I’m sure it’s already a dead giveaway, but I’m a lover of all things old timey. I like the slow and simple life of those who lived before computers and electronic appliances and large-scale grocery stores.
So it’s no surprise, I’m sure, that I am enthusiastically collecting cast-iron cookware. Now, you might be thinking that by collecting them I mean that I am using them as a wall decoration to create the essence of old time kitchen lore in my own kitchen.
I’m afraid it’s not that glamorous. In fact, it’s only on a good day that most of my cast-iron pots, pans, and griddles aren’t dirtied from breakfast, lunch, or dinner – sometimes all at once.
I use a skillet in the morning to cook eggs. I use a skillet at lunch to fry vegetables. I use a skillet at dinner to roast meat and vegetables in one pan. I bake quick bread in skillets, yeast breads in Dutch ovens, and cook rice and potatoes in a 1/2 gallon cast-iron pot with convertible lid.
And the newest member of my collection is a griddle that weighs more than one of my children and can be flipped to use as a grill for things like burgers and pork chops.
Seasoning
I’d like to tell you that all of the pans are perfectly seasoned and lovely and nothing ever sticks to them, but that’s not reality… at least not my reality.
I season my cast-iron usually with lard or coconut oil. I wipe it around with a rag and place it on a cooling cook stove or into a low oven. And then I leave it there for hours.
One of the best ways to season a skillet, though, is through the frying of foods. I’m not talking a couple of tablespoons of fat, I’m talking measurements in at least the 1/2 cup range. This heating and cooking with high-heat-stable fats such as tallow, lard, and coconut oil really help keep the skillets smooth and shiny.
Washing
When food does stick, and it inevitably will unless you’re super duper about keeping your cast-iron perfectly seasoned, I use a stainless steel kitchen scrubber to scrub away any stuck on food residue and then I rinse it with warm water. You’ll notice I didn’t say soapy water. Soap removes grease and grease is what creates your pan’s seasoning. Therefore you do not want to use soapy water.
You can also just wipe the pan out with a rag or paper towel once all of the gunk is out. If you’re worried about bacteria remember that heating your pan up will kill anything that might “bug” you.
Storing
We have a pot rack above our sink area where I store small and large pots, none of which are cast-iron. I’m just kind of afraid that one of these days a pan will get knocked off and lay me flat out while I’m washing dishes.
So, instead, I usually throw the clean ones on top of our (non-burning) wood stove, next to it, or in or on top of an oven that is not on. Some sturdy hooks in a 2×4 might work as well.
What excites me about cast-iron isn’t just the fact that I can fry eggs without weird stuff like teflon, but that maybe someday my daughter or sons will be cooking with that same cookware, maybe even after I’m gone.
The stuff really is that sturdy.
So if you haven’t already started cooking with cast-iron then I would recommend finding a 10″ or 12″ skillet and going from there. I can’t imagine you’d regret it and you might even get really excited about scrambled eggs that, if cooked right, never really stick to the pan.
I use cast iron for everything! :) Some of it is enameled, such as the stuff I use for making rice and pasta, but the rest of it is just plain ol’ cast iron. The “big pieces” are hanging on the wall (we have two double burner grills and one 16″ skillet!), and the ones we use every day are hanging on the pot rack at the end of my counter space. My omlette pan always just lives on the stove… if it isn’t there, then there’s a problem somewhere. LOL…
You’re right about what type of fat to use to season cast iron. I use animal fat exclusively – lard, tallow, chicken fat and butter. Vegetable oil leaves a sticky mess, though lots of folks recommend it. Salt also makes a good scrub for cleaning out stuck bits. If you can find it, old cast iron is usually easier to work with. The new stuff, even American made, is rough and it’s hard for even an experienced metal man to smooth it out.
Judy – I agree on both the older cast iron and the salt. I had forgotten that before I discovered the stainless steel kitchen scrubbers I used to use coarse salt. Thanks so much for the reminder!
I too love cast iron. I re-fell in love again with them. my mother always had used them and then when I moved out she gave me one. Her smallest. I used it for a short time. Then I got into all the lightweight teflon pans. But after reading on healthy cooking and what teflon might do. With cast iron there is no chance of that. I also have a ceramic coated cast iron pot that has now become my favorite pot in the house. I would like to get more of these and even get rid of the stainless steel pots.
I want to like cast iron. I really do. We have a 12″ skillet. Hubby uses it for eggs, bacon, and anything else I let him. I hate it! I don’t feel like I can get it clean. It’s heavy. It doesn’t have a good home in our tiny kitchen. I don’t know how to cook with it. Did I mention it’s heavy?!
I really want to “figure” cast iron out for all the reasons mentioned above. In the meantime, I keep using my calphalon and shoving the cast iron pan further to the bottom of the stack! Someday…
Karen – Well it is heavy, I’ll give you that ;). I’m sure if you were cooking and an uninvited guest wandered into your home it would double as a lethal weapon.
It took me a bit to get over the “this is different” hump when my husband gifted me with our first skillet. I didn’t just throw it in the hot soapy water like the rest of the pans and because of that I had some changes to get used to.
Once I could get out of the head space of what a skillet is and how it is used and cleaned it was actually easier than the stainless steel and calphalon I was using. Perhaps just taking the time to get used to it and expecting a rough transition period is worth mentioning? I do hope that when you’re ready you’ll embrace it, and even appreciate its heaviness ;).
I ADORE cast iron – the old, good stuff. The antique cast iron is actually lighter than the new stuff and easier to use (in my opinion). I’m trying to build up a collection but use my few pieces weekly, if not daily. I’d love to find one of the old waffle irons on a pedestal!
Thanks for this great post!
Jen
I have several cast iron pieces. Two were my grandmother’s and one was his grand’s. It makes me smile when we use them because we don’t have them around anymore, but when I cook with their iron pans I can feel the love. :)
I like cast iron. But I always have to put parchment paper between it and my glass stovetop. It’s a pain to deal with. NOTE!!! I have an induction stove top. Since it works on magnetic forces, there is no flame or electric to catch fire!
Since this is a blog on collecting and using cast-iron cookware I decided to start here. This is a question about collecting cast iron. I a trying to data a dutch oven. I have been looking at logos and can’t find this particular one for Wagner Ware. It is on a 6 QT dutch oven states “Wagner Ware” with one “W” for “Wagner” and “Ware” (I have seen this) but it is in and oval about 2.5 inches wide and 1 inch tall and I have not been able to find this type of logo. Could someone date this for me or tell me where I could look to find this info out for myself.