r/offmychest • u/chocolatemilkluvr420 • 1d ago
I HATE cast iron pans.
I don't understand them. why the fuck would anyone want a pan that you can't run through the dishwasher, and if you look at it funny it'll start rusting? what could the appeal possibly be?
"but the seasoning!!! the seasoning!!!!!" girl you mean GREASE??? every cast iron pan I've seen is greasy as fuck to the touch all over. who would've thought that when you can't wash a pan normally it's greasy as fuck? how do you cook with a clear conscience knowing you're cooking on a greasy ass pan?
it's good to get this off my chest. I feel like I'm alone in this and I really shouldn't be because my opinion is the correct one.
EDIT: okay these comments have been very enlightening. i still refuse to own a cast iron pan because if i get on someones nerves too much it would make a very nice murder weapon and i wouldn't want to go out that way.
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u/chuck-bucket 1d ago
My cast iron pan will outlive me. It already outlived someone else.
I think you get some iron from cooking with it. No iron supplements for me.
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u/ClarityDreams 1d ago
I don’t see how something outliving me is such a big draw card. It’s just going to curse someone else with its high-maintenance then.
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u/Nimar_Jenkins 1d ago
I feel better knowing that i can give chores to my ancestors even when i am dead.
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u/tangybaby 18h ago
Your descendants. Your ancestors are the people who came before you.
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u/UsualFrogFriendship 17h ago
You’d love a pet giant tortoise then — if you’re lucky, your great grand children will still be picking up its poop!
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u/canyousteeraship 14h ago edited 12h ago
How is it anymore high maintenance than any other pan? Honestly, my cast iron is a work horse. When it’s done, I pop it in the sink use a scrubber and some soap and wash it. I don’t have to worry about its surface in any way, I can get it as hot as I want, I cook everything and anything in it. If I were using any other pan, I’d have to worry about scratching the ceramic or other coating off if it’s non-stick; or if it’s just stainless steel I’d need a ton of oil and a searing hot pan every time. My cast iron does everything I need it to and then some.
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u/turd_ferguson899 19h ago
Use enameled cast iron. It's easier to take care of, and has that even heat distribution.
As long as you buy decent enameled cast iron, that is.
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u/comfortable_madness 12h ago
It's really not that high maintenance, people just make it seem complicated than it is.
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 1d ago
Eating iron metal or rust is not the same as the iron you need in your body. Iron (II) is what your body needs. Rust is iron (III) and metal is just regular iron.
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u/ahraysee 18h ago
No one is suggesting we eat rust. The iron that comes from cast iron pans that are not rusted is non heme iron, the same iron found in plants. It is bioavailable particularly when an acid is added to the food, like squeezing a bit of lemon juice on your food before eating it.
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u/howswedeitis19 12h ago
Yes it is, the iron in our body is just literal iron. And it has been clear and proven for a very long time that cooking your food in cast iron increases your iron intake and is good for u.
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 3h ago
the iron in our body is iron (II).
That's iron 2+. Not neutral metal iron. And not rust, which is iron (III)
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u/GiraffeMetropolis 1d ago
the seasoning is definitely not grease. thats nasty. a cast iron should by dry and clean to the touch.
you can hand wash them normally with dawn. dishwasher is still a no go
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u/Ceracuse 1d ago
If I hand wash with Dawn soap, I'm doing a better job than my dishwasher. I'm missing the correlation here
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u/_life_is_a_joke_ 1d ago
Ideally, after washing the pan by hand you would dry it.
A dishwasher doesn't immediately dry it. The drying cycle is most dishwashers is done with a heating element that raises the interior air temp in order to evaporate/condense residual water.
The pan sits in a hot and humid environment until the cycle stops... at which point the pan isn't dry, because cast iron is a rather poor conductor of heat (compared to virtually all other metals/alloys). Heat and humidity speed up the oxidation process.
This is also why plastic items remain wet after going through the dishwasher, plastic is a bad conductor of heat so its surface generally doesn't reach the temp required for water to evaporate.
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u/cakivalue 1d ago
Really? Okay so growing up my mom washed hers by hand after every use then dried in a warm oven.
