CAST IRON CHRONICLES - THE BLACK ONES - #CASTIRONFACTS
CAST IRON - THE ORIGINAL, BLACK VERSION THAT HASN'T BEEN COATED OR ENAMELED, HAS BEEN AN AMERICAN KITCHEN MAINSTAY FOREVER.
How do I know so much about this best-in-kitchen cooking gold?
I’ve put the time in.
My first cast iron lessons came at the hands of GreatAunt Celestine, on a cast iron, wood burning stove and many, many cast iron pots, pans and skillets on a summer visit to a Tennessee farm in the late 1960s…what I DON’T know about cast iron isn’t worth knowing…how to clean it, how to store it and how to cook with it for the BEST RESULTS every time.
It's the perfect cookware that out-does anything else: what other kind of pot or skillet can go from smooth cooktop, to gas, to induction, to old-school electric coils to an open flame with just a rinse and wipe down?
AND THE BEST IS STILL MADE IN THE U.S. OF A!
Some truth about cast iron, In Case You Missed It:
IT’S THE EASIEST, CHEAPEST, LONGEST-LASTING COOKWARE YOU’LL EVER OWN #TRUEFACTS - it lasts long enough to hand down to the next generation
Your best baking, frying, braising and sauteing can come from your simple and reliable black cast iron.
Cast iron works well over ANY source of heat - including glass top or ceramic cooktops. Not sure where the myth that cast iron and smooth cooktops don't work together comes from - maybe the gas cooktop industry 🤔
You can use it to cook tomatoes or other acidic foods - better ask those folks of Italian descent in Louisiana how they make that red gravy… and yes, making acidic dishes like huge amounts of tomato sauce might strip off a little of that precious “seasoning”, but that’s nothing a little cleaning and oiling of the pan won’t fix
You can do WHATEVER to it - soak it in water (never necessary, and not advised, because it takes more than that to kill it), clean it with soap (again, I don't advise using soap, since it removes a bit of the “seasoning” that makes it nonstick - but even if that happens, just oil it again)
No special storage is required: You can stack your cast iron collection in drawers or on shelves - separated by a paper towel, fabric or brown paper bags (what my Dad does) because cast iron is porous, storing it with a little blotter will keep moisture, and thus dust, away. Most folks keep that cast iron skillet on the cooktop = using it a couple of times a week keeps it clean and rust-free
The only thing cooking in cast iron adds to food (besides deliciousness) is a little iron that your body needs anyway. No harmful PFOA or anything else. DIETARY HACK - cook iron-rich foods like collard greens in black cast iron to boost the iron available to your body.
“Seasoning” is the nonstick surface that’s developed over time on cast iron cooking surfaces, or the act of developing that surface. These days, most cookware is sold preseasoned, but it doesn’t hurt to give your pot, pan or skillet a wipe of any oil (GreatAunt Celestine used bacon fat, called drippin’s down South), but you can use any fat or oil that you like that’s suitable for frying with…put a bit on a paper towel, and rub it over the inside surface after you’ve cleaned it. To season an older pan, see the next post - CAST IRON RECOVERY.
Cleaning is simple - until it has built up a good, completely nonstick surface by repeated cooking, anything that sticks can rubbed off with a nylon or, better yet, a metal scouring pad…just remember that NOTHING YOU DO TO CLEAN IT WILL KILL IT.
I said what I said.
