Cast Iron Cookware

The black cast pots look cool but if you want to make real tastey eats you are better off with a enamel coated pot its much easy-er to clean and your food wont taste tinny .I cook on mine all the time .I would space the pot up about 1/2" and cook for 4 to 6 hours . chill can cook all day .I make stew ,chili ,soups ,roast chicken ,dont leave it over night . dam time for a snack.

Properly seasoned cast iron won't lend flavors to the food, just be sure to not to cook acidic foods such as tomato sauce in it. It also requires a little different care than your other cookware so do your research. The enamel stuff is nice but I would be afraid of chipping it on the stove. I did see a cool trick at the stove store though, they used stove cement to glue a piece of stove gasket to the bottom of the cookware so that it doesn't sit directly on the top of the stove and scratch and chip stuff.

As far as the proper temps for stove top cooking, I'll have to get back to you on that as soon as I try it out. I would imagine it would be similar to the oven, if your using a dutch oven, or the cook top if your using a skillet. I have one of those infrared thermometers and I check my pan temps with it all the time on the regular cook top.

Wellbuilt- if it tastes metalic and is hard to clean, then it's not seasoned properly. I had the same issue when I first bought cast iron, then learned seasoning it.

If you know how to treat it, cast iron will absolutely NOT give a metalic taste. Don't wash with soap or cook anything too acidic. We cook most everything in cast iron- it's way better than 'non stick' (blechh!). Get a blue scrubby- puts some water in there and just scrub a bit without soap. If stuff is stuck- add water and boil for 5 mins. The seasoning acts as a non-stick layer (in addition to protecting the metal). Add oil and wipe it out. It's easier than any other cook surface that I use.

There are lots of sites on proper seasoning- you can buy a meterial to do it, but it's not needed (I got some free, but use veggie oil).

Any air space will really dramatically lower the cook temp. The problem with woodstove cooking is temp control- you can't turn it up and down like with gas. Also remember the camping tricks- wrapping potatoes etc in foil and put them in the coals.

If anything sticks add a little bit of vegetable oil and salt and scrub the salt acts like an abrasive will take off food but not your seasoning.

I love my cast iron skillet for cooking but there is a learning curve to it.

Also if you buy cheap cast iron from walmart it is harder to season and keep seasoned. You get what you pay for.

Mr Pantalones summed some of what I had to say nicely. In addition, Cast Iron pans hold the heat for a very long time so you can regulate the temp by pulling it off the stove and laying it on the hearth for a bit.

As for cast iron branded cookware - I am not aware of any being better than others. The main decision should probably be, am I to buy pre-seasoned cookware or will I season mine at home. I seasoned all of mine and would not have it any other way. It makes you more aware/sensitive as to the needs of your cast iron.

Some of the biggest fights in my house were when the wife took soap to my cast iron pans...

You can also use a insert like small round cake pan in the Dutch oven if the food is going to be something that will stick and make a big mess just pop out the pan and wash it up, saves your cast from becoming a mess. Doesn't work for all cooking and really not needed if careful. Cast is about the best you can use to cook with period, you just have to love to use it since it is heavy and takes some care not to mess it up. I also us it on my induction top, it is the best pan for induction cooktop.

To answer your question, Lodge cast iron is fantastic (I won' buy anything else for non-enamaled cast iron)!. They sell it preseasoned these days so you won't have to deal with the seasoning process if you don't want to. Follow the directions that come with the cast for cleaning and care (DON'T CLEAN IT WITH SOAP). Personally, I think it's easier to take care of than most other cook wear (very little scrubbing if you clean it as soon as you are done cooking in it).

If you want enamaled cast iron, I recommend Le Creuset or Staub. They are exensive, but well worth it.

Good luck!

What should you do about cooking on a soapstone stove, as to not scratch the stove? Jeff

pinewoodburner said:

What should you do about cooking on a soapstone stove, as to not scratch the stove? Jeff

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See my first post above about not scratching the top of your stove. The stove gasket stuck to the bottom is a flat gasket so the distance between the cookware is less than an eighth inch, however thick the gasket is.

Lodge cast iron is the only cast iron cook ware made in the USA and the factory seasoning that they put on is as good a seasoning as it gets I don't think you can do it any better than that at home.

I dont think that my stove (Olympic) would be a great stove for cooking on truthfully. I would think a cast iron stove like the VC's or something would be better?

Adirondackwoodburner said:

I dont think that my stove (Olympic) would be a great stove for cooking on truthfully. I would think a cast iron stove like the VC's or something would be better?

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If the top gets hot you can cook on it. I'm not familiar with your stove, is it plate steel?