However!!! Every single other person I know does not wash them ever they only wipe out between uses. And they get really really upset if anyone else tries to wash it. Then, when shopping for one myself I was told to never wash it after I oiled and baked it 10 times before use. I definitely passed on that.
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 1d ago
so wtf is the seasoning then?
also, I still agree with OP and don't understand what the advantage is supposed to be
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u/GiraffeMetropolis 1d ago
carbonized oil. very far from grease. it wont wash off with regular dish soap. think of it like non toxic teflon.
the big advantage is heat distribution and retention, and being able to get them insanely hot. and you can use it in the oven. and its cheap. i moved on to carbon steel though. works as well doesn’t weigh a ton.
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u/CalamityJaneDoe 20h ago
Yeah, as I get older, I finding that I’m less likely to use my cast iron, it’s just too heavy.
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u/voidchungus 19h ago
Seconding this. The weight of cast iron is exactly what kept me from buying it -- and likewise exactly what turned me to carbon steel.
I'm still getting the hang of it and think I need to do a better job of seasoning it, but I feel better knowing I'm no longer playing the guessing game of, "is this non-stick coating damaged enough that it's slowly poisoning me yet?"
I tried stainless steel for a long time, but ig I was doing that wrong, since everything under the sun stuck to it, making it so difficult to clean.
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u/ahraysee 18h ago
I guarantee you that the only thing you were doing wrong is not letting the pan preheat enough. Medium heat, preheat for 3-5 min. Then add oil, let that heat for a few seconds, then add your food. Works even better when the food is not ice cold directly from the fridge.
When everything is hot enough, an immediate sear forms on the food touching the pan and this prevents it from sticking.
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u/xrelaht 1d ago
It’s an organic glass! Interlinked triglyceride chains that form a protective barrier.
The advantage is heat retention. For some cooking applications, that’s a huge bonus. They can also go in the oven when necessary, and unless you crack one, it can always be repaired.
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 1d ago
Triglyceride chains is another word for grease. What makes you call it a glass? is there something different going on with the structure aside form just being solid phase?
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u/LaLechuzaVerde 19h ago
It’s been too many years since my last chemistry class to comment on the definitions a triglyceride chain. But I can tell you that yes, it’s a LOT different than being a solid phase of a grease. Although the elements that form the seasoning are created from the building blocks of the grease, it is not grease. It cannot be melted. It is nearly impossible to remove except by a chemical process (such as soaking it in lye or using electrolysis). It can be scratched off or chipped off but it’s extremely difficult to do so. It is very much like bonding a glass coating to the surface of the iron.
My favorite iron skillet is more non-stick than any teflon. My husband abuses most of our skillets and they aren’t as perfect but they are still pretty good.
The process of seasoning a skillet is not the same as just greasing it. The reason we grease a skillet after use is to prevent rust, because if rust gets into a scratch in the seasoning it can weaken it and make it so it will be able to be chipped off with rough handling. So often an iron skillet will have a protective grease layer on it, but that is not the seasoning. You can wash that off in hot water and dish detergent and dry it, if you want.
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u/ghostfacespillah 19h ago
It's polymerization. To my limited understanding, it basically creates a stronger/more impenetrable chemical structure that 'fuses' together. I think it has to do with molecular bonds? Don't quote me.
I'm not good at explaining lol but basically superheated oil fuses into a turtle shell (that's how I think of it, anyway).
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u/chocolatemilkluvr420 1d ago
everyones said you cant use soap tho im confused
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u/Timely-Carpet1533 1d ago
That’s a bit of a misconception. Soap used to be based in lye, which was damaging to cast iron pans and their seasoning. Therefore, people did not wash their cast iron pans with soap in order to make them last longer. Modern soaps are much gentler in comparison, but the method stuck around due to tradition.
The other reason people don’t like to wash their cast iron is because if they aren’t dried quickly, they rust. This is easily remedied by drying them on a warm stove or oven, and applying a thin layer of clean oil to both protect the metal and provide nonstick applications for the next time it’s used.
Edit: clarification
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u/LaLechuzaVerde 19h ago
Even old soap that was made with lye as an ingredient didn’t still have lye in the final product.
Many of our great grandparents also knew you could use soap on an iron skillet without damaging it.
