On our first camping trip, Joe packed one of his cast iron pans. It was like a foreign object to me. I had never really used anything like it (not that I used anything at all....meaning I did not cook). After our trip the cast iron pan was just packed away with our camping stuff. Coming across it I noticed they were very rusty, and seemed like trash.
I had recently been reading about the benefits of cast iron cooking compared to other pots (namely of the non-stick variety) and pans. The only cast iron type pot we have is our trusty Le Creuset, that we adore and use all the time. Only after doing some more research I noticed the pans I wanted were strangely similar to the three pans we already had, only without the rust that accumulated on them. I asked Joe for a set for Christmas, and had my eye on the Lodge Cast Iron products. My dear husband who is always looking to save some cash, urged me that he could re-season our pans and they would be just like the ones I wanted, maybe even better! So Joe cleaned the three pans we had, and rubbed them with oil, placed them in the oven on a very low setting...this seasons them and seals in the oil so your food won't stick. Once he was done, they were gorgeous! I have been using them for all three meals since. They are different to clean than other pans, but once you get the hang of it, they are no problem. They add so much flavor to our food, and are really great! So I urge you to go replace your pans with cast iron! You will love them! We recently added a dutch oven to our collection, and I am now wanting the casserole dish! I don't even think about my other pots and pans anymore :)
another benefit of cast iron is they can withstand LOTS of heat. for me this means i didn't burn the house down the one day i forgot to turn off the burner and was gone for over an hour:)
ReplyDeletei need to season my one pan- thanks for the directions!
Wow! That is true. Also, you have to get used to using pot holders because the handle gets hot, which was something I had to get used to. Oh, Joe's chef said to coat the pans with crisco after you wash them, I guess it coats them better than oil. I don't like Veg shortening...I just use olive oil! You know what might work too, coconut oil! I saw a few really cool pans at Marshalls the other day, oh they had the griller one I wanted! OH, but no room and not too much $$$.
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You are just full of good information. :)
ReplyDeleteMy Aunt swears by cast iron...and everything she makes is so delicious. I'm thinking I need to start thinking about cast iron for myself. Hmmm.
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