So if you're still cooking with (and eating and breathing) Teflon, its time to send 'em out to be recycled and get yourself the real deal, cast iron.
The Martha Stewart line has an adorable Red Enamel Cast Iron Chili Pot but its made in China -and I like to err on the side of caution by assuming everything in China contains lead- so I'd skip that one and go with the original, Lodge Cast Iron.
Pros and Cons of Cast Iron:
Pro-
- Non-toxic
- Lasts forever (your grandchildren will cook on this if its taken care of)
- Distributes heat evenly
- Won't scratch
- Versatile - can be used in oven or stove top...heck, you can even use it in an open fire.
- Food just tastes better (At least my family thinks so)
- Cheap. They're very reasonably priced, especially when you consider you'll never have to buy another one. You could also find old ones at garage sales and thrift stores that just need to be re-seasoned.
- Many brands are made in the USA, like Logic.
- It's heavy. But this could be a pro if you want to keep upper body strength.
- Requires seasoning and special cleaning. Th pans from Lodge come pre-seasoned with veggie-based oil. And you just have to hand wash them with salt instead of soap and then immediately dry them to prevent them from rusting.
We are sick of our non-stick pans getting worn out. I just saw a segment on America's Test Kitchen about cast iron alternatives nowadays. I have one cast iron pan, but I'd like to get a couple smaller ones. They have started selling a "pre-seasoned" cast iron pan with that Lodge brand (can't remember the whole name) that I might look into also.
ReplyDeleteI love cooking with my cast iron pan. It was a small one, with a pretty blue paint job (which now seems to be chipping off after 25 years). I often wondered about that paint in the oven, so I never used it there. I've never heard of washing it with salt either! I've always washed it with mild soap and warm water and then made sure to 'season' or wipe it with vegetable oil. I know a lot of folks who don't even wash theirs. They simply wipe it with a clean paper towel and put it away. Of course that method never worked for me as I like to burn so many things ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and I hope you can check mine out too.
Lisa
I've never used cast-iron pans but would love to try it out. Of course the handwashing might drive me nuts, I really love my dishwasher. lol But I'm also cheap and tired of buying new pan sets once or twice a year. I'd love to have something that lasted a REALLY long time.
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