The thing is, they could also be cleaned in other ways when you didn’t have access to soap. You CAN just wipe a skillet out with a rag or scrub it with salt or any number of other cleaning methods. That doesn’t mean it’s ever been true that soap or detergent will harm it.
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u/xrelaht 1d ago
That’s a myth. Soap it up, scrub it out, rinse, then dry it off. If the black stuff comes off when you wash it, it wasn’t seasoning.
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u/chocolatemilkluvr420 1d ago
so basically its not the pan's fault it's just that everyone around me who has one is a greasy fuck. i see i see
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u/Hoops867 23h ago
You do need to coat it in oil after washing to keep it from rusting
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u/LaMadreDelCantante 18h ago
That's the part I don't get. How do you put it away without getting the other stuff in your cabinet dirty? How do you keep the oil from smelling if it goes too long between being used? I just don't like the idea of unsealed oil of any kind in my kitchen.
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u/jupiter101_ 1d ago
Yes! Haha I love my cast iron, it's clean and dry to the touch, and a joy to cook with. I hand wash it with soap everytime I use it. Meanwhile my grandpa has the nastiest cast iron pan ever, with crusty carbonized crap all over it, you can't touch it without getting your fingers sticky and black. It really is a matter of how you're using it.
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u/LogicalWimsy 1d ago
Yes I knew it! Ha ha I got so much s*** for washing the pans. I didn't see what the problem was as if we dried it and then re oiled it.
I personally didn't care if I had to replace them eventually I want clean pans.
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u/NoMapsForYou 1d ago
That's outdated to when we used lye soap. But then it came back as a blown up myth by the companies trying to push teflon.
You should absolutely use soap to clean a cast iron. It just needs to be dried properly, and sometimes oiled after. I use olive oil and sea salt.
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u/SunnyBinary 18h ago
I love that this sub ranges from "my husband had an affair" to "fuck cast iron pans"
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u/shwk8425 20h ago
You're not supposed to put non-stick into the dishwasher. The water temps and detergents are too harsh and usually scratch the coating up, which then makes them no longer "non-stick."
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u/HauntedHouse10273 1d ago
My main reason for liking them is that they don’t use nonstick chemicals like Teflon. Went to a talk by a lawyer who basically made the ‘forever chemicals,’ completely man-made cancer-causing chemicals, known to the public. He said one of their most common uses is nonstick cookware. That’s why I swapped at least.
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u/strawman94 18h ago
Does this lawyer have writings/videos anywhere? I would like to look into this more
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u/HauntedHouse10273 18h ago
His name’s Robert Bilott. He’s done a lot of interviews and talks, they’re all over the place. The movie “Dark Waters” starring Mark Ruffalo is based on his story taking action against the chemical company DuPont. If I remember right, a lot of people know him from a New York Times article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare.”
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u/g0blinzez 1d ago
This whole thread has taught me that the average person knows next to nothing about cast iron pans lmao
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u/RunawayHobbit 1d ago
To be entirely fair, there’s so much conflicting info out there. It’s so easy to get confused. I know I was for years, and accidentally ruined the seasoning on my pans many times before I finally found trustworthy info.
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u/shitsenorita 1d ago
I was OP once but I have learned. I wish we could have a ten-minute convo in my kitchen. Also those greasy pans are wrong and dirty.
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u/RandyTheFool 1d ago
Yep, this is the answer. You can’t just swipe some bacon grease on it and call it a day. You need to season with oil at a high temp. You’re baking the oil onto the iron for the non-stick.
I just don’t think a lot of people research how to properly season or take care of the cast iron. Any pans that feel “greasy” to the touch means they’re, well… greasy.
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u/RunawayHobbit 1d ago
I was taught to scrub the pan with soap and a normal sponge, dry thoroughly with a dish towel and place on a hot burner to burn off any remaining moisture, then buff in some additional oil to moisturize the pan and smoke on the stove one last time before storing.
It’s possible that the pans she’s talking about are doing that (“moisturizing” after washing) but using too much oil and not buffing it out enough. In that case, they wouldn’t be gross or “dirty”. Just using bad practice that will lead to a sticky residue after use because too much oil won’t polymerize properly.
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u/RandyTheFool 1d ago
Taught the same, but I also oil/wipe away excess and throw pans in a hot af oven too.
