Cast Iron Cookware

Question: What type of cast iron cookware do you still use if any?

(Posted by: morgan o2 on 2009-10-05 19:31:04)

you can still buy US made lodge cast iron products

Posted by: jd on 2009-10-06, 02:04:04

She got it all. We had three different size and shaped skillets. Corn fritter pans. Different sized pots. She would put up with a lot but if one of the kids stole one of her skillets there was hell to pay. The doc said I have too much iron in my blood and to stop using them. She just laughed. Me too.

Posted by: pelican on 2009-10-05, 19:37:32

I use cast iron cookware all the time. I have two old fashioned cast iron skillets, but they have no brand name on them. I bought one at a flea market and another at a yard sale. My only requirement was that they have a good smooth cooking surface, which they do have. I also have a set of the French enameled cast iron cookware (blue on the outside, white enamel in the inside), which are beautiful and pleasing to use, though expensive to buy.

Posted by: Mr.TwoCrows on 2009-10-05, 19:41:34

I have and use regularly a 4 inch deep skillet. Nothing makes fried chicken like cast iron. Just can't beat it for some things.

Posted by: Tom E on 2009-10-05, 19:53:17

I bought a 6 " iron skillet from an antique store because I thought nobody made them anymore! The grocery store sells them for $10 less! The brand name is Griswold. #3. Enjoy. Nothing beats cast iron for cooking eggs!

Posted by: Lona on 2009-10-05, 19:54:16

I have never had one BUT, my brother has a huge cast iron pot with a lid and he bakes the biggest , most wonderful bread in it and takes it with a big tub of butter to all potlucks and its the first thing gone!

Posted by: mamacedar on 2009-10-05, 19:55:51

Lodge, I think. And one other brand - which I don't know or pay any attention to. I really think it is all the same - as long as it is WELL SEASONED!!!! I use a small skillet to bake cornbread, a 12 or 14 inch skillet to fry stuff, and the best thing I love the most is the long narrow grill on one side and griddle on the other side. It fits on top of two burners at the same time. I use that for pancakes and french toast and grilled cheese and re-heating chicken or pizza or just anything you can think of!

Posted by: Bethany on 2009-10-05, 19:56:03

I have several iron skillets in different sizes and a dutch oven that I use as well. AS the other poster said, nothing beats fried chicken in an iron skillet....add some homemade biscuits or cornbread make in a skillet as well and you've got a meal worth writing home about. ;) Bethany Ooops mine are old and don't have a name brand on them, I inherited them from my uncle when he died.

Posted by: Patti on 2009-10-05, 20:16:47

I have 2 pieces from the farm, a deep fryer with a heavy lid and a smaller skillet, one is a Wagner. Lodge is sold at our local Wal-mart stores and the Atwood farm store, which sell them pre-seasoned. If I had to buy a new skillet or dutch oven i would make sure it is American made, afraid of lead and other contaminates in imported cast-iron.

Posted by: Paul N on 2009-10-05, 20:33:01

We have three or four skillets of different sizes. We have two dutch ovens and our gumbos are always made in these. My Sweetie has always prepared pot-roast in one of the dutch ovens that she inherited from her Mother.We have one trecallis. (Pardon the spelling) A trecallis is the round flat griddle that tortillas are cooked on. We have one that remains on the top or our kitchen stove at all times. I would be ashamed if any of my Hispanic friends walked through our kitchen and they did not see a trecallis on top or our stove. Family tradition demands that you always have a trecallis on your kitchen stove. All of our cast-iron cookware is cast by Lodge.

Posted by: connor g on 2009-10-05, 20:34:56

I have about 6 pieces of Copco I purchased in the very early 70's.

Posted by: cricketlady on 2009-10-05, 21:07:10

I have a cast iron skillet that we use for everything. It is real nice and handy and it's time to treat and burn it out or whatever you call it. I think my brother has all his cookware in cast iron ---he swears by it. He also lives in an authentic log cabin and has another log cabin to put up once he gets the time. He actually took both cabins down han by hand and is very proud of his lifestyle too. He works on the road the rest of the time with the big machinery---the county roads.

Posted by: scary fairy on 2009-10-05, 21:22:43

I have all sizes. From the small fry pan to a pot I'm planning to use to simmer wing of bat an eye of newt...LOL. Trick or Treat! Seriously, I have about 6 different sizes and I love them.

Posted by: sophieb on 2009-10-05, 21:24:09

I don't know the brand of the large cast iron skillet I purchased at K-Mart a while back but it cost $11. I'm still learning to cook in it.

Posted by: ? on 2009-10-06, 00:44:06

We have always had a couple of cast iron skillets for frying, until the last couple of years. They are too heavy for me to use any longer or to clean up. I have weakened wrists due to old age now, and just don't have the strength that I once had. Now I prefer the teflon frying pans. They are easier to clean and nothing every sticks There was a time, there was no better way than to cook a pan of sliced thin fried potatoes with lots of diced onion and sometimes some diced green peppers fried in, as well. That is more like Irish potatoes, than the western type. I believe most southern cooks all have at least one cast iron skillet to their name. We had several sizes at one time, and food just tasted better cooked in them.

Posted by: Inundated in SF on 2009-10-06, 01:01:51

I have an use a very old fry pan that was my mom's when I was a child and mom got it from [someone]--so it's real old and really nicely seasoned. I use it off and on (I seem to go through phases). I also have 2 dutch ovens (one little one left to me by my grandma) I don't use a lot since I use my pressure cooker for "dutch oven foods " (I'm into instant food). I have 2 other cast iron fry pans of different sizes that I don't use either--not sure why I have them in fact except one does have a lid. I have no idea if Lodge is still being made in the US. You can probably get old ones off of Ebay.

Posted by: cymry3jones on 2009-10-06, 04:02:28

I have a cast iron frying pan and a griddle pan. After using one in a furnished flat, I always wanted a 'Creuset' casserole, but never bought one. I live alone now, so there's not much point!

Posted by: RT 66 on 2009-10-06, 05:22:00

I do have several Lodge pieces, although I also have so cheap made in Taiwan stuff, as well as some pieces that are so old there are only the tinkers initials to identify them. However, to get to the point, I have my cast skillets in graduating sizes, my reversible griddle, Dutch oven and kettle. Then we can get off into the candlestick holders and trivets, but that is getting personal, wouldn't you think?

Posted by: SandwichGeneration on 2009-10-06, 06:22:22

I still use my cast iron dutch oven and 12' cast iron skillet. The skillet came with the husband, he had it when we got married. I bought the dutch oven after using the skillet a few times. I don't use them as often as I used to because I now have a glass top stove; I used them weekly at one time, now I use one of them about once a month. We have a new grill/ smoker; and the cast iron works great on the grill. I've made a pot of beans from scratch; cooked low and slow, and oh boy did those beans taste great! The cast iron just holds a nice even temp; nothing works better, at least for me.