Cast Iron Care and Recipes

I love cooking  with cast iron

      This is my part of my current collection for daily use. I am not a Cast Iron Collector. My daughters use cast in their daily cooking, too. My grandmother on my mother's side used it on her wood cook stove. All of these are older than me (and there are those that insist that I'm older than dirt), except the Fajita pan in the foreground that my son gave me years ago. I look for inexpensive, quality, old cast iron cookware when I go out. I clean the carbon off, I clean the rust off, then season it in my oven. If I find someone that is looking for a pan or is interested in learning to use cast cookware, I enjoy assisting them in their quest.
     First, a link to some recipes that I use with my cast iron. 

All cast iron is not created equal! 

     I like the older cast because it was finished smoother and lighter with great iron. Mine an odd, assorted collection of brands. Why? Because that was what I found when I was shopping for cast in second hand stores or just found it at yard sales. I have found numerous cast skillets that are not marked with a manufacturer's name, none have had the smooth, thin, quality cast and finish as the older cast iron cookware.  
     Griswold seems to be the usual collectors' favorite. From the items I have encountered, the brand brings more for the same size skillets as Wagner Ware. By the same token, Wagner Ware brings more than the Lodge of the same eras. I find no advantage, from any of the brands I have, over any of the others in their quality of cooking. I like the thinner cast they have. It makes a lighter pan to lift. 

     How do I know they're Lodge? Well, I trust the research of the web site of

THE CAST IRON COLLECTOR

     That link will take you to page describing unmarked cast iron. By that info, the #8 pictured above should be from the 40's and the #10 should be from the 50's. Does that make food taste better? No, but like the old ad said, "Inquiring minds want to know." The reason I keep mentioning the "Old Lodge" is because Lodge still makes cast iron cookware. It is thicker and rougher than the old stuff. The following picture is a comparison between the #8 Lodge pictured above and my #8 Wagner Ware produced in the same era.

     The skillet on the left is the older style Lodge and the skillet on the right is the Wagner Ware. Nice thinner cast on both!

      You can look at the online auction sites and see what people are willing to pay for old cast iron, and they pay heavy shipping costs. Usually  cast can be found in your local area at a reasonable price. Sometimes it needs a lot of care to get it back to serviceable condition, sometimes it doesn't need much more than a good washing and re-seasoning. Either way it's worth the time and trouble. 
     THE CAST IRON COLLECTOR has a page on cleaning and restoring iron. You can take your choice on which method you chose to use. Some prefer to remove the carbon buildup by running the iron through the self-cleaning cycle in the oven and following it with a soak in the vinegar solution they talk about. Some use Original Easy Off to clean the gunk off and follow it with the vinegar bath. Some use an electrolysis tank to do both.  People use a variety of oils and greases to season the iron. I prefer Organic, cold pressed Flax Seed Oil. It has out performed other others I have tried when applied properly.That's just me. 
     There are two sites that I recommend for cast iron users to read from about the "myths and legends" "facts and fiction" about cast iron cookware.

THE CAST IRON COLLECTOR 

(bet you didn't see that one coming)

and

SERIOUS EATS

     Reading from those two sites will educate you and free you from some misconceptions that are common. I rarely argue with anyone about cast iron facts or fictions. I let them know where to read about the facts and the fictions. They can chose to be educated or not.



Unmarked Wagner skillet