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Cooks .. Do you just love using a cast iron frying pan ?
for eggs , bacon and steaks ?
would you be lost without a great cast iron pan ?
happy day and thanks ! D :)
17 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Oh, yes I do! It not only is the VERY BEST way to cook food EVER invented by man OR woman (I really think it was CREATED by GOD & put in the GARDEN of EDEN), but it brings back so many wonderful, warm loving memories for me! Memories of those kitchens of so long ago where my family's were all gathered, times were slower, the laughter of so many loved-ones filled the houses, no TVs, radios, video games, CD's or any other electrical gadgets blasted out their voices, & no anger filled the air!
Where time seemed to go so much slower, but now too late, I realize not nearly slow enough: if I could have only somehow canned it all in a bottle, or stopped it all together! A time where family was all we thought or cared about really. When it was nothing to have even 60-75 people in one house on a Sunday for a big family dinner at Mamaw's house. Or a weekend at our house with the beds overflowing and the floors so full of "pallets" of sleeping kids, but no one ever thought there were TOO MANY!
IMPT. NOTE: For those of you who might not know what I mean by this kind of "pallet", it's when you grab some blankets, a pillow, find a bare spot on the floor that doesn't already have a warm body on it, & make it your "bed" for the night!
Then you wake up ever so slowly with that wafting scent of bacon, sausage, eggs, fried potatoes, pancakes/johnnycakes, fried green tomatoes, & so many more "delicacies" soon awaiting us all being fried & baked in those antique cast iron skillets, pots, pans & on the griddles! We knew we could get up & rush around all excited & hungry actin', & the laughter would all begin all over again! But! There was 1- BIG DIFFERENCE THEN! The kids didn't just rush to the BIG Table & PLOMP DOWN! Nope! We'd never even think of doing that!
When the food was carried to the table we would just know that was a time when all became quite, heads bowed, & the oldest male member of our family - it was always our Papaws while they were living - & then our Daddy's, Uncles, etc., or sometimes our Mamaws, & no one moved until the Prayer & Amens were said all around. The smallest babies somehow knew not even to make a sound. No matter what though, for some reason, but it was never ruled such, the heads-of-the-household's sat at the head's of the tables, & the wives's sat at the foot/ends. It had nothing to do with who was the "boss" cause let me tell you that was always equal, or just between us, the ladies kinda always had the bigger edge & still do... ;~).
After the prayers, the kids still stood at very polite reverence, no whispering, no shoving, the women had cooked a great meal, & the men had worked hard growing, or earning the money to buy part of it, & they deserved every ounce of our respect for that & we meant to give it, DIDN'T need to be told too do it either! And, most of all, as children we hadn't EARNED the RIGHT to eat at the BIG Table yet!
Where I grew up the places you ate at were designated by your age in life. The "older" kids got the bigger kitchen table, not the nice big dining room table which was only for the "older" people, then the table sizes went down from there. There was NEVER any squabbling about it - well, we weren't angels, so there was never any that the ADULTS could ever hear...lol! At certain stages in our lives we always "thought" we were older than we were). But, let me tell you, every chance when there happened to be an "opening" at ANY of the bigger tables & we had our lucky chance to see what it was like sitting there, there was no king or queen that ever sat a throne that felt more pleasure or haughtiness...lol! Boy, did it sure get the goats of the other kids...;~), & don't think we didn't use it for all it was worth.
I'm so lucky to have inherited so many of those very same BEAUTIFUL iron skillets, pots, pans, & so many other related items in my cabinets today that were used in cooking those memorable meals, & I'm sorry to say that I don't use them nearly enough! I must also admit that to do so breaks my heart so badly at times it takes quite a while for it to close until the next time. With todays hectic world it seems so difficult to get everyone to slow down enough to recapture the slightest bit of a slip of one of those glorious days gone by.
It seems no one has the "time", or if there's not enough beds the kids today would be horrified to think of having to sleep on the floor, though not mine! They always loved it, & making tents or tepees over the furniture, but I know it's how you raise them. Lordy, to most of them now, to have more than 10 in the house for a couple of days would send them to the loony bin! How sad, sad for the kids of today because they're missing so much that builds true character, & a sense of deep love that you can't find anywhere else in life.
