Nonstick Skillet vs. Cast Iron

[baymom]

I've always used non-stick skillets for grilled cheese, eggs etc. but am wondering if I could replace them for cast iron. I've never used any sort of cast iron pot or skillet...actually associate them more with 'camping cookware.' :-) Are they very different in terms of even heating, ease of use, ect.? Does anyone use a cast iron as their daily, go-to skillet? Thanks!

[kimberley-k]

I made the switch last year and haven't regretted it. Here are some tips:

The instructions will tell you how to season the pan by cooking oil onto it (or it may come pre-seasoned). Either way, expect it to take a few weeks of use to really build up a nice naturally non-stick finish. (In other words, don't give up if it seems to stick a bit at first!)

Always preheat the pan on low or med-low for at least 5 minutes. You almost never need to cook on a higher temp than med-low.

If you are cooking refrigerated items, let them sit out for 10 minutes before cooking.

Never wash it with soap - just use very hot water and a brush. It's easier to clean while it's still warm. Dry thoroughly to avoid rust.

The downsides are that they are very heavy (so don't buy any larger than what you really need) and the handle gets hot (I bought a silicon sleeve with mine that solves that problem). http://www.lecreuset.com/en-us/Product-Range/Silicone/Cool-Tool-Handle-Sleeve/

-Kim

[Meatball Mommie]

We have a cast iron grill plate for our stove. It's a 2 sided plate that covers two burners on our gas range. One side is smooth with a small well along one edge to catch grease/crumbs and the other side is ridged. We use it primarily for grilled sandwiches and for pancakes. We have cooked bacon and eggs on it, but I get a little creeped out with the bacon fat and the fact that we don't wash the grill (my personal comfort, it's probably fine). After cooking, while the plate is still pretty hot, we wipe it off with a damp washcloth. We love it.

The rest of our cookware is hard-anodized steel (Calphalon) which I absolutely love. I recommend it highly - very easy to cook with and clean. Also, we are so used to not touching our handles because they are all metal that I don't even think about it anymore, but like the pp mentioned, you can buy sleeves for the handles.

[AJP]

Hmm...you've given me something new to think about! All our cookware is calphalon stainless, but I recently got rid of all our "nonstick" (teflon I think) pans for grilled cheese, eggs etc due to all the negatives associated with teflon. I bought a "Green Pan" and have been loving it! I thought I'd for sure ruin the cast iron with the need to season, clean a certain way etc. Something for me to think about for the future!

[JTsMom]

We love our cast iron here! We have a couple of pieces, but the one that gets the most use is our skillet. We leave it sitting on the stove, b/c I use it at least once a day most days. We cook everything in it- chicken, grilled cheese, meat, breakfast potatoes, eggs- you name it.

It's really hard to do any type of permanent damage to it. You aren't supposed to use soap on it, but I do sometimes, depending on what we've cooked in it b/c it seems to hold onto certain flavors otherwise. It ends up needing re-seasoned more often b/c of this abuse, but it's not a big deal. When we first got it, we treated it with kid gloves, but not anymore.

[JBaxter]

One of my cast iron skillets was given to me by my grandmother. Im betting its as old as I am LOL They last forever and just keep getting better

[wellyes]

I made the switch! Now cast iron is my 'everyday' pan. Works wonderfully. I was really uncomfortable using any kind of nonstick after reading a little about it. So we are all stainless steel or cast iron. It took a while to get the pan seasoned enough to cook eggs without sticking but now it's no problem. My advice is to buy a pre-seasoned pan and then season it yourself. It doesn't take that long or cost much (you just need Crisco) and it makes a huge difference.

[aa2mama]

You already got good advice about caring for a cast iron skillet, but I just wanted to chime in that we LOVE our cast iron skillet. We just keep it on the stovetop because it is heavy and because we use it daily. I only use our nonstick pans once in a blue moon, and I don't plan to replace them when they wear out.

[caleymama]

You already got good advice about caring for a cast iron skillet, but I just wanted to chime in that we LOVE our cast iron skillet. We just keep it on the stovetop because it is heavy and because we use it daily.

:yeahthat:

We have 3 different skillets - 1 is an 8" Lodge, 1 is a 9.5" (I can't read the brand on the bottom), and 1 is a 10" Favorite Piqua that is probably 75+ years old. We also have a Lodge 5qt cast iron dutch oven & lid and a Lodge double burner griddle, like PPs. Both of those are great too. The dutch oven lid also fits on one of the skillets, which is a nice bonus. DH and I requested and received my Uncle's cast iron when he passed away several years ago - the dutch oven (I purchased the lid for it later on) and the two larger skillets. The Favorite Piqua is my fave skillet to cook with.

We use the skillets for all sorts of things - they are the only skillets we have! (I do have one small, 7" maybe, All-Clad skillet but I rarely reach for it) DH makes biscuits and cornbread in them in the oven, I saute vegetables, cook eggs, cook meat, and so on. The griddle is used for bacon, pancakes, french toast.... you name it. Our 7qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven is the workhorse for tomato based sauces as well as soups and chilis, but that's enameled cast iron.

This is a cute (and helpful) article about cast iron: Ironclad Love (http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/1423295,FOO-News-iron11.article).

[vonfirmath]

Where do you go to get cast iron skillets? (not the enamelled kind. Plain old cast iron). My husband loved ours, but it got lost in the move so I'd like to replace it for Father's Day.

[kijip]

We love cast iron and it is pretty much all we use. It's what I grew up with so the care does not seem complicated to me. We have a 9 inch Lodge and then a much larger, much older pan. I don't know the brand but it came from family and is older than my dad. It is perfectly non-stick and truly enjoyable to cook on. We use it ALL THE TIME. :)

[wellyes]

Where do you go to get cast iron skillets? (not the enamelled kind. Plain old cast iron). My husband loved ours, but it got lost in the move so I'd like to replace it for Father's Day.
Lodge is a great brand - inexpensive and high-quality - you can find it at Bed Bath & Beyond or department store or (cheapest) Amazon.com.

[citymama]

Cast iron rules! We discarded all our non-stick when I was pregnant after reading about the ubiquitous presence of teflon in placenta of American babies. Yuck. We have some family heirloom cast irons that are amazing (seasoned for 30 years!). But we've added to the collection inexpensively from IKEA - cast-iron skillets as cheap as $10-15. They've seasoned well and work great.

[jgenie]

Where do you go to get cast iron skillets? (not the enamelled kind. Plain old cast iron). My husband loved ours, but it got lost in the move so I'd like to replace it for Father's Day.

I bought mine at Wal-Mart - they were the cheapest I could find.

[ThreeofUs]

Where do you go to get cast iron skillets? (not the enamelled kind. Plain old cast iron). My husband loved ours, but it got lost in the move so I'd like to replace it for Father's Day.


Antique stores! Reconditioned, old cast iron is wonderful to cook on.

Do a search; there are several great threads on this board about caring for ci.

[baymom]

Thank you for all the replies--I'm now thoroughly convinced to try a cast iron skillet!

[s7714]

Where do you go to get cast iron skillets? (not the enamelled kind. Plain old cast iron). My husband loved ours, but it got lost in the move so I'd like to replace it for Father's Day.

As my dad told me--yard sales, thrift shops, estate sales--any place they might have some really well used cast ironware of Grandma's that the younger folks don't realize the value of. ;)

I bought a brand new cast iron skillet many years ago and the thing was horrible because it never did season properly (not even for my very experienced dad who does cast iron dutch oven cooking all the time). We ended up putting it in the donation box and my dad bought me a well used number from the local antiques shop. On the rare occasion my dad does buy a brand new piece he usually gets the Lodge stuff.