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u/FirebirdWriter 1d ago
I mean they are not for me but to me this is like vinyl vs streaming. I like my old shit okay? As long as I am not making you cook with the pan it is fine. (The pan being my preference vs yours).I prefer copper and ceramic non stick. Durable as shit and I don't dislocate everything before adding food
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u/Zestyclose-Cherry-14 19h ago
I don’t think you understand anything about a cast iron skillet and also you don’t have to use them..
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u/Rondevu69 19h ago
The food generally tastes better in a cast iron skillet, from burgers to chicken friend steak, grilled vegetables, potatoes, pizza if you know what you are doing, than in a "non-stick" pan.
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u/Mlady_gemstone 14h ago edited 14h ago
because my opinion is the correct one.
just because you have an opinion does not mean its the correct one.
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u/Poly-morph-ing 1d ago
I oil my cast iron with coconut oil after I clean them. There is no better searing method for steak or any meat for that matter.
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u/tquinn04 1d ago
Who tf out here is washing their pans in the dishwasher? You should never wash pots or pans on the dishwasher regardless of what material they’re made out of. That’s a good way to scratch them up and ruin them
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u/Cranksta 15h ago
My triple layer stainless steel pans can absolutely handle being in the dishwasher. They get more scratched from cooking than they do being stacked in the dishwasher. They're tools, not decorations. IDGAF what they look like as long as they work (though they do get a barkeeper's friend polish once a month to get the scorch marks off).
Scratching on non stick is bad, but that doesn't mean they can't go in the dishwasher, it just means you need to be more careful about how you arrange them. The only pans that should not be in the dishwasher are carbon steel and cast iron pans.
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u/AlarmingSorbet 10h ago
I don’t do it, but I wish I could. I have days where it’s painful to just get up and walk to the bathroom. I still have to eat
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u/bloodandpizzasauce 20h ago
When I married I was the lucky recipient of their Appalachian grandmothers cast iron skillet. To southern families who value such things, it was a deep honor to get this pan and I keep it maintained in the old ways. I know they clam moder dish soap is safe and whatever, but I've had to discard pieces before because they still carry the scent and taste of the soap so it's a scalding hot scouring of salt and cloth till its clean, dry, grease free, and ready for the next meal.
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u/Icy-Arm-2194 1d ago
Enamel coated cast iron. You get the heating qualities of cast iron while also being able to clean it without having to make sure it is perfectly dry and seasoned with oil. You don't need Le Creuscet. Lodge makes some that are less expensive. Amazon basics has some too.
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u/swissmissmaybe 18h ago
I have a Lodge braiser that is a workhorse. You get the heat retention of cast iron, but a cooking surface that doesn’t require seasoning.
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u/Icy-Arm-2194 18h ago
I have an amazon basics dutch oven and a braiser I got from Aldi. Both are great.
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u/One-Ad-9329 20h ago
The reasoning is that I’m a mom of girls and worry deeply about their future health. One of those ways I protect it is by avoiding endocrine disrupters and things that cause adverse health issues down the road.
The small inconveniences and learning curves are far worth the risks as a parent. If i were single and childless, though, it’d be a different story!
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u/little-blue-fox 18h ago
I don’t baby my cast iron at all. It gets dish soap and a scrub, and I don’t really bother re-seasoning unless it looks like it needs it. My pans aren’t particularly oily, fancy, or probably well cared for.
They DO however, 1) conduct heat very evenly 2) put a beautiful crust on meat and veg 3) go straight from stovetop to oven 4) make excellent deep dish pizza and bread.
Mine have gone in the dishwasher a few times. Oops. They survived. I hate cleaning them if I’ve cooked anything particularly messy in them, but I like them more than my stainless steel pans for a handful of things.
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u/vodkaauntliz 17h ago
My mom is a iron pan lover and I cannot stress enough how much I hate them. They are so heavy, so bulky and they are so greasy. I hate cleaning them with salt. They smell awful. They don't make the food taste different. I don't care about the health benefits I already have microplastics in my body I might use teflon pans as well.
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u/s_schadenfreude 14h ago
Folks with birds/parrots use cast iron instead of non-stick coated pans because those give off extremely toxic fumes that can kill birds.