I have been cooking with cast iron for about 30 years. I have every size skillet from 5" to 13". I also have pancake grills, cookie molds, corn muffin molds, oval grills. Lodge is the best buy for the money. They have a web site, lodgemfg.com. I recommend their cook book John Folse's Cast Iron Cooking . There are some super recipes from chefs who use only cast iron. They will send you their catalog. If you can buy "made in usa" or Wagner or Griswold from garage sales you may get it very cheaply. I have bought many this way, especially Dutch ovens because they are to heavy for some people to deal with. I have bought very rusted ones and refinished them so they look like new. It's easier to buy them from Wal/Mart. Follow Lodge's directions for seasoning and caring for their cookware. Also go to gcica.org. This is a web site dedicated to cast iron lovers and has great recipes also. You can use cast iron cookware right on a cast stove. There is nothing better than corn bread cooked in a corn bread pan or skillet right in the oven. Good luck on your purchasing and your cooking. After you see Lodge's web site bet you buy more than one item.

woodburn said:

These are all very helpful tips. Thanks everybody. I will definitely go with the Lodge Logic non enameled. Someone mentioned not getting the cheap stuff at WalMart, but the only cast iron cookware I have seen at WalMart is Lodge Logic Preseasoned. It's not Lodge's "signature series" but I think it's what I will get. I will season it myself before using it. An extra seasoning can't hurt according to what everyone has said here. Are the Cast Iron pots good for boiling water and cooking up some pasta or rice? If anyone is able to share any specific stovetop temps that would be awesome.

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Depends on how hot you burn your stove for temps. I have a nice, flat top on my VC/Dutchwest that I like to cook on w/ cast iron. But as its a downdraft non-cat stove, when the bypass is closed the cooking surface is not in direct contact w/ the firebox. Unless I open the bypass to heat that cooking surface directly, I find it takes a long time to heat up water sufficiently for boiling. With the bypass closed its plenty warm for sautéed dishes as the surface temp is still about 400-450.

As my VC has a black finish w/ no enamel, I dont worry about scratching the surface so I put cast iron directly on the surface. From time to time I inevitably have a boil over from cooking or just stove kettles, and that will 'stain' the surface. But some stove polish w/ an old rag takes that right out and makes it look like new (also prevents rust!)

Although we never cooked on the wood stove (this will be our first year REALLY heating with one), my wife is a cast iron fanatic.

Lodge is VERY good for the money (we have several pieces)! It's made in the USA and it's basically impossible to wear out with some care. 90% of our cast has been unseasoned to begin with, but the lodge logic stuff is good, although it does get better with time.

Griswold and Wagner are also very good. You can get some of the less sought after (read not really collectable) Griswold stuff on ebay for a good price... you just wave to watch shipping as the stuff is HEAVY for anything but the smallest items.

Yea my wife is just bad news when it comes to cast iron . She keeps washing the pots and spoiling the season. Or she will burn them up or leave them over night with food in them I gave up and switched to enamel and it is much easy + I make chili and stew all the time and there is alot of tomato sauce in it .

I don't boil water in my Lodge cookwear, I have found it degrades the nice black carbon coating on the pans (especially if the coating looks more brown then fully black) and I have lots of other pots for boiling anyway. I do make chili and tomato sauce in my cast iron, but I found these high acid foods also break down the coating on my cast iron.

As for seasoning an already seasoned pan. I don't think it's at all necessary. If you want to build a nice non-stick coating or you find your coating is a little thin in a few areas, just fry a few pounds of bacon in the pan (letting the pan full cool between each batch). I've found this darkens the pans quite nicely.

Good luck.

We cook almost only on cast iron with an old larger skillet and two Lodge Dutch ovens and a smaller Lodge skillet. I almost always clean them up with a bit of soap on a brush and have never worried about losing the seasoning. These are our everyday pots, they see a lot of use and they almost never need reseasoning.

Every one of my pans is cast iron. I use them every day,Wagner, I bought them at flea markets. I have found that they are easy to clean. But I use an old fashioned method to clean really badly dirty ones. I use an old pastry cutter/scraper and scrape them clean, No soap ever touches them. I re season them with olive oil every once in a while. BTW I am a real foody and every one I know is astounded that I only cook on cast iron, they have the new trendy and expensive chef brands.

When my wife was pregnant a blood test showed her lacking iron (anemic). We started cooking with cast iron and the next test showed she was cured. Our best cast iron is old, old stuff. If you examine a good one against what you can but new it'll be obvious. We have a large skillet and a dutch oven that look to have the density of a good cast iron ax. Almost like a piece of steel. I clean ours with olive oil.
Best regards, kksalm.