One sunny summer day, my husband spied a box of old cast iron pans at a garage sale. He purchased them, brought them home with a grin, and presented them to me as if he’d found gold.
I was less than enthused.
They were rusty, heavy, and not non-stick (at least, not at that point). Nothing compared to the shiny teflon-coated pans I loved.
But I should have known. You see, it had all started several weeks before while we were eating dinner. Travis noticed black specks in the mashed potatoes. He asked me about them.
“Oh, that’s just my frying pan. The non-stick coating is wearing away.”
Oddly enough, Travis didn’t like the idea of ingesting little black chunks of teflon. He did some research, and what he found encouraged him to buy the box of cast iron, rust and all, and promptly bring them home.
I tucked the box in a corner and told Travis that “one day” I’d find out how to clean them up. Several weeks passed while I lovingly cooked with my teflon pans.
But, as much as I tried to avoid the cast iron’s rusty little cries to be loved and used, I couldn’t. Travis’s research wouldn’t stop niggling the back of my mind.
Tell Me About Teflon
Teflon is the brand name of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Tests commissioned by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) showed that in just five minutes, teflon-coated cookware can exceed temperatures at which they emit toxic particles and gases linked to pet bird deaths and human illnesses.
Studies show that teflon chemicals break apart to form:
- chemicals linked to cancer or tumors in laboratory studies
- chemical warfare agents and a chemical analog of WWII nerve gas phosgene
- chemicals that are considered highly toxic relative to most other industrial chemicals
Even more disturbing is a study from John Hopkins Medical Center. Researchers tested the umbilical cord blood of 300 newborns and found a teflon chemical in 298 of them.
Teflon chemical coatings is also found in…scientists have studied mortality in rats and birds exposed to the offgas mixtures, but potential long-term health impacts have not been studied. The government has not conducted a safety study of Teflon cookware. Accumulation of the offgas chemicals in food has not been studied. The potential effects to humans of inhalation exposures have not been studied, but several of the offgas components are considered highly toxic to humans relative to most other industrial chemicals. –Environmental Working Group
Teflon Is Found in More Than Pans
And if that isn’t enough, teflon is being discovered in more than pans. The non-stick coating can be found in:
- pizza boxes
- fast food containers
- microwave popcorn bags
- packaging for bakery items
- stain-resistant carpeting
- water repellent clothing
- firefighting foam
- computer chips
- phone cables
Teflon Is Out, Cast Iron Is In
That box of rusty pans did eventually find its way into my kitchen. Over the years I’ve come to love and appreciate their versatility and benefits.
Why?
- cast iron increases the amount of iron you consume, especially if you stir the food often or if you’re cooking with highly acidic foods like tomatoes. Most people have an iron deficiency (anemia) so this can be beneficial.
- cast iron is easy to clean. If you take care to dry them off after washing, they’ll probably outlive you.
- after a proper seasoning, cast iron is just as non-stick as Teflon.
- you can use cast iron with major cooking appliances. We use ours on the stove top (I’ve used mine on a glass stove top for over ten years), in the oven, the toaster oven, and over an open fire when cooking outdoors. I don’t recommend using them in a microwave. Actually, I don’t even recommend using food with a microwave… but that’s another post.
- cast iron is inexpensive. When you compare the cost of quality stainless steel to quality cast iron there really is no comparison, especially when you consider the next point:
- cast iron is basically indestructible. You can use metal utensils without worrying about scratching it. They last just about forever. If you drop one, all you have to worry about are your toes. Many cast iron lovers are using the pots and skillets passed down from their grandparents.
- cast iron cooks evenly, at high or low temperatures, and creates beautiful loaves of sourdough bread.
- and finally, if you’ve seen Tangled, you’ll know that cast iron is handy in case of intruders. 😉
Resources
- Teflon Kills Birds
- Canaries in the Kitchen: Dupont Has Known for 50 Years
- Study Finds Teflon Chemical In Newborn’s Umbilical Cord
- Is Teflon Safe?
- 10 Reasons to Try Cast Iron Cookware
- Know Your Food with Wardee, episode #042 — how to shop for cast iron
- Amazing Cast Iron Seasoning
- Cast iron pans
Do you love cast iron, too? What’s your top reason?
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My mother showed me how to clean cast iron skillet in a real hot fire outside. I inherited my skillet and they had baked on grease. After putting them in the fire, it burnt all that off and all I had to do was season them and they were good as new.