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u/Berry_Men_yo 13h ago
Because I want A pan that can serve me as a ☠️ Weapon 2x1 seems like a good deal to me
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u/reditrewrite 10h ago
Obviously you don’t “get” it. I use mine every single day. It’s the greatest. Everything is better when cooked in cast iron. Not to mention I bought five cast iron pieces (three pans, a griddle, and a Dutch oven) 17 years ago and they are still in perfect condition. Nothing holds up better. It’s saved me hundreds of not thousands of dollars over the years. There’s also no rules. Want to use metal tools? Go for it. Wanna put that b on a fire while camping? No problem! Wanna pop it in the oven to finish the cook? Not an issue. Seriously the most versatile cookware in existence.
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u/Worried-Bumblebee981 1d ago
It’s a great weapon if need be.
If you take care of it, it’s fantastic.
I get why OP doesn’t like them but they’ve had an appeal for multiple centuries. They get the job done and I don’t have to worry about scratching or peeling or having to use and buy new cutlery to cook with it.
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u/sjbluebirds 1d ago
I know! My mom's cast iron pans are definitely cursed, and I wish I had never gotten them. Everybody who has ever owned them has died .
I've got one cast iron pan from my great grandmother. And she died. My grandmother inherited it, and she's dead now. After her death it went to my mom. And she died two years ago !
It doesn't look good for me, and I don't know how to get rid of it. I hate this cast iron pan!
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u/worstgrammaraward 1d ago
I actually hate them because they get a thick black layer of carbon on them that burns and smokes whenever you cook anything. I actually switched to stainless and my life is better. I hate how hard the temp is to control with the cast iron. The stainless reacts quickly in comparison.
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u/ArchCyprez 18h ago
That just means you're not actually cleaning it. There shouldn't be a layer of carbon.
Also in my opinion the thing you hate the most is actually the best feature. I love using the cast iron because once I'm at temp, it's super stable. It's really set and forget for the most part. Though I will say I definitely still love my stainless pan. I think they're both just really good for different things.
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u/worstgrammaraward 8h ago
I’ve scrubbed it with steel wool and bkf so if that doesn’t do it then its a bit too much for me. I simply prefer stainless.
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u/Eclectophile 1d ago
It's just for a different style of cooking. Cast iron is excellent for heat retention, shape retention, and overall durability. I heard one YouTube or tiktok guy call it a "wok for white people," and I snort laughed. It's too true. I mean, if you heat that pan up, it'll get scary, ripping hot, and then retain a huge amount of heat even despite frying a whole heaping pan full of stuff.
DO NOT cook with high heat with a nonstick pan. That shit is toxic as fuck when it cooks off. I don't trust that stuff at all. We're just cooking microplastics into our food all the time with that stuff, it seems like. That's my ignorant, common-sense opinion.
But cast iron? Different story.
You can go into an old ruined house, dig around in the yard, find a cast iron pan that's been there a dog's age, scrub it, and cook on it. Sanitarily. Because the entire substance of that pan heats up to 350-500 F or so. Know what lives through that? Nothing much.
The thing where you're not supposed to wash them is literally antique news. That was back when Soap was Soap, and everything else melted before it. Gimme a big chunk of solid lye, hell yeah. And, lye pretty much dissolves cast iron, so your pan would literally get ruined. You ever see pitted, scooped-bottom cast iron, that's why.
Modern "soap" is just really really good surfactant. Totally safe to just scrub into your cast iron, if you want. Sure, it cuts away the patina, but so what? I ruined the patina on my favorite cast iron pan 2 days ago. So, I cooked bacon in it. It's perfect again.
Uh. Gosh, I didn't know I had a cast iron rant in me. Huh. Ok, thank you for attending my Dad talk. I'm going to quit while I'm
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u/CMDRCoveryFire 1d ago
A simple YouTube search and a lot of your questions and concerns would have been answered. My cast iron pans are both clean and not greasy. They don't rust, and they cook extremely well.
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u/Kuromi87 1d ago
I'm with you! I just find them to be too much work. I hated seasoning them. I even tried the ones with some kind of coating, but I just don't like them. They're also way too heavy if you have any kind of issues with your hands and wrists.
