I really miss...

[kijip]

my 30+ year old perfectly seasoned, huge cast iron pan. How does one lose such an item? It is not common for pans to walk away, nor are pans big on burglar's lists. Here is my tale of culinary woe.

A friend was over and she made tea.

She put my kettle on the stove. Seems like a good idea, no?

It was an electric kettle with a plastic bottom, not designed to go on the stove but instead on the plastic electric element.

When we all saw smoke (lots, we were in a different room) and smelled the noxious fumes, friend ran into kitchen ahead of me.

She realized it was plastic, and took it off the burner and hastily set it...

in my beautiful, beloved pan.

Where the plastic adhered itself to the beautiful, beloved pan.

We got the plastic off the ceramic stove top.

We tried for 3 months to get the plastic off of the cast iron pan. No avail. Plastic flakes still come off. We scrubbed, we soaked, we heated up and scraped. There was still plastic.

J bought a new, large cast iron Lodge, pre-seasoned.

It's not the same.

It won't be the same for years.

I miss the cast iron pan more than I miss the kettle. The kettle I have had since I left for college and was special to me because my dad splurged big time and got me a $100 CuisinArt kettle. The pan was my husband's family's pan for longer than he was alive.

But in the end, I could replace the kettle, I can't replace that perfectly nonstick smooth cooking surface.

Sharing here because I felt my fellow cooks would understand my loss.

Lucky for friend, she is a REALLY good friend. Worth far more than any pan. Most of the time, but not when I am making breakfast. :P

[ThreeofUs]

Oh, no. OhnoOHNOOHNO!!!! How horrifying! Cast iron pans are like good friends, and it's a major tragedy to have one destroyed.

Katie, I'm SO sorry. Can you visit antique stores or thrift shops at all? Sometimes you can find an old, well-seasoned cast iron that people didn't appreciate.

:hug:

[Ceepa]

My grandma had a pan like that. If I had known then what I know now I would have just asked her for it before she died and it was lost in the shuffle.

Hope your new pan becomes that 30-year-old beloved pan to your kids.

[zoestargrove]

oh what a loss! I'm sorry.

I think it took my preseasoned pan about 3 years before it got good and seasoned. I think I could of quickened that up if I worked a little more at it.

I also second the suggestion to wander thrift stores, yard sales, etc this summer. I strongly believe that if you put the request out there - you'll stumble upon it rather coincidentally.

[citymama]

Gosh, I don't know what I would do! You have my sympathies. We depend on our aged cast-iron pans here. Each of us came to the marriage with an inherited cast-iron pan - DH from his grandma, and me from a friend whose mom had given it to him when he left for college and he had no idea what to do with it. It is perfectly seasoned.

The good news is, your new cast-iron pan will season well and hopefully in less than 30 years. There are a number of tricks for seasoning, including leaving in a hot oven, not washing after use (just wipe down and don't use water), and of course, making sure it gets tons of use. The start of a great new relationship!

[1964pandora]

That is sooo upsetting. I also have the huge, new Lodge seasoned cast iron along with an old, old, old used Griswold that I got about a month ago from Goodwill. The Goodwill pan is a dream compared to my new seasoned Lodge. That smooth, black, slick surface is something else. Honestly, I don't know how they can say that the new ones are really seasoned because they are nothing like the ones that have been used for years and years. Sorry, I totally *get* it!!

[DrSally]

Oh no! I'm so sorry!

[TonFirst]

My condolences, seriously.

Have you thought about contacting a metalworker in your area, like a wrought iron artist or something? Maybe they could blast the plastic off?

[urquie]

maybe some of the following ideas could help clean it up...

http://www.ehow.com/how_4886495_clean-melted-plastic-cast-iron.html
http://able2know.org/topic/72600-1
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/SandingCastIron.htm

[brittone2]

That is sooo upsetting. I also have the huge, new Lodge seasoned cast iron along with an old, old, old used Griswold that I got about a month ago from Goodwill. The Goodwill pan is a dream compared to my new seasoned Lodge. That smooth, black, slick surface is something else. Honestly, I don't know how they can say that the new ones are really seasoned because they are nothing like the ones that have been used for years and years. Sorry, I totally *get* it!!
:yeahthat:

nak-we have dh's grandparents' pan, and it belonged to one of their parents I think. Smooth and slick, no built in texture. I am sorry for your lost pan!