I don’t use Teflon, but I have been aware for some time about the benefits of cooking with cast iron. I really need to make the switch.
When I was going through chemo my iron was really, really low, my boyfriend would make anything tomato based with red meat in the cast iron. I like to think it was his efforts that helped bring it up.
I just ordered a chainmail scrubber for my cast iron skillets. Can’t wait to use it 🙂
My SIL has a chain mail scrubber and loves it – I’ve never used one, but it’s been on my radar. 🙂
Have chainmail. Use chainmail, and like it a lot, but a stainless steel scrub pad works faster. The downside is that it begins to come apart. Not a horrible trade-off considering the very low cost.
I love my cast iron. I inherited my first pan when I moved out on my own from Granny. Through the years I’ve worked on collecting a good amount and now have a nice collection that I use every day. After spending countless dollars on cookware throughout the years that were supposed to be the best and had a “lifetime guarantee” that just didn’t hold up, I came to the realization one day that I simply needed to build up my cast iron collection. I knew that it would cook like I wanted it to and outlive me. Cast iron is the best!
I seasoned my pans with flaxseed oil as recommended by Wardeh. Not too many uses later though, the center of the pan (a few inches across) is really sticking badly and isn’t shiny like the sides. Do I need to scrub it with steel wool and season it all over again?
I’ve never seasoned with flaxseed, just coconut oil. If it were me I’d try cooking it off at 500 degrees and scrubbing it with steel wool and yes, then try to season it over again.
Let me know if it works! 🙂
I wouldn’t use flaxseed oil to condition since it can form toxins if heated. Coconut oil or lard of some time would be better.
Wardeh is right on with the flaxseed oil for seasoning. Check out this link on why flaxseed oil is the perfect oil to use for seasoning from a chemistry standpoint. It’s not releasing toxins like you might think it would. 🙂 HTH! http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
i find that used bacon grease works better and is free. It caramelizes very well is really easy to reapply after each use on a warm pan to seal out moisture. My mother kept a pastry brush in the jar just for this task. I use a small piece of news paper that I have kept in the grease can for the same purpose. The initial seasoning is just the beginning of the fun. I get to see the beautiful patina develop after every use. Contrary to popular belief, you can use soap occasionally to clean the pans, though, I don’t know why you would, they are so easy to just wipe out.
I can no longer lift the cast iron pans (which I Love), they are just to heavy for me, someone told me that there is a new lighter version of cast iron, is this true and where can I purchase it?
Growing up Mom used a lot of cast iron for cooking and I remember seeing Dad cook the pans in a fire.
Thanks, Patricia
I think you’re describing what’s marketed as “carbon steel”. Definitely lighter than cast iron, but not what I’d call light weight! I have a de Buyer fry pan in carbon steel and it’s pretty similar to the cast iron I’ve use in the past in most respects (doesn’t heat up quite as fast or retain the heat quite as long, but definitely plenty for my purposes). Very enjoyable to use.
However, it’s been largely superseded in my kitchen by a $30 wok that’s made of the same stuff but much thinner (2mm) and even lighter. I use the wok for everything from frying up veggies for omelettes to cooking scrambled eggs to deep frying to stir fries. It’s great for dishes requiring high heat but it doesn’t retain that heat very well because it’s so thin.
I’ve gone through a couple years of health issues, and have just been able to start using my cast iron again because of the weight issues. I have a couple of pieces that are significantly lighter than my others, and I haven’t found significant performance issues with them (at least yet). I would look around at the older stuff, go for smaller diameter pans when you can, and keep an eye out for some lighter-weight. You may still not be able to handle the dutch ovens (dang, I can barely handle the dutch oven even now, haha!), but I’m sure you can find a few pieces that will work for you even now. My mom is 86 and quite weak, but still has 1 small skillet and a pancake griddle that she can handle. She still makes her eggs every morning in the skillet, and sometimes bacon or a grilled cheese sandwich on the griddle. 🙂 I hope you find the perfect pieces!
I use cast iron all the time. Seasoned with bacon grease. Not sure I would agree that it is as non-stick as teflon but, it does not stick nearly as much as uncoated aluminum or stainless steel. I cook everything in mine; eggs, meat, casseroles, bread, desserts even oatmeal. Scrambled eggs seem to stick the worst and dont always get cleaned up right away. A bit of water in the pan put it back on the fire for a couple min and let it steam. Cleans right up. Smear in a bit of bacon grease while it is still warm and you are good to go.
