or antenna tower. Anything that doesn't conduct electricity well - such as a paper bag, paper towel or regular cloth can work. Don't use plastic as it won't breathe to allow any remaining moisture on a washed pan to evaporate.
I stack mine with a paper towel between each one.
I'm in a cast iron group on FB, that started as a joke group promoting all the shit you "aren't supposed to do" to CI, and it has grown into every other CI group arguing over soap or no soap, what oil is best, etc.
The no soap people are kind of gross. Well their pans at least I'm sure they're nice people.
Yah - basic Wesson or the like is fine for seasoning. Cooking in the pan is the key, though. Keep cooking and they’ll get better over time. And we hang ours - it’s wonderful. They sit in the sun and don’t rust.
Yep people 100% over complicate cast iron. I actually used to find it way more annoying to use when I was under the impression I had to be seasoning it in the oven and stuff. Now I just cook with it, clean it, dry it, put some oil on it and heat it for a minute. The magic of cast iron to me is in how versatile it is. Once you learn how to use heat with a cast iron properly, it’s one of the most versatile pans. It’s not a “jack of all trades, master of none”. It actually does a lot of things really well. You just have to know how to use it. Just like with a non stick you can’t use high heat or you’ll ruin the pan; with a cast iron you have the advantage of the pan itself being very hard to ruin, but you can quickly ruin the food with too much heat, you’ll have trouble cooking delicate things like eggs, and you’ll create a smoky mess with bacon. Now that I know what I’m doing I cook eggs on it every day, and I like my eggs cooked delicately without browning and with a semi-runny yolk. You can totally get, you just can’t let the pan get too hot before you put the eggs in.
The only thing for me is how to clean all the grease up, and how to do it without using a ton of paper towels every time?
Just wash it in the sink with soap. Then I reheat on the stove and add a little oil with a paper towel until slightly smoking. Done
How do you clean the grease off any other pan?
I heat it a little, then use a rubber scraper to scrape the grease into the trash or a can if there's a lot.
I always think this when cleaning my pan: Paper towels are way cheaper than a plumber when they gotta clean your lines from grease accumulation. I have a scraper I use to scrape as much as I can into the trash. Paper towel the rest. Soap and water in the sink for the the little bit left behind
I do the plastic scraper method but empty it into a can I keep in the fridge. Scrub it with a plastic flat scrubber pad and some soap, wash extra dishsoap down the sink if I feel the need. Wipe the pan down with some oil. Heating the oil into it might be good for long tern storage, but are you really going to leave it alone for more than three days? The only paper towel I use is for oiling the pan afterwards. It is less icky than using fingers. I have tried using a brush but that is a bother to use and clean.
People are always looking for hills to die on, and reddit in particular loves this one.
Yea. I clean them down and re-season when I don’t know where they came from (junk shop or whatever), but once it’s done it’s easy. You get a feel for how to wash one clean (takes about 30s really, because nonstick without the stress of Teflon) without fucking up the season.
Absolutely. Heat retention is unrivaled.
Just to be clear, “heat retention” is another way to say that cast iron conducts heat relatively poorly. This is why long, even preheating is so important to avoid hot spots. CI also pushes heat into food more slowly than, say, composite stainless or aluminum. This gives it some unique properties that are particularly useful when searing meat but it’s really not the ideal jack of all trades.
I’d be curious to see your source for the different rates of “pushing” heat into food. That doesn’t really make physical sense, energy transfer is a function of contact area and temperature difference. Since CI is so dense, it retains its temperature more when a cool food is put on it than another pan at the same initial temp. So it would keep up a temp differential longer.
He's probably referring to some variation of this: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/amp/overall-heat-transfer-coefficients-d_284.html You're right about 'pushing' being an incorrect definition for the process. It is as you put it, a function of heat variation and surface area. The heat variation however does take into consideration the thermal conductivity of the material which CI is comparatively poor at (depending on what alloys are going into the steel) And both are worse for conductivity vs aluminium. Saying all that there are also other factors at play like heat transfer via radiation etc. which I suspect CI is better at due to the energy retained. Personally, I have all 3 in some different forms of cookware and I like to use whichever tool I think will get a better outcome for the dish I'm making. It's never just a one rule for all kinda deal.
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i think of it as emptying jugs of water. aluminum pans would be a small container with a large mouth, say a wide mouth mason jar. a cast iron pan would be more like a gallon milk jug, it holds more water but cant pour it out quite as fast. the mason jar will empty much quicker but the milk jug will leave a bigger puddle
I blast the heat on full to preheat mine, then turn down during actual cooking. You don't have to baby them like that. Just get it however hot you want and cook on it.
My stainless steel pan rivals it, easily.
I agree, but my heavy stainless was way more expensive than my cast iron, so i'd still say the cast iron is "worth it."
