Cast Iron

[Morning Glory]

On another food Forum there is currently a recipe challenge for which the theme is 'cooked in cast iron cookware' - this includes enamelled cast iron such as Le Creuset. I usually enter that recipe challenge (call me a traitor!) but this time round I can't. I haven't got any cast iron cookware.

I've never been convinced by the claims made for cast iron. If not coated it needs seasoning and maintaining. Its heavy (my poor arthritic wrists do not like that). So why is it supposed to be so good? If I cook a steak in a cast iron skillet is it somehow going to taste better than if I cook it in my non stick pan? If I cook a stew in a Le Creuset (or equivalent) dish, is it somehow going to taste better than if I cook it in my non-stick chef's pan?

I use cast iron (a small fry pan) when I go to stay with my friend in Saffron Walden. He also has Le Creuset casserole dishes. I can't say I've noticed any advantages or difference in results except that the Le Creuset need more cleaning than my non-stick pans.

Do you own and use cast iron cookware? Can you sing its praises and convince me?

 

[Yorky]

I have one cast iron fry pan which is used solely for dry roasting spices. It's heavy as you say and the handle gets very hot (and stays very hot). I do not have another use for it.

 

[Morning Glory]

I have one cast iron fry pan which is used solely for dry roasting spices. It's heavy as you say and the handle gets very hot (and stays very hot). I do not have another use for it.

View attachment 10179

That is similar to the one my friend has - and I too use it to dry roast spices when I'm there! I've also made a ShakShouka in it - but can't say it tasted better than one made in my non-tick frying pan.

 

[Yorky]

Mine is only 225 mm diameter and 50 mm deep. I'd be lucky if I could cook a meal sufficient for our cats in there.

I also prefer my non-tick frypans and woks for serious cooking.

 

[Francesca]

@morning glory

My parents gave us a gift set approx. 25 years ago ..

As an owner, they are extraordinary and well worth their cost due to the longevity of their original products ..

I understand your skepticisim and however, the Le Creuset Dutch Ovens and sauce pans are a marvel if you prepare dishes requiring these cooking vessels. The ones I have are nearly in-destructable.

Do please, be careful if you do buy one Creuset cooking vessel, as the Chinese fabricate thousands of these "Faux" pieces of garbage and try to sell them off as French .. Make sure that you go to a large reputable Department Store during January, the White sales and the Home Sales ..

Some of the set, of the original pieces , I have are the Flame Orange Red color ..

This I understand is being discontinued, which is creating alot of havoc for long term customers .. and they are creating a whole new color line ..

I use it for my Beef Bourgnignon !

Have a nice day .. Good post ..

 

[Morning Glory]

Aside from longevity (although I did manage to crack the lid of my friend's Le Creuset by dropping it on the floor - and yes it was genuine Le Creuset) I am still struggling to understand why it would be any better for cooking, say a beef bourguignon than a non stick casserole pan.

 

[Yorky]

I had a Le Creuset skillet similar to this back in UK.

I hardly ever used it. The handle on mine was shorter which made it difficult to move on and off the gas. The handle also became very hot so oven gloves were required which I found a bit of a nuisance..

 

[Francesca]

@morning glory

In northern France, in the town of Fresnoy Le Grand, Le Creuset, was founded 92 years ago, in 1925, by two Belgian Industrialists, Armand Desaegher and Octave Aubecq. Historically speaking, classic French tradition plays an important role amongst not only The French, but 60 countries of Chefs use this Brand of cookware and bake-ware.

Gourmets like yourself, would benefit for the products being: Non-oxidizing, Anti - Aluminum properties and the quality for someone who cooks almost every day. However, the investment for one piece that you deem usable to you, for your cooking needs, if on Sale, I highly suggest it. It is a personable decisión. I do not use it daily .. I use it for specific French cuisine dishes.

Though they do have a paella "pallera" now .. They have modernised with the needs of internationals.

Have a nice day.

 

[Morning Glory]

@morning glory

In northern France, in the town of Fresnoy Le Grand, Le Creuset, was founded 92 years ago, in 1925, by two Belgian Industrialists, Armand Desaegher and Octave Aubecq.

Historically speaking, classic French tradition plays an important role amongst not only The French, but 60 countries of Chefs use this Brand of cookware and bake-ware.

Gourmets like yourself, would benefit for the products being: Non-oxidizing, Anti - Aluminum properties and the quality for someone who cooks almost every day ..

However, the investment for one piece that you deem usable to you, for your cooking needs, if on Sale, I highly suggest it ..

It is a personable decisión. I do not use it daily .. I use it for specific French cuisine dishes.

Though they do have a paella "pallera" now .. They have modernised with the needs of internationals ..

Have a nice day ..

Yep! I'm familiar with the history of Le Creuset. But I still would like a scientific explanation of what difference it makes to a particular recipe/dish! Anti Aluminium? I don't have any aluminium cookware. Anti - oxidising? Not sure what that means in terms of cookware...