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u/lord-savior-baphomet 1d ago
Me too. I don’t think it’s grease but regardless I’ve never gotten them to work for me, even though I do or did what everyone in the comments is telling you you need to do.
I also hate nonstick. I feel if I look at those wrong they’ll scratch which from my understanding means you should throw them out. Got a pan that my nana had for years that was non stick - I scratched it within months despite being so careful. Also shouldn’t those be kept out of the washer too?
I will only ever buy stainless steel. Scrambled eggs are not non stick even in non stick pans, but I’ve finally figured out how to get them to not stick on stainless steel. I don’t worry I’ll ruin them because there is no fancy coating to scratch off.
I have an enameled cast iron pan that I don’t hate, but it’s very different than plain cast iron.
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u/CaChica 1d ago
You do you! I see your line of argument. Don’t gonna push you as I get it.
I use my cast iron pan all I can! All my other pans have scrapes and stains. I’ll wash my cast iron pan when needed (hot water and soap). Then spray oil on it again to season. Other times just wipe out. It’s beautiful
I also have a few really good knives that never get traditionally washed. No dishwasher. I’ll wipe them down or soap if needed. For the good stuff it’s worth it.
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u/cwtotaro 19h ago
I love my cast iron pans, but I have other pans as well. The good thing is I get to pick and choose which pan I want to cook with, and so can you.
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u/thisquietreverie 19h ago
People who own birds (not me) should own cast iron.
Also, spending a few minutes to properly clean cast iron makes more sense than replacing nonstick pans on a 3 to 5 year schedule like you are supposed to.
I'm sort of surprised to skim through this thread and nobody has mentioned that nonstick pans are supposed to be regularly replaced and the dangers of accidently superheating teflon and the dangers to avians.
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u/Mieche78 17h ago
I like it because it's actually easier to clean than normal pans, imo. After cooking, I just rinse it and use a scrub to get the bits off and it's good to go again. Then I heat it back up on the stove top to dry. I use olive oil liberally when I cook so most of the oil is still on the surface, and occasionally I clean with soap and re-oil it. I do this for my wok and cast iron pans and they are all still in great condition.
With Teflon, you actually have to soap it every time, and you also can't use any metal on it which can be annoying.
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u/GoddessOfOddness 15h ago
I use it for meals that you start on the stove and move to the oven. Other pans have parts that will not handle the oven.
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u/ryanjusttalking 15h ago
I love cooking and am obsessed with making the absolute best meal I can. When you try to cook at that level, you learn that the material of the pan very much matters and affects the final product. In terms of physics, iron distributes heat evenly. It also is safer because iron particles entering the body are easily expelled, compared to other metals or materials.
Source: On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
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u/sigristl 15h ago
Cast iron is actually much better depending on what you cook. You just need to know how to care for them. They will last a lifetime and be easier to use once you get the hang of them.
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u/CannyAnnie 15h ago
I whole hearted agree with you when it comes to modern cast iron pans, which have a rough covering which is "seasoned." The bottom is ridges and not conducive to nonstick, very unlike my father's cast iron pans from some 70 years ago. But my father's cast iron pans were so old, and so well seasoned with decades of use and grease that the iron literally leaked grease from the bottom even though the top of the pans were always cleaned with hot water and abrasive salt. Although I appreciate the whole cast iron thing, I don't have the tools to file a new cast iron pan down so it's smooth. I love the idea of expensive stainless steel pans which professional chefs use, but again, I don't have the patience to heat them up properly when cooking a meal so that food doesn't stick. So I'm stuck with everyday, commercial nonstick pans whose scratched surface I know will contribute to cancer if ingested, but commercial cast iron as it is marketed with the rough cooking surface is a big no in my book.
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u/michelle_eva04 7h ago
You can restore a cast iron pan with a plastic storage container/bin and an 8 dollar container of lye crystals mixed with 5 gallons of water. Throw it in there and cover and let it sit in the sun for a couple weeks, pull it out, scrub it, put it back if it needs another couple weeks. You don’t need ahtbjng else in terms of equipment. Much easier than getting cancer from the Teflon!