In answer to Patricia. I have seen some aluminum dutch ovens and skillets made by Lodge. They also make an enameled cast iron dutch oven that is lighter than their normal cast iron. I probably would not hold the heat that regular cast iron does but once you got used to it I am sure it would be steps ahead of anything teflon coated. I have seen it at sporting goods stores in the camping section but I would guess you can get it from Amazon as well.
Recently purchased a Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch Oven on sale. I love it!! Cleans up wonderful! Thanks for all the input, will be on the look-out for more deals!!
Try cleaning with salt sometime if you can’t get a cast iron pan clean. Just sprinkle some salt in the pan, add a little water on a paper towel (for example), and scrub. The salt provides a little abrasive, it has some sanitizing properties, and it doesn’t seem to harm like soap does. Then rub on a little bit of coconut oil and let it sit overnight. Keep it up and your pans will just keep getting better and better. Just sharing.
LOVE my cast iron. I use it all the time. One of my favorites to make in my cast iron dutch oven is popcorn. WAY better flavor than the microwave crap. I use either coconut oil or Red Palm Oil (from an environmentally sustainable source) and the taste of the popcorn is delicious. And much healthier.
I love my cast iron! My first skillet was given to me by my dear friends mother and it was her mother’s before that. I was head over heels in love from then on! I recently was able to afford a dutch oven from Lodge and just in time for the Fall and Winter months. It’s already been used about 20 times and I just got it last week or so 🙂 I hope to afford more cast iron in the near future.
I’ve been hearing more and more about Cast Iron lately and am starting to think about making the switch. Will be looking into ways to season them properly soon enough.
I’m using the cast iron skillet that my grandmother cooked my dad’s dinner in when he was a child. It still works as well now as it did then…maybe better! There are some things that I just can’t get to turn out in a different pan that work so well in cast iron. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I also have a cast iron enamel dutch oven that I’m seriously in love with too. If I had to scale back to only two pots/pans, these would be the two I’d pick. My stock pot would come in third. Hard to live without that. 🙂
I clean mine with some Kosher salt and a damp sponge. Then I rinse with hot water and season with bacon grease. It’s perfect every time.
At our neighborhood cleanup 2 years ago I got a cast iron skillet someone was throwing out. For the past two years I have cured and re-cured numerous times. I have used various types of oils (olive, vegetable, sunflower) and the last time bacon grease. Nothing seems to work. Method is to smear the oil/grease around insides then place upside down in 325 degree oven for one hour. I do not use soap on the pan, and after using and washing in hot water, will smear a thin layer of oil/grease on it after placing on burner for few minutes to insure dry. At one point I thought the pan was finally “working” only to have something stick to the point of having to start over again. Please advise. I would love to have a pan that is reliable and usable.
Initial seasoning is not a one and done thing. You did everything right the first time just maybe not enough times. For the first while every time you use your oven grease your cast pan and leave them in the oven with what ever you are cooking, if there is room. I store my favorite skillets and dutch oven in my oven and only take them out if they there is not enough room for whatever I want to cook in the oven. Even then I leave them in while the oven is preheating. Then take them out to use the oven. I wipe a little bacon grease in them and put them back in while the oven is cooling down.
Hope that helps.
How do you make pancakes in cast iron? They stick horribly! The only other thing I can’t make is eggs. What a mess.
Hi Bonnie,
Whenever I make eggs or pancakes I melt a little coconut oil or butter on the pan first. This gives them good flavor as well as cooking them so their just a bit crispy on the edges – yummy!
I also do this to keep my pans continually seasoned. The seasoning does wear off with use, so you can re-season it occasionally, or cook foods that have a bit of oil in them or on the pan before you cook them to keep the pan seasoned.
It’s similar to stoneware in a way. They always recommend cooking more oily foods the first several times you use your stone to get it seasoned well. Stoneware seasoning doesn’t wear off, but cast iron’s will to some degree.
You shouldn’t have to add butter or coconut oil every single time, but pancakes and eggs will be messy unless your pan is really good and seasoned.
I have 4 different sizes which will suit just about anything I need to cook. Found them all at Goodwill. I use grapeseed oil to cook and season. It has a very high heat tolerance. I found lids from other pots like a crock pot fit nicely. I clean them with salt after a soak in water if needed. ???? them!
I have ALWAYS used cast iron. My grandfather (born in 1909) was a chef and used them all his life. Before he died he gave me a great gift in passing down a cast iron pan he had. It was given to him by his mother; received as a gift on her wedding day. ??