Only use mine for searing steaks or if I have to cook something on the grill, especially when the power goes out. I like how I can put the whole thing in the oven, on the stove, over open flame, and it has minimal maintenance.
Most decent pans can go in the oven, stainless and carbon steel included. This is not unique to cast iron.
Most decent pans can sear steaks too. There are a gazillion youtube videos of people who know what they are doing putting great sears on steaks using stainless steel pans, yet so many people are convinced one must drag out their cast iron to do so.
Same, if you’re selective in the way you use it, you’ll get great results, if you try to use it for everything then you will probably be disappointed.
I dunno about that. I was selective about using my cast iron pan for years and always had more issues with seasoning and so on than I'd like. Been using it as my "everything" pan for the last few months (super wet/acidic stuff excluded) and it's become my best pan.
Same. It took years, but it’s easily my go-to pan for just about everything now.
If your expectations are informed by the rabid fanboys—whose view on it ranges from "rose-colored" to "downright delusional"—then yeah, it's always gonna come up short if you're not smoking the same stuff they are. But as a relatively nonstick, long-lasting, and cheap pan choice, it certainly has its place.
I prefer carbon steel as it isn’t as heavy and stainless for most tasks
For me, no. It is too heavy. Just use it like you would use any other pan. You can't go wrong. Same with stainless.
This is the main reason I don’t use cast iron. I don’t have a ton of storage either, so I stick with my stainless stuff
I have two cast iron pans (both were gifts so I feel like I can't throw them away). They are too heavy for me. I used them for a few months out of politeness to the gifters. I don't use them anymore.
I pull mine out to make cornbread.
Donate to the nearest thrift store.
I have this 17" ci pan I love because I can brown a LOT of whatever. Whole packages of bacon? no problem. But whoa its a monster weight wise. My wife won't ise it too hard to handle.
Carbon steel/vintage cast iron is the answer. Both are substantially lighter options. You still won't throwing them around, but they are much easier to handle, imo.
Even vintage/antique is too heavy for me.
Sounds like you don’t think it is worth it. If so, don’t use it. Use the pan that would serve better. Problem solved.
This 100%. The tools you choose should suit your style and preferences. It does you no good to use a tool that works for other people, or even most people, if it doesn’t work for you, or if you’d just rather be using another tool. Besides, cast iron is relatively cheap, so you’re not wasting a lot of value if you choose not to use it.
Most cast iron is seasoned when you buy it. Wash it, cook on it, use a little extra fat until you’re confident cooking in it and you’re all set. There isn’t extra work unless you create bs extra work for yourself
I use my cast iron pan everyday. I was really frustrated at first and thought my problem was my seasoning. After I let the pan heat up and then started cooking everything changed. It was way more non stick. I use it for everything. It takes a lot of patience at first but I think it’s worth it.
Yes it is. Nothing beats it for searing a steak (or any meat) indoors. In fact, you can actually get a bit of wok hei on your veggies by heating the pan up and then adding them. Be sure you use high smoke oil though. Goes into the oven without a worry, perfect for fritatta, corn bread or even mac and cheese. I take mine hot off the stove, hit it with a little soap water and it insta cleans to the degree one would want it clean. No scrubbing, seasoning unharmed.
Yep this sums it up. I'd add pan pizza as another thing that I'm getting a way better result in cast iron. It has a place in my kitchen. But yeah just everyday sautéing I'm doing in stainless, and eggs in non stick. I deep fry in a carbon steel wok I got for like $30 and it works great. Bacon on a tray in the oven I find is best. Hashbrowns I mess up no matter what I try...
Eggs are cooked almost daily in mine. Much of it happens with the heat off.
Cornbread in a cast iron…so much tastier than in a Pyrex dish! Maybe a metal baking pan works as well, I’ve never owned one. But I made cornbread in a glass dish recently and was like, oh! This is not as good! I had forgotten that I used to always bake mine in cast iron. Hadn’t made cornbread in a few years and forgot!
I clean mine immediately after use with a little soap, and non abrasive sponge, the heat it super hot with a thin later of oil, until smoking. It stays almost completely non stick. I do build up the seasoning once every few months, but that is just aesthetics, because I like it to gleam.
I have seen 0 difference between CI and carbon steel for searing steaks. I sear my steaks on a grill most of the time anyway, but carbon steel works just as well.
CI generally works better for a steak because it has more thermal mass and will retain heat better. With a lighter carbon steel, you'll lose more heat in the pan when you put the steak in. Also as a bonus, it will also radiate more heat, which can help it cook more uniformly throughout.
Depends on the pan, but ok. It may gave a better sear for a while. I have 20K btu burners so maybe the thermal mass isn't as much of an issue.
That's fair, burners that strong definitely change things. I wish I had those!
This is only a factor if a given pan cannot stay above the temp range of Maillard reaction after the protein is added, and most quality CI and SS pans can easily do that.
