The Care and Feeding of Cast Iron

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By Brook and Barbara Elliot

The hallmark of any country kitchen is an old black skillet sitting atop the stove.

And there's good reason for that: Whether you're baking biscuits in a Dutch oven, flipping pancakes on a griddle over a woodstove or panfrying chops on a modern electric range, cast iron makes the best cookware.

Cast-iron cookware has been used steadily in America since the 1600s, though over the last half century or so it has been known primarily as an outdoor cookware, used mainly by campers, hunters and living historians. But with more and more people discovering its virtues, there has been a resurgence in the use of cast-iron cookware in the home.

When folks think of cast ironware, most tend to think of skillets and fry pans, but the fact is there is an iron pot or kettle designed for just about any cooking chore. You can bake in Dutch ovens, make stew in a kettle or even do up a stirfry in a cast-iron wok. Then there are griddles for making flapjacks, specialized pieces for making corn sticks and muffins, baking pans and large pieces designed specifically for putting up preserves. Cast iron also provides more even heat distribution than today's lightweight aluminum pans. It cooks evenly, cleans up easily and holds heat longer (thus requiring less fuel). Moreover, cast iron also has medicinal qualities. In fact, many medical authorities believe that there are health benefits to cooking in iron since food may absorb and pass onto us traces of the essential mineral.

But in order to live up to its potential, cast-iron cookware must be properly cured and that cure must be maintained. If done correctly, the iron will not rust, nor will food stick to it and burn.

Curing cast iron means filling the pores and voids in the metal with grease of some sort, which subsequently gets cooked in. This provides a smooth, nonstick surface on both the inside and outside of the piece. While the curing process is similar whether you start with new, or used cast iron, there are a few important differences. Let's look at new cookware first.

Choosing and Curing Ironware

There are only a handful of sources for new cast ironware. Two American companies -Wagner and Lodge - still produce it and the rest comes from Asia. Generally you're better off with the finer grained American-made goods. The imports, though cheaper, have a course grain that is hard to cure and that requires more attention once it's cured.

Also, if you have a choice, avoid designs with self-basting lids. These are either covered with metal nipples or have a series of holes on the inside. They are more difficult to care for, because steam condenses in the depressions and on the nipples and tends to draw out the cure. They're also much harder to dry, resulting in rust on the inside of the lid and a metallic taste in the food that comes from cooking in uncured iron.