What are the advantages of using a cast iron skillet as opposed to using skillets made from other materials?

Question

Cast iron skillets are very heavy, sometimes so heavy it prohibits their use, cannot be put in the electric dishwasher, require seasoning after every use, their handles get too hot to touch, etc.

Cast iron skillets can also be difficult to clean

Answer 1

There are several reason that people rave about their cast-iron cookware. Besides being an ideal heat conductor, cast iron heats evenly and consistently, it is inexpensive and will last a lifetime, actually several lifetimes) with proper care, and it is an old-fashioned way to cook fat free. When well seasoned, a cast-iron pan will be stick resistant and require no additional oil.

The benefits of cast-iron pans are terrific: Foods glide out of it as from no pan made with Teflon; it goes from stove to oven; no special utensils are needed to cook in it; it won't warp, and cleanup is a cinch. Professional chefs consider cast-iron pans to be precision cooking tools, as these dependable pans enable precise control of cooking temperatures. Their heat retention qualities allow for even cooking temperature without hot spots. Cast-iron pans can be used on top of the stove or to bake in the oven.

Answer 2

I have a 12 , 10 , 8 , and a 10 " deep Chicken Fryer. I use the Chicken Fryer and the 8" the most (probably because I am by myself),and have had them for 30+ years. The best way to "season" a Cast Iron Skillet, is to take some potatoes that you might have too long and make french fries, or anything you can throw out.You can also simmer some cooking oil in them. Here is where many people have a problem with Cast Iron Pans: NEVER WASH THEM ! All you do when you are finished cooking, is pour out the oil,and rinse in warm water, and dry.NEVER USE SOAP ! This is what some people have a problem with. Your Chicken doesn't taste better from cooking in Cast Iron, it's because you can fry at a higher temperature that quick seals whatever you are cooking. If you need any more information, email me any time, Vinny

Answer 3

First off, once you have a properly seasoned cast iron skillet, you never have to do it again. Unless, of course, you do something to ruin that wonderful seasoning. It is actually recommended that you not put the pan away with oil showing on it because it attracts dust, germs, etc. While still in the process of seasoning a newer pan, you might want to wipe a small amount of oil all over it, but then put it in a warm oven. If the oil/grease doesn't all disappear, you've used too much. This is not talking about the original seasoning process for a brand new pan, but a newer pan that still eeds more seasoning..

I never have any difficulty cleaning my cast iron skillets or dutch oven or lids. Soak them in water while you're enjoying dinner or dessert and then they're ready to be washed with the other pots and pans from dinner.

I agree you can't put them in the dishwasher, but how often do you put your other skillets of that size in? It takes less than a minute to wash by hand, wipe and then put it in the oven (upside down) to air dry.

As far as the handles getting hot, that's what hot pads are for! Actually, I have a few quilted pan handle covers that are as thick as hot pads yet slide right onto the handle. I still use a pot holder for the lid, but that's no big deal.

I agree they can be heavy, but at least for now, I can lift a filled dutch oven pan out of my oven and enjoy how good they help my food taste.

Cast iron heats so evenly that alot of foods cook better than in stainless or clad pans. I can't imagine making cornbread or cornmeal muffins without using castiron.

Answer 4

I am using the cast iron that was my grandmothers and she got it when she got married in 1931. It has outlasted her.
I use it for any frying, as it requires less heat and keeps the heat even throughout the surface. It adds flavour and nothing sticks to it. Yes it is heavy but I don't find it difficult to clean. I never use my dishwasher anyways. Seasoning it is just putting a drop of oil and smearing it about the surface, hardly a big chore. It will go to my daughter some day.

Answer 5

Cast iron skillets are great for dishes that require a lot of heat in a short amount of time like Hot water cornbread (soul food).

Answer 6

Makes the best cornbread in the world and there is nothing better than cast iron skillets electric skillet cooking the food has such better taste and flavoring just love them

Answer 7

If a cast iron skillet is too heavy for you to lift, then you're too frail to safely work in the kitchen. It weighs less than a small saucepan full of water for boiling eggs.

Of course, you don't put it in the electric dishwasher. You don't *need* to put it in the electric dishwasher. It'll be hot when you get finished using it, so just dump in some water to deglaze the skillet, then dump the water down the drain. You don't even have to dry the skillet - the heat of the skillet will rapidly evaporate the water.

I saw a restaurant that specialized in fried chicken. They didn't even wash their pans with water. They just dumped the oil out at the end of the day. They had a big box of white sand, and they dropped the skillet into the sand, and swished it around.

If it requires seasoning after each use, you're too dimwitted to be trusted with knifes and heating appliances. You should *never* have to reseason a skillet unless you burn something to a flinder in it. In that case, you might need a chisel to remove the carbonized food, and a rotary sander to smooth down the bottom. If you're having to reseason the skillet after every use, it's because you're not properly caring for your skillet, and you let it sit for days in water, or you're using harsh detergents instead of simply washing out the skillet when you're done with it.

One of the biggest reasons for using a cast iron skillet is that it *does* get uniformly hot. This is especially important if you're using gas heat; when you turn down gas, you don't get a *cooler* flame, you get a *smaller* flame. With an aluminum skillet, you end up with stuff in the center scorching, and stuff at the outside going undercooked, but with a cast iron skillet, you end up with an even temperature from edge to edge.

And because the handle is cast iron, you can pop your skillet into the oven, without having the smell of charring bakelite impregnate your food.

And how do you handle the skillet when you pick it up off the cooktop and deposit it in the oven? Why you use a potholder, a cooking glove or, in a pinch, you use a towel to grab the handle with.

Oh, and because the handle is an integral part of the skillet, you never have to worry about loose rivets. Because there's none of that space-age teflon flaking off the skillet into your food, you don't have to worry about it poisoning you. The New York State Department of Health published a scientific study earlier this year (Environ Sci Technol. 2007 Feb 15;41(4):1180-5) indicating that nonstick cookware poisons you, even at normal cooking temperatures, before the surface starts to lose particulates into the food.

Other than producing food that's tastier, food that's safer to eat, being easier to cook well, being easier to clean up, and lasting for centuries, I can't think of any advantages at all.

Answer 8

I think they are a bit cheaper.
Also you don't season them after every use. Not very often to my knowledge.

I don't have any cast iron skillets. But they do add good flavour, and you can transport them from the stove to the oven.

Answer 9

cast iron can leach iron into your foods and that is a good thing. We all need more iron in our diets.

I have my sweet gramma's dutch oven and cast iron skillets. Bless her heart.

Answer 10

They hold the heat better and more evenly, you don't have to season them after a every use , just handwash them with dishwashing liquid ,and immediately dry them. they make the best fried chicken ever. i cooked with them for years till i bought a ceramic top stove and can no longer use them. i really do miss them. however grease will build up on the outside , when it does i just put them in the barbecue grill on the hot coals And it will burn it off. use a potholder