Blog:Grust Reviews Cast Iron Cookware

Several blogs ago. I plan to review cast iron one of these days.

That day is today....

As some of you know, my secondary hobby besides gaming is cooking and as I've said I'd review the best cookware hands down, cast iron.

Cast iron is highly dense cookware ranging from skillets, loaf pans and pots known as Dutch Ovens. It's the oldest modern cookware known to mankind having been used for centuries. Your grandparents or great grandparents may have some laying around to this day possibly. For reasons I don't fully understand though health issues may be why, it's becoming popular again in home kitchen and I am glad because as I said before, it's the best cookware.

Due to it density, cast iron holds heat very well, allowing for nice sears on meat. It's also strong and durable. While those nosticks pans have a coating of chemicals like teflon to promote nonsticking, the coating on those eventually wears out creating flakes that get on your food, DISGUSTING! The coating on cast iron however is natural carbon. And that can easily be reapplied naturally via oils (food oils, not the ones that get on ducks) or fats. By applying a very thin layer of oil to the cast iron and heating it (bought 350F for dutch ovens, 500F for skillets), the oil breaks down leaving a layer of carbon, which also gives the black surface (without carbon cast iron actually has a tan like color. The carbon not only maintains a nonstick coat, but prevents cast iron from rusting.  For dutch ovens, doing this once a year would suffice to maintain this, but for skillets, it's best to rub a thin layer of oil after every use to maintain the coating.  For oils, it's best to pick one with a very low smoke point for easier breakdowns.  The two most popular are flax seed oil which requires refrigeration and is very expensive and canola oil which is cheaper.  While most pans don't require this much maintenance, how many of those pans will last you this lifetime.  A well maintains cast iron pan can be handed down from generation to generation.

In addition to not needing chemicals for a coating, cast iron adds a bit of iron to food you eat which is good for if you're anemic or a woman dealing with ummm the monthly visitor. This adds health benefits to your food which is a reason I think cast iron is becoming more and more popular. Dutch ovens are also beast when it comes to deep frying. As said before they hold heat very well which makes them good for deep frying. I've used my 10" dutch oven to fry up some pocket pies and... mouth watering goodness. You can also use enamel for dutch oven, though I prefer cast iron.

Now cast iron does have its flaws. Its density makes it very heavy and without proper care will succumb to rust and will need to have the rust removed. While it holds heat well, it doesn't heat evenly which can make the sides colder than the center. It's also terrible for mortar and pestle and it can react to some foods. However most of these are miniscule. The extra weight can give you some strength training, proper maintenance will make sure rust never hurts your cast iron (mine are so well maintained and I only need water and a brush to clean them) and the heating just encourages patience. I also use a granite model for mortar and pestles.

Now cleanliness is next to Jokerness, but cleaning a cast iron depends on the coating. When you buy your first, you'll notice that cleaning it is a pain to do. Don't be discouraged when it happens. Just scrape off as much food as you can (Lodge actually sells cast iron scrapers and they are great multi-taskers), dry the cast iron thoroughly if using water, and while on the stove rub a little coat of oil on it as it heats if using a skillet. Let it heat until the oil starts to smoke and remove immediately to maintain a new coat. I've done this so much, eggs just slide onto my spatula and I barely need to scrape anything off anymore. The more you use your cast iron, the better it gets. Hell I use my 12" skillet to make a pineapple upside down cake (the recipe is the only time I bother buying yellow cake mix btw) and it not only slid off the skillet into a cake plate, cleanup wasn't even a chore. Just a warning when using water to clean your cast iron, you must make sure the water is hot as well as the cast iron.  A hot cast iron reacting to cold will cause it to crack.

Now for reactive foods. It's true foods high in acid like tomatoes or vinegars can wear on the carbon coating but if you're doing regular maintenance, there's no worries.

In short I love cast iron and see myself passing this off to my future nephew.