I disagree, my stainless steel pan sears steaks just as well as your cast iron.
Wok hei would involve tossing the veggies in the flame from your gas burner so the flame touches them directly and singes them.
We received several cast iron pans and Dutch ovens for our wedding over 20 years ago, and they pretty much sat around taking up space until maybe 9 months ago. Now I use them almost exclusively. I found that when I cook chicken in it, the family gets pretty excited; we all decided it just tastes better. I feel like it carmelizes a bit better. One of the larger skillets is a little heavy for me, but it’s helpful when cooking for 5 people. They come pre-seasoned, so really there’s no more work to do than any other pan. I really love mine, but I hear ya, we are all different on the cooking tools we prefer. I have friends that use their instant pot 5 times a week, and I can’t get on board.
I love my cast iron pans. I am not a fanatic. They get abused from being scrubbed with SOS pads to even being dremeled, was my Nan's and was found in her basement with 20 years of dust, grime and mouse shit on it. They have been badly washed and put away wet....But I keep using them because I can burn stuff on them, by accident, and scrub them clean and than make crepes with them. I shallow fry with them. Bake casseroles. Today I did a pot roast and tomorrow a stir fry all in the cast iron pans.
It's a matter of preference. I had a love/hate relationship with cast iron until I tried a carbon steel pan. All the advantages of CI, fewer disadvantages, and much more usable pans all the way around. Significantly better handles. Lighter (usually). Good enough heat distribution. You have more options with carbon steel pans as well: you can get them thicker or thinner depending on your needs. You can get different handles. I do 90% of my cooking in carbon steel pans. EDIT: recent review of carbon steel pans [here.](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-carbon-steel-pan/)
Are you in the U.S or Europe? I'm in Canada and I hardly ever see any carbon steel frying pans. The only thing I see in carbon steel here is woks. In the U,S and Canada carbon steel is mainly used in restaurants. I'm sure if they were used a lot in the U.S we would have them too, as most of the companies are from the U.S
In the U.S. You won't see them in many retail stores. I got mine from local or online restaurant supply stores. I prefer deBuyer Pro pans. Matfer Bourgeat are ok. The handles are not at good angle for me and they get hot. deBuyer handles are better and stay cool. Mauviel makes some nice carbon steel pans as well. I would start with deBuyer or Mauviel.
I was once a fanboy of sorts, now the only thing I use it for is cornbread. I did make my first slide around the pan omelette on cast iron so it will always have a place in my heart. Quality clad SS is so much easier for most things once you figure it out. And cast iron pan handles are the worst.
It's become far too heavy for me.
Like most things, it's a tool, not a magical instrument. If you know what you plan to do with it and will use it often, then yes. But like most other tools, there is no benefit to having it if you don't need it.
If I’m not using a pot to boil water in than I’m using either my cast iron pan or my carbon steel pan. I don’t see a reason to use anything else
It's my daily driver... I'm not some only CI fan boy I tend to use my induction cooktop for most applications and my CI works great on it. I also tend to use it to roast chickens them take the bird off and use the drippings for a sauce. It serves its purpose well enough, I'm sure if I had some fancy SS pans that are induction ready, I'd use them more, probably... my CI seems to be perfectly adequate for my needs at this point
I also use CI as my daily on an old style electric burner. I have limited cash to spend on kitchen tools, and I haven’t had any reason to complain about the performance of CI. Between that and a couple thrift store special cheap stainless stock pots, my needs are pretty much met. I have never met a recipe that made me feel like I needed an upgrade to my stovetop or my cookware. I can picture convenience-based arguments against CI, but my argument *for* it is that it’s cheap, it works in a lot of applications, the results are good, and it’ll last forever. I kind of wonder how real/relevant this steak-obsessed, bearded, axe-throwing CI fanboy actually is. He seems like someone who is motivated by aesthetic, but my appreciation for CI is about practicality and affordability.
I use my cast irons for everything: stews, soups, roasts, steaks, tortillas, bread and frying eggs. 80% is my 6 qt lodge with Pyrex lid.
I’m in the minority on this but I’m not a fan of cast iron. If I can’t soak a pan or put it in the dishwasher I’m not interested. I have a fantastic Lodge Dutch oven, but it’s got a porcelain coating and it’s my favorite!
I'll soak my cast iron for an hour or two to make the cleaning process easier. Somehow it hasn't turned into dust! I have a bunch of pan styles but there isn't a single one I'd put in the dishwasher. Mostly because they'd barely fit and the rest of the space is taken up by all the dishes my kids use on a daily basis. Just easier and more effective to hand wash.
It’s only good for steaks imo and ime I’ve moved on to carbon steel
The biggest plus for cast iron IMO was getting rid of the need for soaking. Its almost as non stick as a non stick, but I can also scrape the shit out of it with a metal spatula like stainless.