My iron cookware holds all those beautiful memories & more, & every time I use them they never let me down !
Source(s): (Cont'd) I love to get my grand ole Iron Cookware out every chance I can & cook up a storm in them! Especially when I can gather my OWN branch of the family around me! I always take every chance I can to instill EVERY bit of family history and tradition in EACH one of them I can! As EACH ONE of YOU MUST DO! No matter how small you think it might be, & be sure & start a "Family Memory Book" for every one of them! Now, we've just discussed our cast iron skillets here, but let's not forget ALL of the other pots & pans, etc., that there are in cast iron, too. I am BLESSED with having inherited my Mamaw's ENTIRE wonderfully, beautiful ones. Ooops! Before I forget it, I must throw this in for any novice out there, 'cause this is SOOO IMPT. with Cast Iron if you want yours to stay as beautiful & cook as great, BUT MOST of ALL, to COOK FOOD WITH THAT UNIQUE, UNFORGETTABLY DELICIOUS TASTE that ONLY cast iron can give you.... SEASON, SEASON, SEASON!! This is something I do on a regular basis! It's not only something you HAVE TO DO, but it's something I SIMPLY LOVE TO DO! It's the MOST RELAXING THING IN THE WORLD! My large Antique Array of Cast Iron Pots & Pans look like the day my Mamaw's GREAT-GREAT MAMAWS! My Mamaw, Bless her heart, passed away in 1978 & was born in 1897, so you can get an idea of just how old my fantastic cookware is! I can't even begin to imagine the meals that's been cooked in them... And, I know that the GREAT MAJORITY WERE COOKED LONG BEFORE THEY HAD EVEN INVENTED THE COOK STOVES! I've got so many pieces, to name a few: An assortment of sizes, & # of Skillets from Very Lrg. to Very Small, a Skillet I use for REALLY DEEP Frying, Pots from Vry. Lrg. Dutch Ovens to Vry. Small Pots. & Pans... ALL before with Lids! I've got Griddles, Cornbread Molds shaped like Little Ears of Corn; Flattop "grills"; I've even got 2 Gingerbread "Cake" or Large Christmas Cookie Molds. One has the front scene, & the other the back scene, very beautiful & ornate, and so detailed...Wonderful! I've got cake pans; loaf pans; cookie sheets; muffin type pans; Other Various Strange Looking Items, some that were used for, I suppose wild game of some sort. I've also got the most wonderful assortment of cast iron utensils; & HUGE CAULDRONS! Also everything else cast iron you can think of that they used when they only had open fires, & brick ovens to cook their food in. I've got so many more things that has been added to what my Great-Great-Great Mamaw bought over 200 years ago! ALL an Antique Dealers dream! Many maybe never seen before! give you a SAMPLING of what VARIETY of FOODS you can use them for: I make stews (I wouldn't make my beef stew in any other pot... I use my large dutch oven w/lid); large batches of baked or other beans (You've NEVER tasted beans until you've tasted them cooked in cast iron!); Cobblers; I NEVER back my Pineapple Upside Down Cakes in anything but my Cast Iron! You can either use you one of your skillets or I've got old cast iron cake pans also from my Mamaw; Cornbread - either in my Cornbread Molds which are molded like Ears of Corn for Individual Servings or for 1-Lrg. I use a Skillet & BAKE IT either way - I always spread my butter/margarine on it as soon as I take it from ONLY a VERY SHORT EXAMPLE of SOME ITEMS I COOK/BAKE I, in mine to just the oven. There's NOTHING better to DEEP FRY ANYTHING IN! Be it Buffalo Wings, Chicken, I mean anything you can think of! You'll never go back to a "Fry Daddy" again! Fried Green Tomatoes, Potatoes, Eggs, YUMMY!! ANYTHING YOU WANT TO FRY!! Just DO IT IN CAST IRON!! You'll THROW ALL THAT FANCY, DANCY COOKWARE OUT THE DOOR! Try cooking your pancakes, sausage, bacon on a cast iron griddle! & GUESS WHAT!! GOOD OLE CAST IRON HAS ALWAYS BEEN NON-STICK SINCE IT'S INVENTION 100S OF YRS.AGO! Now, that's if you've bought the "good" kind & you've done right