Anyone else here like to collect and cook on cast iron pans?

[Mae247 | 207]

Just wondering. Not like we collect anything else haha.

[Gloves | 11,776]

I found that it took too much maintenance for me personally, so I gave mine away.

[Link | 2,709]

Yes, I do. Converse to Gloves’s experience, I find it the easiest pan to use and clean. I have a small skillet, a large skillet, and a grill pan. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

Around here in the panhandle of Florida the senior citizens will nearly fist fight over that stuff at the yard sales. 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

I use cast iron all the time. Wife just got a new set for Xmas! 
 

I dont collect though. I season, use a lot then discard once it starts flaking off. 

[Mae247 | 207]

15 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

I use cast iron all the time. Wife just got a new set for Xmas! 
 

I dont collect though. I season, use a lot then discard once it starts flaking off. 

Hay, send it my way next time you throw out. It’s so easy to restore. I have stuff from the 1920s and 1930s I have cleaned up and use daily.

[Mae247 | 207]

1 hour ago, skinnygrinny said:

Around here in the panhandle of Florida the senior citizens will nearly fist fight over that stuff at the yard sales. 

Ha, I was in maimi for two weeks at beginning of December and am going back for two more weeks starting next week. I noticed it’s slim pickings there haha.

[Mae247 | 207]

1 hour ago, Link said:

Yes, I do. Converse to Gloves’s experience, I find it the easiest pan to use and clean. I have a small skillet, a large skillet, and a grill pan. 

Man, I second your sentiment. Once you keep it up you don’t normally have problems.

[Mae247 | 207]

in the process or restoring the pan from the 1930s. The corn bread pan is from 1921 and it’s looking good!

[Link | 2,709]

59 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

once it starts flaking off

I’ve never seen this or heard of it happening. Non-stick coating, yes. Cast iron ought to last forever. 

[Mae247 | 207]

30 minutes ago, Link said:

I’ve never seen this or heard of it happening. Non-stick coating, yes. Cast iron ought to last forever. 

Same here. I think he was speaking of his seasoning or caked on oil possibly.

[Control Issues | 18]

I wouldn't say collect... and I don't cook with it often... but I do have a cast iron skillet that I enjoy using when I use it.  It reminds me of watching my mom cook when I was a kid.

[RH | 4,903]

Dang it, all of this old cast iron is making me need to go to Cracker Barrel!

[themisfit138 | 523]

I use cast iron skillets for most of my cooking. The only other pots and pans I use are old American made copper bottom Revere Ware. They were made from the late 40s through the mid 60s. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by themisfit138

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

16 hours ago, Gloves said:

I found that it took too much maintenance for me personally, so I gave mine away.

?  If you cook on cast iron on a regular basis it is practically ZERO maintenance...

I use my skillet at almost every meal involving hot food.

As long as you use oil in the pan when you cook, it more or less maintains itself.

 

Larger items like a Dutch oven are more effort.

But having a 10 or 12 inch skillet and the mainstay of the kitchen is super easy, and has a heat quality that is hard to match with other types of cookware.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

14 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

I use cast iron all the time. Wife just got a new set for Xmas! 
 

I dont collect though. I season, use a lot then discard once it starts flaking off. 

Once what starts flaking off?

Case iron lasts forever unless you make a habit of soaking it in the sink.

 

Anyone using cast iron should get a stainless steel chainmail scrubber.  They are the best scouring pad I have found that is reusable.

Nothing should be flaking off of your pan...

[Gloves | 11,776]

1 minute ago, arch_8ngel said:

?  If you cook on cast iron on a regular basis it is practically ZERO maintenance...

I use my skillet at almost every meal involving hot food.

As long as you use oil in the pan when you cook, it more or less maintains itself.

 

Larger items like a Dutch oven are more effort.

But having a 10 or 12 inch skillet and the mainstay of the kitchen is super easy, and has a heat quality that is hard to match with other types of cookware.

1. I don't use pans all that regularly
2. There's no way it "maintains itself"; all of the conflicting info online on how to keep them clean was incredibly frustrating

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

3 minutes ago, Gloves said:

1. I don't use pans all that regularly
2. There's no way it "maintains itself"; all of the conflicting info online on how to keep them clean was incredibly frustrating

If you cook on a regular basis (which everyone should, IMO) then you can pretty easily work a cast iron skillet in as the primary pad for almost anything you would cook on a stove.

 

And yes, they definitely DO pretty much maintain themselves if you make a habit of cooking with oil and salt (which most good cooking that uses a cast iron pan needs anyway).

I never season my pan intentionally, and I have been using it nearly every day for years.

It is basically a zero intentional maintenance scenario.

(And I give it a quick scrub with dish detergent between meals, so it isn't like it never has detergent break up the surface oils, either - you just towel it dry, rather than let it sit)

 

It is just as easy to clean and deal with as any other pan in the kitchen.

Edited December 27, 2019 by arch_8ngel

[Gloves | 11,776]

3 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

It is just as easy to clean and deal with as any other pan in the kitchen.

I can't just toss 'er in the dishwasher and forget about it, so...

[RH | 4,903]

Honestly, if you keep it oiled, there’s practically no wrong way to maintain it. My wife and I just scrape ours out with a teflon scraper. If that’s not hard enough, I put water in it, put it on the stove and heat it until it steams and then the teflon scraper works just fine on even the toughest gunk.

After the rinse out, I dry it off, I spray oil on a paper towel and wipe it down. I’m not saying this is the best way, but it sure is easy and one of the easiest cookware items to clean, if you do it this way. No soap. No scrubbing.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

3 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I can't just toss 'er in the dishwasher and forget about it, so...

Taking 10 seconds to give the pan a quick scrub and then towel it off is not meaningful amount of effort...

[Gloves | 11,776]

Just now, arch_8ngel said:

Taking 10 seconds to give the pan a quick scrub and then towel it off is not meaningful amount of effort...

You underestimate just how lazy I am about cleaning up after myself.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Just now, Gloves said:

You underestimate just how lazy I am about cleaning up after myself.

Clearly...

But not being a slob in the kitchen and taking a few minutes to just clean up after a meal is a life skill everyone should have.

Effort level to do so is low, and it is one those tasks that is a disproportionately big relief to have done for the amount of effort required, so the payoff is satisfying.

[Mega Tank | 960]

10 minutes ago, Gloves said:

You underestimate just how lazy I am about cleaning up after myself.

So how do you eat burgers without buns while not making a mess?

[Gloves | 11,776]

Just now, Mega Tank said:

So how do you eat burgers without buns while not making a mess?

I mean... I use a fork and plate. Those go in a dishwasher.