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The Griswold cast iron pans we have are the non-stickiest pans I've ever used, it's amazing how smooth that surface is, I've never had a problem with anything sticking, and they clean up easy too. I can't imagine ever using a teflon coated pan again.

I agree with Tristanc, the newer lodge skillets have a sand-paper like texture, which makes them almost impossible to season to the point of being non-stick. After struggling with them for years, I spent some time finding griswold and wagner pans at thrift shops, and the difference is amazing. You can find them on ebay, they are well worth the splurge.

One more benefit: Cooking with cast iron increases your iron intake by as much as 500%. If you're even remotely anemic, cooking in cast iron is a very good way to take in more iron without taking those iron pills that are so hard on your stomach.

Check out some of the figures here: http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles/cast-iron.htm

hmmm maybe that's why my iron was almost too high to donate blood once. I'll have to keep that in mind.

How would using a cast iron skillet alter cooking times?
If they heat up slowly do you need to get them going for a long time the way you heat up an oven before cooking?

My cast-iron skillet is a prize possession. I use mine for everything-- baking, roasting, frying, etc. I even take it camping (not backpacking, although even the thought of lugging it on my back was only just strong enough to make me leave it behind).

The cheapies take longer to season, but they will get there eventually. It just takes a while. Also, don't look to your skillet as a good source of iron. It isn't a form that is well-absorbed. I cooked almost exclusively in my skillet for five years (it was one of two pots I owned) and still became anemic from time to time.

Cool-that's my picture! You can find me at thedabble.com...which isn't mentioned.

Durability, timelessness, history....

My cast iron carries me back to another time, grandmother's wood stove, that island of comfort on a cold morning.

Holding the past in my hand, if only for a few moments, is worth the additional careful maintenance overhead compared to the more contemporary, dishwasher-safe, chlorofluorocarbon-coated, TV chef-endorsed flashy stuff.

Yea, I'm a little romantic about it.

ps my favorite is Martin Stove and Range Co. of Florence Alabama - their cast iron skillets and dutch ovens are often available on ebay and flea markets.

I heard that cast iron could help anemia. I need to try that.....

As for that picture NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Does anyone have use cast iron on a flat top ceramic range? This is what I have and the manual doesn't recommend it unless it's enameled cast iron. I am more interested i the benefits of non-enameled cast iron. I was hoping it was possible to get a pan that is enameled on the bottom but raw on the top, unfortunately this doesn't seem to be possible. Anyone have any personal experience using seasoned cast iron despite the recommendation not to?

Ceramic flat top vs. uncoated cast iron - Marta jest uparta.

I do it all the time and have not had any problems. I don't slide the skillet around or bang it into the ceramic.

where can i find the recipe for the dish photographed?

It's tomato and feta strata: http://thedabble.com/blog/?p=1157

The only drawback of cast iron - when it is hot if you touch it, it burns like a motha. It is literally like touching a branding iron.

I inherited my great-grandmothers cast iron skillet AND her cast iron ductch oven -- they are over 150 years ols and STILL going strong.

I wish I had my grandmother's old cast iron, rest her soul. I look forward to passing mine off one day. I am more than happy with it. Two pieces--a dutch oven and a small skillet that fits on top of it like a lid--were cheap, (but i had no problem seasoning them... just cook some bacon in it!) and will last me forever, and i can use them for so much! I use the dutch oven portion at least twice a week. I plan to find one larger skillet and that's that.

If you get a silicone handle cover for the handle, you dont have to worry about the heat.

After reading this, I went and purchased a cast iron grill pan. I'll see how it turns out.

@matchbookhymnal

Easily absorbed or not, I can vouch for the iron intake benefit. When I left my parents' home and moved out on my own, I developed anemia (without changing my diet). They had cast iron for all their cookware but the tea kettle. When I switched back to cast iron on my doctor's advice, my anemia's gone - again, without any diet change. It really does work.

Let me qualify that by saying that perhaps the absorption of iron from cast iron cooking is dependent upon an individual's own chemistry? Like maybe it'll help some of us and not others?

Possibly so, Trish. It didn't help me much, but I become anemic VERY easily. It's one of the reasons I had to stop being a vegetarian. Iron supplements were not successful for me, either, and I know some people have good results from them and some don't.

Ah, maybe it's the severity. My anemia wasn't slight, but it wasn't severe either.

I LOVE cast iron; but what is this, the 4th post in the last couple of days on cast iron? Is it Cast Iron Month?

@Charlotte

A lot of people had questions about cast iron skillets, so they're just doing their job in answering them.

I don't have any cast iron pieces, but I am hopeful to own some soon.:)

I tried steel wool and then tried the salt and water paste with nylon brush and still can't get the rust off my dutch oven,sigh.

I have too MUCH iron and have to give blood regularly to reduce it- guess I'd better resist temptation