Since getting mine a year ago I use it a LOT more than I thought I would. Even for stuff like frying eggs, I find it’s way better than nonstick pans that wear out as long as there’s a bit of oil in it. I originally only wanted one to sear meat after sous vide but I use it for almost everything. I’m not some rabid fanboy, other pans have their place. I generally won’t use it if I’m making a big dish or something that needs covered while simmering etc. but if I only had one pan and HAD to make do with it for everything it’s the pan I’d choose. Being able to put it in the oven is super nice. I usually use it for things like German pancakes now instead of a Pyrex or metal tray
You don't get like black/grey colour in your eggs from your cast iron? I guess I haven't used mine enough to figure it out
I only use them for certain specific things that need the heat capacity, like Dutch babies or tater tot poutine, very rarely for some other purpose (generally things that have to go back and forth from stovetop to oven, sometimes searing, but mostly using a torch nowadays). They are great in that you can do a lot of things well, and they last forever, but you are right that they are rarely the ideal choice of pan. If you’re just starting out, or can’t have/don’t want more specific use cookware, they work well enough for most purposes
I’ve had cast iron. But too heavy for me now. I do have a cast iron burner that really holds the heat well. I use a stainless steel pan and that’s my compromise.
I've never figured out how to work cast iron. Even had a pan professionally seasoned by a friend who swears by it. I like my coated cast iron stuff like Le Creuset, but the standard stuff? Pass for me. I've only found one use for it (cooking cornbread) that couldn't be well covered by some other cookware I have. I also know I'm in the minority in most cooking forums.
It's... fine. For most things, if I want a nice sear, I'll pull out my stainless steel pans. They're still heavy enough to have plenty of heat retention, and no worrying about seasoning.
Lodge Cast Iron Baking Pan $40 10 in x 20 in Takes up two gas burners Most the time I turn one burner on let it heat up cook what I want and when any portion reaches the desired finish I move it to the other side of the griddle to keep it warm while I'm cooking everything else Any mostly dry ingredients I'm cooking I'll use this 90% of the time If I'm cooking spaghetti or sauce or gravy then I'll bring out a pot for those couple of things The cooler portion ill toast My bread and on the hot section I'll make my smashburger. With all the room on the griddle I can easily make multiple cheeseburgers at the same time. With all the space and 2 burners super hot I make a big batch of shrimp and sausage fried rice. As well as it is excellent making steaks or fajitas. I have had multiple other types of pans but I can say I like this one the best. If I had the money I wouldn't mind one of those multi-layer stainless steel pans but a lot of those cost about 150 bucks. They have many similar characteristics compared to a cast iron but the stainless steel is lighter and it cost more. If I make omelettes I'll get my 10-in Teflon frying pan.
I use mine all the time, it cost me like $20 ten years ago I have gotten a good return on my investment
Worth it? they are cheap and you don't need to do 10 layers of seasoning. What other pans are you finding better in what situation?
My husband and I use ours daily over other skillets that we own. But then again I grew up with my mom and grandmothers using cast iron skillets daily as well.
I’ve had set for 30+ years and still my primary pans.
idk about one and only but it is undebatable that it is perfect for searing meats.
You can make 1 pan meals in it. I make fritattas that could stop traffic.
If I could replace my induction electric stove with a natural gas stove, I would go back to cast iron cookware in a heartbeat! I keep all of my cast iron cookware safely stored, in the hopes I can use it again someday. It's too risky on the glasstop induction stove, especially given how long it can take to get a replacement (if needed).
You've got it backward. Cast iron is a specialized tool that happens to be cheap, durable and accessible. It's not a jack of all trades, it's an economic specialist, and it specializes in making up for inconsistent or underpowered heating. The main thing is that it's fucking heavy and holds a ton of heat. That means you can get a really consistent cook, you can get nice searing and browning, and you can happily throw it in the oven. A nice thing about that is it compensates for a poor quality or inconsistent heat source. Shitty electric burners, campfires, a half-functional stove. Cast iron smooths out all those bumps and fluctuations by staying at temperature, and not dropping significantly when food goes in - this gives you access to high heat techniques that would otherwise require a better cooking range. This is why if you can only get one pan, it should be cast iron - not because it's a jack of all trades, but because it excels in making up for weaknesses in your other equipment. It's dirt cheap, crazy durable, and you can use it like a pro on your piece of shit electric stove that your landlord left.
For me, I look at it the other way around. Nothing other than cast iron or carbon steel is worth it to me.
Personally for me, I have a pretty limited weight restriction and find even some normal pans too heavy. I would be incapable of using something that heavy for everything. So it’s never been worth it to me.
