Comments on: Cooking with Cast Iron

By: Bill in St. Louis

Bill in St. Louis — Sat, 18 May 2013 02:36:40 +0000

Erin – Yes, a little. I tend to use my skillet for bacon every morning, so dinner always has some bacon flavor.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:24:27 +0000

This is great advice. Quick question, though: If you use the pan to fry fish one day but don’t clean it with soap, wouldn’t the pancakes you make the next day taste a little like fish?

By: Janet B

Janet B — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:09:12 +0000

My mother cooks only with cast iron and I have gone that route also. I did use teflon until I developed severe hyperthyroidism. I found several articles explaining how the chemicals in teflon have been known to have a direct affect on the thyroid. It can flake into the food with just one little scratch and the fumes are always present, but odorless. I now own skillets from 4″ to 12″ (8 total) and a griddle. Cast iron is definately the most healthy alternative.

If not using cast iron I use glass for not only cooking but for storage. Plastic has some of the same harmful properties. Just different chemicals.

Thanks for the recipes. Will be trying them soon!

By: Smoothie

Smoothie — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 23:18:22 +0000

Great article. When is Miss Sitty’s fried chicken recipe going to be posted? LOL

By: BJ

BJ — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:52:10 +0000

Vinegar works great for removing oxidation from many metals – including rust from cast iron. I typically use regular apple cider vinegar. Fill the pan full enough to submerge all the rust, let soak several hours (overnight), pour out the out the vinegar, and scrub the pan with steel wool. The rust will lift right off. You should immediately season your pan after removing the rust, or it will rust again.

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:20:04 +0000

A bit late for the party here. Still, thought I’d share how I clean my cast iron pans if they have stuck-on bits:

After you remove the food and excess grease, wipe out with a paper towel, then place back on the heat.

When the pan is good and hot, dump about a half-cup of water in, deglazing the pan. Scrape the crunchy bits off the bottom.

Oil lightly if needed, then store.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 08:19:12 +0000

Stefan is right, flax seed oil is the best. Smoke point doesn’t matter at all when you’re seasoning, you need an oil with a high iodine value so that it will lend a slick finish. You should also be seasoning at 500 degrees. I had been using coconut oil and bacon grease, and it was never really non-stick. Now I have the sexiest shiny, uniformly black cast iron pan that is an absolute pleasure to cook with.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:37:56 +0000

Thank you for your masterpiece of all things cast. I wrote a little novella on the budding love found with my grill pans and dutch ovens. ‘

http://knakao.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/cook-like-a-man-with-a-cast-iron-pan/

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:03:41 +0000

@John- No one uses lye soaps?? Every time you use a real soap, not a glycerin soap or detergent, you’re using a lye saponified soap. The reason old lye soaps were often harsh was because the lye was poorly calculated, too much was used and saponification was incomplete, leading to excess lye remaining in the soap. Now there are much better lye calculators for a given fat or oil and you can have a lovely, luxurious soap.

By: Ioana

Ioana — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:17:10 +0000

Waw, awesome info! I would loove to have your Grandma´s fried Chicken recipe! PLEASE !!