Cooking & Cast Iron...

Cooking since prehistoric times has been on an open fire typically over a spit. Cast Iron Skillets and Dutch Ovens were made for a fire. As we became more civilized, that open fire was brought into the home in the form of a fireplace and the spit was built-in with multiple handles or arms to cook on often at varying heights above the fire. This is how my mother-in-law cooked for many years in a cabin where they lived in the mountains of Colorado.

By the 1830’s the low-cost cooking ranges made of cast iron were on the scene but most ladies were not ready to give up the hearth for “them new-fangled iron monsters” of the industrial age. If you find old cookbooks of that period, they won’t give the temperatures in degrees but the break down would go something like this: Warm Oven (250-325 degrees), Moderate Oven (325-400 degrees), Hot Oven (400-500 degrees).

As far as cast iron, it’s not only an age old means of cooking, it’s equally healthy for you as the iron will enrich your blood! Throw away those iron pills…you won’t need them anymore!

Often we hear about non-stick cookware. But our grandma’s knew the secret to that and it was called having a good oiled or seasoned pan. Remember…a well-seasoned pan won’t stick! If yours is sticking, you must be doing something wrong. You are probably over washing it and under oiling it. I’ve got many a cast iron skillet that I simply can wipe out with a paper towel if necessary. First, the heat kills germs and bacteria so a lot of soap and water is unnecessary…so don’t over wash. If you want to wash it, then a little warm soapy water and rinse quickly…never let it set in water or in a sink. If you must use water and it seems dulled, rub on a thin coat of oil after it dries and let it soak in without seasoning it in the oven.

Second…you want to use something non-abrasive if at all possible if you must scrub. I use non-scratch sponges that have scrubbing fibers made from 50% agave plant and are 100% plant-based fibers. If I have a skillet or Dutch oven that isn’t seasoned well and I have some sticking, I put some water in it and heat it on the stove, once warm but not hot, I use my scrub sponges to lightly loosen the stuck on food. I don’t really scrub, it just rubs off. Try NOT to use steel wool. It will scour and score the cast iron making it nearly impossible to get the skillet to season well ever again. Now…I know if there is rust, they say to use steel wool…but I’ve found better results with less damage to the pan that will keep it from seasoning right by just rubbing it down with oil and rubbing it off with paper towels, then seasoning it well. It takes a bit more time and effort but you’ll be more careful about getting it rusty in the first place and you’ll save your skillets and time in the long run.

I know they say you can use lard and vegetable oil and some folks even use butter. But I have to say, my Italian Grandma who grew up on land and raised their own food in Italy knew what worked best. Olive Oil…because it doesn’t typically get stale, carry other odors or get sticky. It is amazing if you start off your Cast Irons seasoning with it and keep it up.

If you do need to season your pans, you want to coat it with oil evenly all over the pan, inside and out. Heat your oven at about 300-350 degrees and set them inside for an hour or two. Turn off your oven and let them cool naturally making sure there is no moisture in the oven. When you remove them, there should be a shiny coat of oil that has hardened onto it. If you don’t see that, repeat the process. For beginners, do this as often as is necessary to keep that shiny coat on. When a pan starts to stick…repeat it again. Eventually this builds up to the point that you will hardly ever need to season them. The best thing my grandmother ever gave me was her cast iron skillets that had become so well-seasoned over the years from cooking in them, that things glide off them like no nonstick pan has ever done for me! My grandparents lived into their 90’s so it must have been clean, healthy living enough that they hardly ever got sick! So, even if you think having cooked on oil is not as clean as a non-stick pan…think again. Flakes coming from an iron skillet give you iron…flakes coming from a Teflon or other non-stick cook wear give you…what chemicals? Bet it’s nothing good for you!

And be sure to cook with oils…they are good for you. I have managed to have a high good cholesterol to the point where it has cancelled out my high bad cholesterol…I attribute it to the Olive Oil!

It makes perfect sense to me that they’ve found a Mediterranean diet is healthy and those folks live longer than we do in America! And you’ll find once you learn how to care properly for your cast irons…they will never let you down!

Happy Cast Iron Cooking Trails Y’all!