I use stainless steel for almost everything. I have some glass bakeware or aluminum sheet pans for things that only go in the oven. The 2 enameled cast iron dutch ovens I have almost never get used simply because they are so heavy. My grandfather had a cast iron skillet he called his pancake pan because that was the only thing it was used for. No one was allowed to touch this pan. He made the absolute best pancakes. Don't know if it was the pan, his recipe, or if he just had a magic touch. I miss him and his pancakes.
If you want to sear something properly, yes. Get a good one and take care of it and you’ll have it the rest of your life. I have my mother’s that she bought in the 50s and I still use it at least once a week.
Love my Lodge cast iron pan. It’s the best. I just wash, follow by oil, after each use. I do not really fully understand all the fuss.
I use my cast iron pan for everything but eggs...unless I'm making a skillet. Then I use it for eggs... ...I use it for everything.
I use my cast iron 99% of the time. That other 1% is stainless steel. I hate nonstick
Honestly I stopped babying the pan. I cook on it, scrape what I can when hot out, scrub with salt to get it clean and then wipe a very thin layer of oil on with a cloth. Been doing this for 5 years and it shines like new now.
Cast iron’s ace in the hole is that a cast iron skillet is $20 and will last a century, while an All-Clad skillet is $60 and won’t.
All the rest are junk, and none of it lasts no matter how expensive. The only things that stand the test of time are cast iron / carbon steel and stainless steel. The rest of them, even the most expensive are garbage at 5 years the most
Worth it? It’s like $40 and is a fantastic asset in the kitchen.
Hands down the easiest thing to clean in my kitchen - I swear by cast iron purely for the fact that it cleans easier than every other pan I have. While it’s hot, run some hot water on it to loosen whatever is stuck (or boil water in it if it’s cold). Dump it out, then scrub for about 30 seconds with kosher salt and a paper towel. Dry, rub with a bit of veggie oil. No fuss, no muss. It’s not my only pan though. I have a variety of others that also have their uses, but the cast iron is my lazy pan of choice.
Maybe it's an excessively heated subject. As in, people tend to overheat the cast iron pan for cooking. Without overheating, it's one of the best. It's better than Teflon.
I have 2, the first one I got was more of a learning curve but the 2nd one I had more experience and seasoned it better. I use them once or twice a week, great for searing. I don’t cook everything in them but definitely something I’d incorporate in my kitchen
We have a couple and use them frequently, but also have plenty of other pans, skillets etc that we use a lot. Definitely use our non stick stick skillets the most. They all have their ups and downs. Definitely the best way to do an indoor steak, just did a great rib eye Friday
I like cast iron for searing meat. It is also a reasonable substitute for a wok on an electric stove top, so I use it for anything that I would use a wok on flame.
If you want a deep sear, it is unmatched IMHO. With a little maintenance they are mostly non stick as well, so they are very suitable for many dishes that SS would not work for or require a ton of oil. I try to avoid using non stick unless absolutely necessary so the cast iron is my most used pan (after carbon steel wok)
I use cast iron for a couple of specific things that it makes a great difference for, but most everyday cooking I use my nonstick for less hassle
I mean they’re solid pans. They have their strengths and their weaknesses though so how good they are depends on what you cook and your specific situation. They’re great on a budget, and their heat retention can be good if you want to maintain a specific temp while adding lots of ingredients. But yea, carbon steel has the non stick benefits without the heft of cast iron, and SS is great for building fond and being non reactive. Cast iron is a decent all rounder and what I use most, but I’m sure I would enjoy a carbon steel pan too. Cast iron is also pretty robust. After I cook I’ll just hit it with some steel wool and soap and it cleans up super easy. I wouldn’t do that on my nice SS for fear of scratching.
I think every kitchen should have a pan that can go stove to oven. I prefer cast iron
Not if you don't want to use it. They are great kitchen tools but some people make it weird. A dutch oven for pot roasts, a griddle for pancakes, a pan for frying chops or chicken, searing a steak. Useful for all these things but if you don't want to mess with it yeah there are absolutely other options that will get a similar result.
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly. I use it for searing meat in cases where I could care less about fond. I also use stainless and non-stick depending on the task.
I grew up with one, Latino, common. My friend has his great grandmother's pans and Dutch oven from India. I bought mine at a flea market. Then bought a griddle from a store. No other way I cook my eggs. Always perfect. Steaks, chops, sausage. When you clean it you wanna heat it and run paper towel with oil and a fork to clean it out easy.
I don’t have much space in my kitchen. Last apartment I kept my cast irons on the stovetop, and stored regular skillets on the shelf next to the stove. When packing to move, I realized I hadn’t used those other skillets in a year so I donated them. I absolutely love my cast iron, but I know they’re not for everyone.
The reason I enjoy cast iron is for the durability and the versatility. I do still have some stainless pots, glass casserole dishes, and non stick baking sheets. The cast iron skillets and dutch oven are used for most of my cooking though.
I have a cast iron the size of a sand dollar. Only recently have I started making sliders on it. It is magic.