by it by SEASONING IT LIKE YOU SHOULD! For those of you who HATE TO SCRUB & SCOUR THAT GREASY STUCK-ON COOKWARE THEN CAST IRON IS DEFINITELY YOUR DREAM COME TRUE! It's the easiest thing to clean you've ever come across! You literally JUST swish it in your soapy water running your rag around it, & what I do is this, & ONLY THIS! I put it on the LOWEST HEAT on my stove top & allow it to "vapor" dry... That's it! I always SEASON THEM VERY REGULARLY, which means giving them a VERY LIGHT COATING of VERY GOOD LARD/OIL. I like my Mamaw, her Mama, & my Mama use Crisco. I sometimes have to use a little scrubbing but if they're seasoned properly this should be really rare if ever. But, I must tell you this again depends on the age of your cast iron & the manufacturer! MAKE SURE YOU KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT THIS AS POSSIBLE SO YOU CAN GIVE YOUR "BABIES" the very best possible care, so in turn, they can give you their very best possible food!! (YES, THEY WORK AS GREAT IN THE OVEN AS ON THE STOVE TOP! THEY WORK ALSO ON AN OPEN FIRE SUCH AS YOUR FIREPLACE OR CAMPFIRE, TOO!!), Well, I've taken your simple question & written a "booklet" about it...lol! I could go on writing soo much more because it's a subject so dear to me, & as you read, it brings back a flood of wondrous, beautiful memories! If ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTION IN REF: to Cast Iron Cookery, ANY AT ALL! Please feel free to email me. No matter how small you feel they might be. I literally cut my teeth on cast iron pots & pans & I think I could most probably help you with any aspect whether it's questions with ones you already have, or if your considering buy them. REMEMBER! THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAST IRON COOKERY IS LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, & the quality isn't ALWAYS in the $ you PAY! So contact me, LET'S "Talk"! If you see a rusty one at a yard sale or flea market, it might be a lot better than one you would pay good money for at some high-priced store... And if I might suggest, always stay away from ones with wooden handles. Now, I don't mean to offend y'all out there that have them & love them! Please, I'm sorry & don't take it that way! Just my opinion from the peanut factory... ;~). WOULD LOVE 2 HEAR FROM CAST IRON LOVERS! (Sorry again, that this is so long, but I could go on & on...) Miss Diana & Her Vast Experience Living, Loving, Using, & Caring for Beautiful Antique & Newer Cast Iron Cookware. Straight from the Brrrr Cold Deep Southland - Anonymous5 years ago
Since it's new, make sure it's seasoned well. Coat the inside with a thin layer of cooking oil and put it in the oven at 400 F for an hour. The oil carbonizes and creates a good non-stick surface. My Grandma said the best way was to coat it with lard and throw it in a bon-fire but these are modern times. Now you have the perfect pan for oven baked corn-bread. On the stove top,a cast iron is the only way(in my opinion) to cook a steak "Pittsburgh Style". With a little oil, get it smoking hot. Literally.Then sear your salt and peppered steak to perfection. I'm hungry now.
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- wolfkissLv 71 decade ago
I use non-stick, as a person that cooks on high, cast iron are not the pan I can use....lol
- Anonymous1 decade ago
I could not agree more.
Cast iron cooking is the way to go. Most other materials leek toxins into your food. We only use cast iron and stainless steel.
- 1 decade ago
Yes I love my cast iron pan. I also bake cornbread, or pull apart rolls in mine also. Its my fav pan in the kitchen.
- Sweet LLv 61 decade ago
I love my cast iron pans, i use them for eggs and stir fries.You can also use them in the oven too.
- papawLv 71 decade ago
Abso-defi-posi-lutely!! I have 4. I keep them seasoned and use them almost daily.They are absolutely the best frying utensil on the market; and the best ever for corn bread. Couldn't do withouth mine.
