Cast iron cookware
Before the food hits the pan and the pan hits the heat, you have to choose the cookware. Cast iron cookware is a favorite of good cooks everywhere.
Why Cast Iron?
There are several reasons why cooks rave about this type of cookware, many people won’t use anything else. Besides being an ideal heat conductor, cast iron heats evenly and consistently, is inexpensive, and will last a lifetime with the proper care. When seasoned, a cast iron pan will be stick resistant and provide great tasting meals every time. It is used for cookware because it is non-toxic, has excellent heat retention and diffusion properties, and is easy to mold. Cast iron cookware is the right choice for recipes that require high temperatures, such as searing and frying.
It has been said there is nothing better than food prepared in a cast iron pan. Several dishes, including Mexican fajitas, Cajun seafood, sausage & eggs, and of course, cornbread, are hailed as delicious when prepared in cast iron cookware. Cast iron is also the cookware of choice amongst serious campers and outdoorsman, but be sure to bring the truck, this stuff is heavy!
Cast iron is durable. Handles can’t break off or come unscrewed, since they are extensions of the body. If other types of cookware are allowed to boil dry, their handles may melt or catch fire and the body of the cookware may be irreparably damaged or melted also. Leave cast iron on the stove for 10 or 15 minutes with nothing in it and it will merely smoke up your kitchen and you will have to wait for it to cool down before using it to cook in.
The heavier the pan, the more uniform the distribution of heat is to the cooking surface. Even distribution of heat makes it easier to control the cooking process.
Food tends not to stick to well seasoned cast iron. Things like eggs or refried beans that stick to other cooking surfaces are easier to manage in cast iron. Long, lazy simmering is also possible. Some sauces, like homemade tomato sauce, benefit from spending the afternoon on the back burner in the Dutch oven.
All cookware influences the taste of the food that is cooked in it. Cast iron imparts a mellow taste to food. Corn bread baked in a cast iron pan has beautiful golden crunchy crust that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. Greens high in oxalic acid, most notably spinach and kale, will discolor when cooked in cast iron, but most other acidic foods, like the aforementioned tomato sauce, are better cooked in cast iron.
Anything with high acid content needs to be cooked in a non-reactive pan. Aluminum reacts to many foods with high acid levels by producing aluminum salts, which both taste nasty and are bad for you.
Cooking in cast iron is an easy way to add iron to your diet. As food cooks in cast iron, molecules of iron from the pan are absorbed by the food. Iron taken in this form is easily digested and adsorbed into the blood system.
Cast iron is easy to clean. There is a great mystique about cleaning cast iron. Some people think that soap and water should not be used, that it should be wiped clean and lightly greased.
Check out our Cast Iron Care section.
Cast iron gets better over time. Cast iron pans start out gray, but with frequent use they acquire a deep, soft, carbon blackness. Things well-used over time have a way of becoming indispensable. Some of the cast iron pieces we use most often have been in my family over 75 years.
If left outside, cast iron eventually turns to rust. It goes back into the ground and becomes more ferrous oxide for the good red earth.
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