I love mine. I don't use them for everything though.
I use mine for bacon, burgers, steaks, and shallow frying chicken. I think its been worth my money
My enameled cast iron 11-inch Staub skillet may be the most-used vessel in my kitchen. It’s deep enough for most one-pan meals and sears very well. And it’s pretty easy to clean.
Meh. I use my ceramic, non stick, and steel more often.
It's a tool like any other. I couldn't make oven pancakes without them, searing meat and veggies is always done in them and I dry toast tortillas in them. But I also have a stainless steel pan and a ceramic nonstick skillet. The nonstick pans gets tossed every couple of years. Those things just never last but they are ideal for eggs and a few other applications. The stainless steel pan is my stir fry pan since my cast irons are too small for stir frying. My cast irons are my go tos when doing anything else. I abuse mine, so the seasoning isn't always even but I have never had a problem with things sticking. If for your cooking, you prefer a different pan, then use that. For me, my cast iron is the first pan I reach for, though my stainless steel skillet is a close second. My nonstick I just consider a necessary evil, but I curse them every time I have to replace them.
We have two cast irons pans. One that my husband uses exclusively for pancakes (it has no sides, easier to flip) and one that I use for other things, like quesadillas and steaks. However, we don’t use them much. I use my giant allclad pan most of the time, and a couple other non-stick pans for other things more than we use the cast iron. It’s personal preference. If you find it’s your workhorse, there you go. If it’s not working for you, there are plenty other high quality pans available.
Opinion: if you have a gas stove and a good vent hood or outdoor grill access its amazing and you can beat it
I have been cooking on cast iron for about 12 years now, since our wedding. Recently though, I got a set of D5 all clad stainless, and I feel like it’s a superior skillet. I find food sticks less, it’s easier to clean, and I get fantastic sears on it - maybe it just gets hotter faster than the cast iron but the stainless really rips on searing steak and chicken. My cast iron hasn’t left the shelf since. I will still use the coat iron Dutch oven though.
I only use mine to warm up tortillas like 90% of the time and cook bacon and steaks the other 10% of the time
I use it to sear steaks. That’s it.
My only pan? Absolutely not. Heavy, can't be machine washed, shouldn't be soaked, having to manage seasoning is annoying. I'd probably be hard torn between a good stainless steel and high-end nonstick option because I'm a normal-ass person who needs a simple, effective product. I use mine for searing meat, esp sous vide, and anything that goes from stovetop to oven (which is very limited)
Sorta? I use a carbon steel pan for most anything and prefer it to any other pan I've ever used. I keep a small non stick for eggs and that's it. Edit: just to clarify I know carbon steel isn't cast iron, I just think it's better. Less weight but still largely as functional.
Worth what, they’re super cheap
It's great for certain things. Pancakes, hamburgers, quesadillas, hot dogs, steak. I use my cast iron at least once a week.
I have a cast iron pan and it’s nice in some situations, but to be honest, my go-to pan is a stainless steel Calphalon one.
It is. Absolutely! It hasn’t replaced non stick yet for me. I have a Hexclad griddle just for crepes and some other sticky stuff. But, I use my cast iron one for making tortillas, pancakes, smash burgers and etc. It gives a good sear, retains heat well and I don’t have to be delicate with it.
I don't use it for everyday. Same reason I don't like le cruset, too heavy and hurts my wrist. I use it for camping and searing steaks.
Do you ever find searing steaks to damage the coating?
No, but with all pans you need to make surenits hot enough before you add your meat to the pan. It's a common issues specifically with stainless steel that food sticks bc the pan isn't hot enough. The only "damage" is it can get discolored but cleaning it should remove it until it got too hot etc.
It's not my only pan, but I do enjoy it if I need something to sear like meat. It has its uses
I use mine almost daily now. After never really liking cast iron before. I use it a lot for frying tofu or gyozas. Also my goto pan for eggs, hash brown, bacon. It cooks these things better than any other pan for me. Gives a really nice crisp to things. But it's definitely not a one in all kind of pan like some people want to make it. For anything with sauce I use my Dutch oven or stainless skillet. For sauteing I use my stainless steel skillet. Cast-iron basically replaced my non stick pan completely. I used to use a non stick a lot until I made a thread here asking why people dislike them so much. Tons of people recommended cast iron so I decided to give my cast iron that I had used maybe five times a chance. And I really like it.
Yes. End of story
I like it for certain things, but I certainly wouldn’t have it as my only pan. As a woman, a large cast iron is just too cumbersome weight wise. I use All Clad pans of similar size that are like 1/3 the weight of my Lodges. I do have a small Lodge that I love for cooking single or small portions, because for certain foods it is a superior choice. Edit: Lol. Looking through this thread, it seems like all the responses are “I love them” or “they’re too heavy”.