 

[Francesca]

@morning glory

Since, I am not a Scientist, so, I highly suggest that you read the following:

www.cookingforwellness.com/news/your-cookware-poisoning-you

It discusses the positives and negatives related to a wide variety of cookware & one´s health and the intricate problems people could face by using certain types of cookware. It shall explain in detail what you are looking for, I believe ..

Have a nice evening ..

 

[Morning Glory]

@morning glory

Since, I am not a Scientist, so, I highly suggest that you read the following:

www.cookingforwellness.com/news/your-cookware-poisoning-you

It discusses the positives and negatives related to a wide variety of cookware & one´s health and the intricate problems people could face by using certain types of cookware. It shall explain in detail what you are looking for, I believe ..

Have a nice evening ..

Its a dead link... I've looked at various articles which discuss the health benefits of types of cookware. Cast iron can be poisonous if you are sensitive to ingesting too much iron, for example. But I can't find any articles which explain why using cast iron cookware produces better food!

 

[Francesca]

@morning glory

It is interesting, however parallel. In Northern Galicia, ( El Ferrrol and Santiago Compostela) it is a tradition as in Normandy, France to cook the classic shellfish and seafood & fish dishes in Copper cookware ..

Why ? The main reason is copper is a heat conductor .. And it keeps the stew hot while placed on either a stove top ( without flame ) and / or a hot plate of some type to place on table ..

I doubt there that the reason is complicated .. I am inclined to believe it is tradition from the L´ Ecole Escoffier. It is almost 100 years ago, so it is probably the
L´ Ecole Escoffier .. And Paul Bocuse followed the tradition .. The chefs or cuisiniers have been and were taught to cook with the Le Creuset Cookware ..

Perhaps you should write Le Creuset or go to one of your neighboring shops that carry Le Creuset cookware and ask the Manager ..

I am sorry about the Link however, I had no problem reaching the website from Google .. Just received a dead link from CookingBites to the website ..

Have a lovely evening ..

 

[Elawin]

Its a dead link... I've looked at various articles which discuss the health benefits of types of cookware. Cast iron can be poisonous if you are sensitive to ingesting too much iron, for example. But I can't find any articles which explain why using cast iron cookware produces better food!

The site appears to me to be one big advert for the Saladmaster range of pans. Some of the information on there is definitely incorrect (such as aluminium pans being banned in Germany - they certainly are not. In fact one of the most well-known ranges of pans made and sold in Germany are aluminium - you just have to be careful what you cook in them). Still doesn't answer the question though.

 

[Lynne Guinne]

Lessee, I have a 6-quart enamel Lodge stockpot (meh, Chinese made and not as good as my other cookware), a 4 1/4 quart Le Creuset oval roaster, a 4-quart Staub Cocotte (my favorite cooking vessel, bar none!), a 12" reversible Lodge griddle (flat on one side, ridged on the other), a Lodge 12" skillet, 9" and 7" Wagner skillets, a French made (don't remember the name - it's not commom) 9x13 baking pan, a very small and low-quality 2-quart dutch oven, a 10" Le Creuset pan (with a crack in the pan where the handle base meets the cooking pan ) and two new pieces of Lodge: a 12" shallow skillet that also works as the lid for my new 3-quart sauce pot. I guess I like cast iron? Some of the pieces were inherited, some were bought as gifts to me, some I bought for myself. All of them get used to some degree.

The Le Creuset dutch oven, the Lodge stock pot, the little dutch oven, and the 9x13 baking pan all have enamel interiors. Pretty easy to keep clean, only needing a scrub with a gentle abrasive and a plastic scrubber if I burn something badly. The Staub (my love!) had a black interior, I think it might be a matte enamel. All I know is that it cooks like a charm and cleans like a dream. It's 4 quarts and stays on my stove top all the time (back-left corner) unless I need that burner and am not using the pot. The Lodge and Wagner pans/skillets are just plain cast iron, but with fairly well-seasoned finishes.

I like the heat retention. I like the sturdy construction. I actually like the heft of the cookware - and I'm not a spring chicken. This 66-year-old can lift and carry the two red dutch ovens , which you can see to the right of the shelves in the third photo and go across the kitchen to the stove I set them both down, then return the top Le Creuset piece to the table. The two together weight about 16 pounds. No big deal! If you cook with it regularly, the weight isn't really noticeable. I like the crust I can get on fried potatoes, the fact that I can sear something on the stovetop and move the pan to the oven to finish cooking. I just plain like using it. Doesn't mean I don't like and use my non-stick or stainless steel. Would never try frying an egg in the cast iron - unless I had just cooked up a bunch of bacon and left all of the renderings in the pan to grease it. I like that it's durable, and can be passed from generation to generation if properly cared for - and it isn't hard to care for it if you follow a few tried and true tricks.

As far as hot handles, Lodge sells silicone ears and tails to cover the helper-handle and the long handle. I have a set of those, plus another silicone handle cover that my SIL got for me years ago at Christmas. You can see my new Lodge ones in this photo:

Well, @morning glory, aren't you wishing you hadn't asked about cast iron by now?

 

[Morning Glory]

Well, @morning glory, aren't you wishing you hadn't asked about cast iron by now?

Blimey! You like cast iron then?