My Collection of Cast Iron Cookware and Why You Should Add Cast Iron To Your Kitchen
I highly recommend that everyone have at least one 10.25” cast iron skillet. It is multi-use and I swear, food cooked in cast iron actually does taste better. It is non-stick forever if the cleaning and minimal care is done every time you use it.
Lodge cast iron comes pre seasoned, so there’s nothing complicated to do, just rinse, dry and your cookware is ready to use right away. It is really easy to clean and if you clean it within a couple of hours of using and immediately dry it well. Then squirt in some cooking oil and rub it around with a cloth or paper towel to lightly coat. Wipe again with a clean dry paper towel or cloth to remove excess oil and you’re done.
One you’ll have to keep in mind is that the handles get HOT! You can get cheap silicone handle covers that fit it nicely for cheap on Amazon. I have “Silicone Assist Handle Holder, Hot Skillet Handle Covers Pot Grip Handle Sleeve Cast Iron Skillets Non-Slip Heat Resistant Pan Grip Cover for Cast Iron Woks Frying Pans Griddles Skillets”, currently $6.99 for two on Amazon. Don’t overpay for the Lodge branded ones, they don’t even fit this skillet well enough to use. I like the ones I have because they are clamp style so they fit a wide variety of handles really well. If you get a cast iron pan with a classic long handle, you can get cheap covers for them too. (Your covers need to be more heat resistant than what you may currently have.) I have these and love them! “Cast Iron Skillet Handle Covers,Pot Handle Covers Heat Resistant,Pot Holders for Kitchen Heat Resistant,Machine Washable Handle Mitts 2 PCS” currently $7.99 on Amazon.
Cast iron is all purpose, you can use it anywhere, it’s easy to clean, nearly indestructible, will never warp, will never flake its coating into your food (there’s not a coating except the cooking oil!), and won’t ever lose it’s non-stickiness (with easy basic care). It’s healthy to use and will still be around for our grandkids to use. And it’s cheap, Lodge is a steal!
It’s safe on gas and electric (including glass top) stoves, camp stoves, grills, fire pits, anywhere there’s heat. Plus, you can use them in the oven also! I have a few sizes and it’s what I use most of the time.
I have a Lodge L8SKL Cast Iron Pan, 10.25″ ($19.90 on Amazon, frequently on sale there. List price is $34.25.) This particular one has two rounded handles and is MUCH lighter and easier to handle than the one with the classic long handle but works just exactly the same, same quality too. It’s also on sale for less than the classic long handle one, I have no idea why, but hey, I’ll take it!
I spent around $120 total and have 4 skillets (6”, 8”, 10.25”, 12”), a 3 qt deep pot and a 5 qt dutch oven with a lid. The lid is also cast iron and is a skillet if you’re not using it as a lid, so I actually have 5 skillets! The lid perfectly fits all my Lodge 10.25” skillets, can work on the 8”, the pot and dutch oven! Yep, one lid. You can use the 10.25” or especially the 12” skillet as a wok! So that’s yet another type of cookware these replaced.
I just checked and right now (1/17/2023) on Walmart.com a cookware set that comes close but doesn’t even match the variety of sizes/types of Lodge collection I own is $100-$150. And those pans will wear out, warp, lose their non-stick surface, and need to be replaced every 2-5 years. Today on Walmart.com, the “Mainstays Heavy Weight 12 inch Non Stick Skillet”, which is aluminum with a Skandia coating (PFTE) has a sale price of $11.94.
Not only will they wear out, there are serious and valid questions being asked by consumers and scientists on the potential dangers of PFTE. The set I mention above uses Skandia and uses a PFTE chemical coating. Many people avoid PFTE because of questions over the possible long term health effects from using it. For reference, Teflon™ is PFTE, the exact same chemical as Skandia. (source: https://www.nes-ips.com/teflon-vs-ptfe/). They “rebranded” – changed the name of – Teflon™ because so many people avoid it. (See https://www.ppgindustrialcoatings.com/en-US/products/ppg-skandia-xtreme to verify Skandia is a PFTE product.)
If you don’t get anything else, strongly consider getting a 10.25” double handle skillet. What other $20 skillet can compete with it?