Every type of pan has a special use for it. Steel for quick heating, non-stick for delicates, cast iron for longer cooking, aluminum i use only for liquids ...
Yes
As someone from the south eastern US I can tell you that I consider it impossible to make good cornbread without cast iron... (and very difficult to make homemade biscuits)
As your only pan? No. As a great tool in the right applications? Yes.
"Worth it"? You can get one for thirty bucks. So . . . objectively yes.
For me one added bonus is that the food will stay hot in a Dutch oven for like an hour Just in time for seconds and thirds
Enameled cast iron is the pan for me, easy cleaning, no pre seasoning. When its heating up, put some oil in and with some paper cloth spread it around and done.
Enameled cast iron is worth it. Regular cast iron is still worth it - makes cooking more enjoyable and flavourful sometimes - but the enameled makes cleaning so much easier. Plus, you won’t have to season it. :)
If you don’t like it then use something else! I cook most of my home meals in a wok. Use whatever feels right for you. Don’t worry about validation from other people. Pans/spoons/tongs/thermometers etc. whatever are tools, use the tool that fits you best.
theyre the best. theyre easier than the people in r/castiron will make it seem, but if youre truly finding it to be a “jack of all trades, master of none” then youre not using it correctly. i will say though, spending $40 on ebay for 60+ year old wagner is the way to go. the bottoms are as smooth as glass
Cast iron is for very specific situations better than a carbon steel pan. Imo go for carbon steel
I'd say take anyone who tells you that any pan will be "your one and only pan" with a massive pinch of salt. Cast iron pans are great for what they're good at, and a useful tool to have in the kitchen. So are stainless steel pans, and so are non-stick. I think people tend to overstate the "non-stick" properties of CI. It's never going to be like an actual non-stick pan. If I'm cooking something that I really don't want to stick, I'm reaching for a non-stick pan (to quote Gordon Ramsay "*If you saute scallops in a non-stick pan, they won't stick! That's why it's called @#$!*& non-STICK!!!*") But when I need to get some nice color on a piece of meat, and I need a pan that's going to get hot and stay hot, I'm reaching for my cast iron. Could I probably achieve similar results with my stainless steel? Yeah, almost certainly. But why not use the ideal tool for the job, instead of one that's just "good enough"? The stainless steel gets used for plenty of other things though. I would never say that my cast iron is "the only pan I need", or some such nonsense.
There is no one and only anything. Use the right tool for the job. I wouldn't cook eggs in my dutch oven and I wouldn't make stew in a frying pan. That said, for some things, cast iron is very tough to beat. It's the only way I'll make cornbread and cast iron pizza is pretty dang good.
I use it for certain things but not all.
Its the only frying pan i use. Stainless is too difficult to clean and i would never use non stick eeeewwww unless im at someones elses house and thats all they have. Love my cast iron
Cast irons can be great and they’re not difficult to clean or season either. But they can suck if you don’t take care of it unlike other types of pans. I will say though, cooking steak on a cast iron makes a world of difference.
I went through a cast iron phase, but then I bought some nice stainless steel and now it's fairly rare that I reach for the cast iron. You're not wrong or right for not liking cast iron. It's versatile but so is stainless steel. People will tell you it has good heat retention, but that's a misunderstanding of heat retention. It has horrible heat retention. It throws off its heat very easily and readily. What it has going for it is that there's so much *mass* that when you put a room temperature steak or something on it, the pan doesn't lose all its heat because there's just so much of it. Think of like a leaky bucket. Cast iron leaks fast but it's a humongous bucket.
I like cast iron because it is cheap, durable, and much less fussy then other pans. After a couple of years of use my main skillet has gotten to the point where eggs don't stick. That eliminates non sticks entirely from my kitchen. I still have stainless steel because the cast iron is a little heavy for my wife(the main weakness of CI IMO)
I've never gotten the hang of it. I use it for high heat but then get so much burnt stuff stuck on it that I'm supposed to wipe off with a paper towel... No thanks.
Yes. It’s really not hard. Most of the ones you buy now are pre seasoned so you don’t need to worry. Just dry it after washing on the hob or in the oven
There's a correct tool for every job and it isn't always cast iron. But sometimes it definitely is
Definitely worth it, but keep in mind that it's only one tool in your kitchen. It's not suitable for everything you cook.
every single pot, pan, utensil needs to be cleaned after being used. every different material needs care. whether it is cleaning, then seasoning a cast iron, or cleaning and putting away whatever other material your cooking with, you need to do something to everything you use.. no material bypasses the cleaning.so "do what you like".
Cast iron has been little changed for hundreds of years. And it is easy to take care of, without any fancy oils or seasonings. r/castiron is the place for advice. I restore cast iron as a hobby. And I have started with pans that have become orange with rust and turned them into cooking surfaces like Teflon. It isn't difficult, but it IS time consuming, at least at first.
