I want to get a cast iron pan- mostly from the non-stick feature. I am totally freaked out about the non-stick coatings. Not sure if I should get a 'pre-seasoned' cast iron pan? or coated? (which is probably the same problem as w/ the regular non-stick)...i had a non stick fajita pan long time ago and didn't care for it properly. it got pretty skanky so I tossed it. Any advice?

Hi ! I have numerous cast iron and have used canola oil while seasoning.... it wasn't too bad.

quote:

Originally posted by D in St Pete:


I also have a couple of pieces of Le Crueset cast iron, which is coated with enamel. I wouldn't go so far as to call it "non-stick", but it's a VERY smooth surface, and if there's a way to break it, I haven't found it yet. They clean up easily, even when I maybe, on accident, have left the burner on and burned all the juices/onions/carrots/potatoes from a roast to the bottom.

They're pricey, but worth it,

I use a lot of Crueset. I way prefer it to cast iron because I hate the slight feel of oil- not squeaky cleanness of the cast iron.

Another plus for Le Crueset...
I had a 4.5 quart round pan. I abused it with lots of high heat browning with little to no oil. The bottom became discolored after about 8 years. I called the company. They apologized and sent me a replacement- in my color choice!

quote:

Originally posted by D in St Pete:
[QUOTE]I think if preseasoning is just oil

i was actually talking about the 'pre-seasoning' which they season with on the 'preseasoned' pans...and I did find out fyi that it is soy based which is pretty issue for us- so I probably will buy an unseasoned and do myself....
thanks for the info though for when I do it myself!

quote:

I think if preseasoning is just oil

Eep! I don't want to sound nitpicky, but this jumped out...if you season the first time around with oil, you'll have a terrible, horrible odor in your house...because the heat of the pan is above the smoke point for anything that's not motor oil, I believe. Lard is my seasoning agent of choice (I hear vegetable shortening works, and bacon grease, but lard's what my Mamaw says to use, so lard's what I use). I buy the boxes that are near the Crisco sticks and keep them in the freezer so they won't turn rancid.

It also means I won't use my cast iron if a vegetarian is having dinner with us. I don't know if that's a consideration for you or not.

You can use oil after the initial seasoning to keep the cooking surface protected, though.

If someone else says they've used liquid oil for the initial seasoning, though, and had good results...go with it! (This page had some really good information...and said that vegetable oil is okay )

quote:

Originally posted by Tayhudson:
You don't want to get too big though, or they are so heavy you won't want to use it.

I was just about to post the same thing, so I'll just say Ditto!

I am a very short person and I find the cast iron difficult to manage because counters and stovetop are well above my waist and, when I have to pour something out of the pan into a serving dish or something, it is a real problem.

I LOVED cooking on cast iron when I was a kid but, once I was an adult and had to take over the care of the cast iron myself, I hated it. Then again, I am a SHE and not known for cleaning up the kitchen right after I cook.

I have an 8" and most of the time it works fine for our family of 3.
However, I asked for the next size up for Christmas. (Turns out my MIL has one that she wants to unload and it has years of seasoning. She said she thought it was her grandma's.) Because sometimes the 8" is just not quite big enough.

You don't want to get too big though, or they are so heavy you won't want to use it.

Dawn

quote:

Originally posted by Brie:
Amy
Our Walmart carries Lodge

cool- will check it out when I am shopping tomorrow!

Amy
Our Walmart carries Lodge so if you want to see them, feel how heavy they are, etc you could go look there.

I have one that's about 8 - 9 inches that I use daily.

I have a 6", a 13" and one that is about 8". And they all get used.

Preseasoned just means that you should be able to go straight to using it without having to season it. (It'll already be somewhat black instead of the gray color mine were when I bought them.)

They'll get blacker and blacker with more use.

ok so i'm looking at the 5000 choices for these on amazon. I just wrote lodge an email because i wanted to understand better what 'pre-seasoned' means...but any votes on size of pan? type? I think if preseasoning is just oil then I will do that... so that narrows it down to 2500 choices LOL!

thanks for all the wealth of info. i knew I'd get some answers here. Perhaps I will put several items on my Christmas list

If you want something non-stick that is not Teflon, I highly recommend enamel coated steel, like Chantal brand. Nothing stick to it.

Dawn

Log me in with Denise, I hate my pan, my dh and son love it. But it is too much work to take care of, and I don't want to have to deal with anything, except a person that needs that much work. I've found other pans that give me the same results and that are not as heavy or high Maint.
They are spendier, but I'd rather spend the money and get out of the kitchen.

I LOVE my cast iron skillet. I use it all the time. I just asked my mother-in-law for a larger one and for a grill pan.

Even though proper care is optimal, you can "fix" the pan easily if it becomes rusty or if you get something really stuck on it. You essentially just scour it off and then re-season the pan. I just wanted to add that so that you don't have the idea that they are hard to care for.

Dawn

I love my cast iron fry pan, and proper care is not a big deal.

Here is some care/usage information from Lodge cast iron:

http://www.lodgemfg.com/useandcare.asp

http://www.lodgemfg.com/usecare1.asp

I have a cast-iron grill pan, a big skillet, and a smaller one. Like Laura said, seasoning them is easy easy (I re-season mine once a year).

They are different from other pans, but I really like mine. We use them outdoors on the grill, on the stovetop, and in the oven.

I also have a couple of pieces of Le Crueset cast iron, which is coated with enamel. I wouldn't go so far as to call it "non-stick", but it's a VERY smooth surface, and if there's a way to break it, I haven't found it yet. They clean up easily, even when I maybe, on accident, have left the burner on and burned all the juices/onions/carrots/potatoes from a roast to the bottom.

They're pricey, but worth it, in my opinion. I get mine at a nearby Le Crueset outlet store; last time we were in there, everything was an additional 60% off the outlet price, which meant my $100+ grill pan was...$20. (The grill pan isn't coated with enamel on the grill ribs, just on the outer surfaces.)

quote:

Originally posted by sahm:
i had a non stick fajita pan long time ago and didn't care for it properly. it got pretty skanky so I tossed it.

I had one cast iron skillet but got rid off it for the same exact reason that you got rid of the fajita pan. I found it too high maint and a PITA to take care of and it got rusty one too many time, so I ditched it. I also cook for 15 people at a time and use 13" skillets... and cast iron just weighs too much.

But I'm also not freaked out by Teflon...

I love my lodge skillet. I follow the instructions from the website too.
Sometimes I have trouble with the bottom rusting but it's east to get rid of.

I have 3 pans that I seasoned myself (it's insanely easy) and one that I bought preseasoned. But I do love them.

The only other thing you need to pay attention to is being cautious with acidic ingredients. They can get slightly funky tasting when cooked in cast iron. I try to avoid using my cast iron when I want to use tomato products, wine, etc.

I've noticed that lately it's harder to find an unseasoned pan, and it takes a year of hard use before it really becomes almost truly nonstick. I still lightly coat mine with a thin film of oil before using them.



Seasoning instructions can be found at: http://www.lodgemfg.com/usecare1.asp