Just bought my first cast iron skillet and dutch oven ever! I have read up on the care of cast iron, but I know it is also a different kind of cooking experience from "regular" non stick skillets. Is this true? Does it cook food differently? Any tips or hints on what I can expect when I start using them? (And heck, I'm not a great cook, so any tips would be appreciated!)
About all we use is cast iron at my house, so "different" doesn't register with me! It's just "cooking"! The best thing I can think of at this moment is that you can use your metal utensils and not have to worry about scratching off the non-stick coating into your food -- because there isn't any! The more you use it, the smoother the bottoms get inside, the more nonstick it becomes. And if you ever burn something to cinders in it, you can just scrub away with steelwool, reseason it, and go right on with it like it never happened - the only way to "ruin" it is to let it rust, and then just clean it up with steelwool, reseason, and go again...
by the way..... go BAKE some corn bread.... put a little oil in the pan and your favorite corn bread recipe (mix) ..... yummmy
Adding to Amy's comment about dishwasher...DON'T USE SOAP! My dad use to get after me, claiming I cleaned his with soap when I was growing up, when I hadn't. We finally figured out that I would wash the rest of the dishes, finishing up with the cast iron, and then use the soap-filled wash cloth on it . But I'm like Zen...I wouldn't use anything else! Best thing to clean it is one of the Pampered Chef Nylon Scrapers.
I have a few for camping, but I've never used them in the house. I got them out to use them the other day and they were rusted. What then? My mom said you can't ever, ever, ever get them wet with water (she uses cast iron a lot). But I can't fathom how that could be true.
Of course, you can get them wet! I wash mine all the time. You just need to drive them right away, and not let them sit out wet. I will soak them if something's burnt on the bottom. How does your mother wash them? Do a search, and you'll find all kinds of advice on how to remove the rust.
Thanks, Jackie. She did tell me a way to remove the rust (heat oil in the pan and wipe with a paper towel... repeat until the rust is gone), but after the "don't get them wet" thing I didn't feel inclined to listen to her advice. She also argued with me that you can't get TPC Stoneware wet. Even after I read her washing instructions on three different Use And Care Cards, she still insisted that all of hers said they couldn't get wet. And the fact that I sold TPC full time for 5 years, and had watched a company-produced video on how to wash Stoneware, held no weight in the conversation. :roll: So food doesn't really cook any differently (faster, slower, etc) in cast iron?
To remove any rust on ours, I just wet the pan down again and dry it completely. Handsome sometimes forgets to dry it. LOL
My sister uses her cast iron pots all the time on her smooth top electric stove. Perhaps it has something to do with the quality of the stove?
Or the weight of the pot. I've got lots of cast iron of different sizes, and some are a whole lot heavier than others. I just recently bought a new stove, and told DH there was NO WAY I would take a smooth-topped one! Amie, treat your cast iron the same way you would the stoneware, though of course you can put it on the stove, too!
Most people I know put their cast iron either on a warm stove burner or in a warm oven after washing (with water, without soap!) to dry it wirhout rusting. Sometimes here it's so humid that if you don't use it for awhile, it'll rust in the cabinet. In that case, I just wash it again (with water! and one of those "softer" kinds of steel wool that's made with like ribbons instead of thin wires) and reseason it: rub it inside and out with a papertowel dipped in a little oil to get an even coat, then put it in the oven until the oil burns, then wipe it in and out with a clean papertowel again. Ready to go!
Cast iron also stays hot ( retains heat better) so watch the food! It will cook faster in the oven/stovetop so just keep an eye on it. Also I cut the oven time by 5-7 mins on breads/quiche because it cooks so much faster. I also (gasp) clean mine with soap and water, I towel dry it and oil it ( paper towel with veggie oil on it ) and then place it in the cabinet. I just do a quick wipe with a paper towel before I use it again ( to get any oil off it). The pans I have have been cleaned and used this way for over 60 years ( they were dh's great grandma's who lived to be 101 yrs. old), so I say soap does it no harm ( I have personally used it for 10 of those 60 years and have used soap eveytime I needed to clean it).
Crystal, I think the difference is that you oil it each time. The oil counteracts the soap. I rarely oil mine; don't need to, because I don't use soap. The reason you don't use soap is because that seasoned oiled finish is what makes it work best, and the soap removes that.
Mine has a great finish ( a nice think layer on sides and bottom) and I oil mine each time because it can get humid here ( even in the desert) and the one time I didn't use soap or oil it rusted in 3 days. I just use a drop of soap, don't soak it and I use a soft sponge. Towel dry, oil ( it leaves a slight shine about 1/4 tsp or less for my 12 inch pan and dutch oven) and store. My LDS friends don't use soap but they oil eveytime to keep the layers going and to keep it in good shape ( plus they say its easier to clean each time too). I took a class with them at the church on dutch oven cooking and they had a segment on cleaning and care for your cast iron ( every LDS woman I know has a great cast iron collection for camping). I love cooking a crustless quiche and cornbread ( w/ green chiles and cheese) in it and I use the dutch oven on my backyard fire pit ( great for cooking stews or soups when its hot out).
I've got five skillets...two 9", and two smaller size, plus Carl bought me a 13" for Christmas one year. I LOVE THAT ONE!!! because I cook five porkchops/chicken/hamburgers in it at once, enough for the family. I've got two Dutch Ovens...one regular, and a flat-topped one with legs for camping. Then my mom gave me a cast iron roaster, though I don't use it too much. She also had a fryer; I'll probably add that to my collection someday when Dad decides to get rid of it.
I love cooking in my big one too. Love the dutch oven for cooking in the oven or stove top also. I need to add to my collection too..maybe some smaller one for fried eggs and such.
***J*E*A*L*O*U*S*** I currently have ZERO cast iron pans (I have Revereware) I have been looking at flea markets for large cast iron pots with legs for cooking over a fire. Any suggestions on brands if I am buying new, or can I get it from Wal-mart with the same results?....sorry OP if I am hijacking...thanks for posting for tips as I could use some tips, too.
Check Bass Pro Shop, Sportsmans Wharehouse or Cabelas stores. They have good prices and good brands. Even Big 5 carry good brands and usually summer is the summer is the best time to buy because of all the camping specials they do.