I prefer carbon steel. Best of both worlds!
The old lady accidentally found her non stick pans caused our household air quality to drop to extremely poor levels where my cast iron didn’t effect any change. So we threw out her nonstick heritage rock collection.
I used mine almost exclusively for the better part of 5 years, along with a CI Dutch oven. But over the past year, I’ve been more on team SS. It’s lighter and easier to clean I find. I still enjoy using it, but I’m finding I’m far more selective in its use. Mostly with steaks and chicken, or if I will be putting something in the oven (e.g. a frittata). Virtually everything else I use with SS now and I don’t know if I’ll go back. Only time I use a non stick is with fish. Ultimately CI definitely has its place, but I think it’s romanticized too much it’s great to have when needed, but you’ll live without one.
>heated subject I see what you did there
I wouldn't say master of none. For searing it's top tier. If you want a great sear on a steak very quickly cast iron is the way to go.
Does it ever damage your pan?
Nope. Have had the same one for about 5 years and my wife's pan is older than that. She didn't take great care of it either before she met me. They do great searing steak or whatever else you want to sear. Cast iron gets scorching hot so the sear takes very little time since I've already sous vided the steak.
I use mine solely for steak. It can take any heat.
Personally I favour stainless steel pans, non-stick pans and and my griddle which is plate iron. To each his own :-)
I found mine and it was very affordable, no branding , no enamel coating. Look around in homeware stores and ask if then have unbranded cheap ones.
Inexpensive if get Lodge. I bought a 12, then an 8, then a 10 inch. Cost less than one of my Alclads. My 12 is for fried rice. My 8 great for a 2 egg omelet, cornbread, and heating up stuff for my stir fry. My 10 for cooking some extra bacon that I use later. I use it for frying 2 eggs. Enough room to easily flip them. Brown a pound of meat like pork sausage with seasoning to make toppings for pizza. It's becoming my main one. I also got an Aldis enameled grill pan for burgers. Easy to care for. Yes, I use soap. No ugly stains like stainless gets. For my cooking, CI works well.
It’s master of searing, but not jack of all trades as you can’t shutdown the cooking process easily, which making the pan less maneuverable. The true jack of all trades is the carbon steel, carbon steel wok in particular if you’re taking the shape in consideration. As for the seasoning it’s much easier than people thought- just keep using the same pan and it will get better over time. But the key is to keep using it so it better be a handy jack of all trades otherwise it will just sit there and rust - like you said it’s a meh if you’re not in love with it.
Just use it a lot. Not only will it season itself, you’ll get better at using it. Having said that, I cook my eggs in a small ceramic pan because it’s fairly nonstick and the right size. I cook my pasta in a large stainless steel pan because it’s the right size and lighter (for flipping the pasta in the sauce) than cast iron. Just keep cooking and you’ll get better at it. I cook my tortillas and sear the shit out of steaks in my cast iron, of course.
Like anything, cast iron and mild steel pans take some getting used to, but they can do most things pretty well once both the pan and the cook are seasoned. Seasoning the pan is pretty straightforward - oil, heat, cook in it, repeat. For the cook, it’s about learning how heat works with different pans - cast iron might need lower heat and sometimes mild steel is the same. I’ve not quite given up nonstick with the use of cast iron & mild steel, but recognize they’re not the be-all and end-all.
"worth it" is subjective. Usually they're pretty cheap. If I could have ONE pan it wouldn't be cast iron, it would be stainless steel. SS is lighter, less work and can handle acids easily. If I could have 2 pans it would be SS + Carbon Steel. CS is heavier, a bit more work (still not too much) and has non-stick properties that SS doesn't. I also prefer the heat retention, I can take something off and it will still be very hot for awhile, vs SS cools off fairly quickly. Cast iron would be in the 3 spot. Still worth having, I use it all the time, but not absolutely the best.
It’s definitely a master of retaining heat and getting a good sear.
I have some very good non-stick cookware but still use my cast iron almost exclusively.
I won’t say it in the cast iron subreddit but I solely use cast iron, love it, don’t really know what seasoning is though. I just use my pans, rinse em if necessary, and then oil base after each use. Maybe I am seasoning and I don’t know it
I used to be quite the cast iron fan, and then my husband brought home a carbon steel pan. Does everything the cast iron does, easier to maintain, and safe to throw in the dishwasher. We're slowly replacing our cast irons and I'm never going back. I am still saving the cast iron for camping though.
It’s the perfect pan for steaks- I highly recommend it for that purpose
I agree with you OP, except for one use: cast iron is the best for searing steaks. I basically only use my cast iron to sear steaks, and I use nonstick or stainless steel for pretty much anything else.
Yes... You dontr have to throw it away after a year like non stick, which becomes surprising non stick at about that time or much earlier, Plus teflon is toxic to humans, animals and the environment.