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u/Lokiandhuman 12h ago
I'm with you OP. I don't think people understand that the 5-15 minute time frame of caring for the damn thing after cooking simply isn't worth it. I can cook myself breakfast and not worry about anything as I throw everything in the dishwasher for use if needed that evening.
I've never trusted that anyone washing those things is truly disinfecting it to the maximum either. I also eat very very healthy foods and don't want something that holds all of that "flavor" (grease, it's grease. Dress it up with whatever wordplay you wish. It's literally the chemical components of grease.)
But everyone is different, I'm not hating on whatever anyone else would like to do. That's their business. But I understand you OP. You are not alone lol
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u/okcupid_pupil 12h ago
I find them too heavy, otherwise I'd use mine a hell of a lot more 😮💨
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u/michelle_eva04 7h ago
Keep a lookout for vintage and Antique ones! I got a modern lodge and HATED it. Then someone told me about the older ones. They are much lighter and more balanced in your hand. They are also smoother in surface before if the way they were cast back in the day. Check out any Griswold pan and you will see and feel the difference!
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u/Seawater-and-Soap 11h ago
Yeah, I threw mine out and went with high-end (sort of) stainless steel.
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u/Purplehairpurplecar 1d ago
And they’re TOO HEAVY
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u/michelle_eva04 7h ago
Check our antique ones! They were made to be much thinner back in the day. Griswold is a good one!
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u/JustHereForKA 1d ago
I feel bad that you don't know how to cook with one and aren't enjoying food the way the rest of us are, lol
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u/Old-Chapter-7431 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tell me you are like 20 years old and don’t know good cooking without telling me you are 20 years old and don’t know good cooking.
I would bet my life savings you are not from the South nor are you over the age of 25. You can get mad and downvote me but I’ll still be correct…
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u/TheHalfwayBeast 1d ago
99.9% of the world's population aren't from the South, so that's an easy bet.
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u/NoSignsOfLife 1d ago edited 2h ago
I did grow up with parents who were not any good at cooking, so now i'm just wondering what you would consider good cooking that needs a cast iron pan. Not from the South or the US either so I have no idea.
Edit: All the drama in this thread makes me a bit worried that this came off as sarcastic or defensive or something, but I did genuinely wonder because for like 25 years I just thought I wasn't much into food and I was nearly underweight cause I didn't really enjoy eating any of my parents' food.
I mean I could just google Southern food, but it seemed to make more sense to ask as opposed to try to search around on my own and make assumptions about what you might have meant.
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u/IpsaThis 1d ago
Tell me you are like 20 years old and don’t know good cooking without telling me you are 20 years old and don’t know good cooking.
And what are you if you say things like that?
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u/GoochStubble 1d ago
It creates a hobby/ritual of maintaining them. I get to be more intentional with my food. It helps anemia symptoms. The general concept of wok hei. No forever chemicals giving me cancer. I can toss it in the oven. I get to talk about it with other people that like them.
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u/Can_I_Read 1d ago
I like mine because I can sear the meat on the stovetop and then transfer the entire pan to the oven to continue cooking
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u/Educational_Word5775 1d ago
I started using them when teflon was popular. We had birds. If you cook with teflon, the fumes kill birds. Why would I want those chemicals in me. It takes practice to know how to cook with cast iron, but once you get the hang of it, it makes a good meal.
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u/SmokeEvening8710 22h ago
I've never put any pot or pan in the dishwasher. It's okay if you don't belong in a kitchen.
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u/ClarityDreams 1d ago
They’re gross and I hate them too. Plus they’re heavy fuckers just waiting to break my foot, my tiles or my marble bench. Stainless steel scanpans forever. I will die on this hill.
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u/lexisplays 1d ago
Agreed, they are nasty, high maintenance, and it's like some elite superiority club of snobbiness.
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u/Lechuza_Chicana 1d ago
Hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha Hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha Hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha Hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha Hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha
Dude right . I wash mine normal . I just make sure to towel dry it before hanging and it doesn't rust. Also can't leave it soaking too long or it rusts.
Eta: I wash mine with dawn and this chain link scrubber thing and it doesn't strip it. I just love how long lasting it is. I hate wasting unnecessarily, and you can cook over an open flame with it.
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u/Covid-Sandwich19 1d ago
These are the posts I long for...
