To me, someone who celebrates a bit more of the spectrum than most: Metal hot. Make food hot.
Non-stick means easier cleanup, but my wife seems to think cast-iron is necessary for certain things (searing a prime rib roast, for example.).
After I figure those out, then I gotta figure out gas vs. electric vs. induction vs infrared…
Cast iron is overrated. And people overthink a lot about it being seasoned. Really though, you still have to care for it and it isn’t like you can just re-season the pan. Just make sure it doesn’t rust.
Uh why not? I’m pretty sure you CAN just re-season the pan.
you can. it’s just a lot of work. you also have to clean it without soap.
cast iron isn’t ‘easy’ to use or maintain.
You can use soap with it.
I have been using the same cast irons for a decade and I use dawn dish soap, scrape it with stainless steel pads, cook acidic foods in it, have accidentally left it on a burner on high for long enough it set off a smoke alarm twice, let them soak with water overnight occasionally, and heat shock them about half the time I use them.
They have no damage and they cost under $20 brand new. You shouldn’t use lye based soap on them because that causes saponification of the seasoning but even if you do all you have to do is reseason them. Cast irons are only a lot of work if you follow imaginary rules with them, basically the only thing you shouldn’t do is put them in the dishwasher
Bingo. They are breathtakingly low maintenance once you use them.
OP, use what you like, that’s the only trick. If you force yourself to use the “right” stuff, you will get annoyed and stop using them. Use them, find out what works and enjoy.
I started with a set of basic target brand non-stick. I mostly use cast iron and stainless steel now (been doing this for 30 years). I do keep a non-stick for eggs and such, but it’s the least used pan I have.
Same here. I wash my pans with soap if they need it, dry them well and hang them up. Occasionally will rub a little oil in once they are all the way dry. Have been going for about 30 years, most of them. I did have to train my husband, he was soaking them overnight and that does mess with the seasoning. Now he either cleans immediately and dries it or throws it in the oven dirty to do later.
IME they are nearly indestructible and you don’t need to be so careful. The cast iron is my daily driver and I am not a gentle fussy cook. Just don’t soak them in hot soapy water for hours.
You can’t use soap with free lye in it. Any modern dish soap is fine. Just don’t go making your own soap out of lye and fat like in the olden days, because then you’ll probably have free lye in it.
There’s a bunch of imaginary rules around cast iron, some of which was relevant 40 or 50 years ago and some of which has always been misleading.
Truth is, the more you cook with a cast iron pan, using oil or whatever other fats, the more it’s seasoned. You don’t have to re-season it at all unless you somehow manage to strip the existing seasoning.
The only thing you can’t just “fix” on cast iron is a crack.
I re-season mine whenever. It’s perpetual non stick. It’s amazing. Never need a new pan
Everything is.
I like cast-iron just because the nature of what you cook in it means you don’t have to scrub it in a sink after. Wipe it out with a cloth or some paper towels and back up in the cupboard. And doing this makes it better not worse. It’s convenience more than anything.