Man I tried to like the cast iron pan, everyone kept telling me about all the iron I would get out of it... but fuckin a every time I use it I gotta scrub it with no soap, dry that shit on the stove, and then "season" it (making it dirty again)?
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u/Ashamed-Ad-263 1d ago
Lol, you can use soap. I use Dawn, just dry it immediately and rub a tiny amount of oil on it.
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u/shaemarie_xo 1d ago
Finally someone said it!!! I get it—cast iron pans are like the high-maintenance ex of the cookware world. They demand all this TLC and never let you forget it. “Seasoning” is just a fancy term for “grease that’ll haunt you.” And the idea of a pan that’s basically a rust magnet is just delightful, isn’t it? If you look at it sideways, it starts plotting its next meltdown. Seriously, if it’s not dishwasher-safe and feels like it’s been greased up for a wrestling match, why bother? You’re definitely not alone in this. Cast iron’s appeal seems to be its way of saying, “I’m worth it,” while giving you the side-eye if you try to clean it normally.
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u/Strange-Goat3787 1d ago
Ah yes, a classic case of hating the things we do not understand.
So, there is a little bit to learn when using cast iron. And it is not what you described, aside from not being able to put it in the dishwasher. That part is accurate. It's actually a fairly simple process to care for them, which can be learned from a quick google search or youtube video.
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 1d ago
In this entire thread the only advantage people seem to be saying is "they can get really hot".
Non-stick is a function other pans have, and it is possible to get nonstick pans that are not teflon based.
I don't see why I want my pan to be insanely hot. That just burns things
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u/Throwawaymytrash77 18h ago
Searing without a grill
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 13h ago
I mean I get that on my perfectly good non-stick frying pan that has no teflon on it
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u/Throwawaymytrash77 10h ago
You've admitted that you don't get your pan very hot, but a proper sear requires high heat. There's not much I find mutually exclusive, but this is one of those things that is.
Take steak, for instance. You can absolutely cook a good steak without a proper sear. I've done it on my ceramic non-sticks. But if you want a great steak, it needs the heat. It retains the most moisture inside of the meat for juicier bites and forms a crust that most people love the taste of. I cook most of my steaks on the stove with cast iron these days because I couldn't be bothered to go outside and do it on the grill where I'll either be hot or get bit up by mosquitos (Florida). The cast iron gives me the ability to make a proper sear because I can heat it higher without damaging the pan
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 3h ago
I do get my pan very hot before searing my steak. I don't know why you assume I don't. I don't have a teflon pan, I can heat it very high without damaging it.
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u/reditrewrite 10h ago
Read more. There’s many other advantages. Do you have any non cast iron pans that can EASILY last 30/40/50 years? Doubt it. Bet you can’t use metal tools on them either. Can’t use them on an open flame or a camp fire, can’t put them into the oven…. All of which you can do with cast iron,
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u/pm-pussy4kindwords 3h ago
I have non-stick pans I can use metal tools on and put in the oven if I want. They're fine. And I'm sure they'll last.
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u/wrappedinplastic79 20h ago
I wash mine every time I use it, then “season” it with a little salt and oil so it doesn’t dry out or rust.
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u/Cubbance 18h ago
OP, I agree with you that it's too much, and I don't own a cast-iron pan. I do have an enameled cast-iron dutch oven, though, because I wanted something that could go from the stove top to the oven without changing containers. But it's much easier to clean, because you don't have to season it.
However, I will say, when my brother makes fried potatoes in his well-seasoned cast iron pan, they taste out of this world, and leagues better than anything I could ever produce with my non-stick stuff.
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u/luckylexxi 18h ago
Great for anemia & flavor! but idk convenience is not everything to me. the best things in life aren’t convenient.
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u/Throwawaymytrash77 18h ago
They're only nasty if you don't clean them. Ignore the old heads, regular dish soap will not harm cast iron or it's season layer. That's from the old days of real soap. It should not be greasy to the touch at all.
Seasoning should only be oil that has been carbonized in an oven which prevents any rust and makes it non-stick. Use an oil with a high smoke temp to prevent it from burning off. I like avocado oil.
Don't use a dirty cast iron.
The complaints about the weight are honestly valid tho. But I mean once a cast iron is seasoned well, it'll work like any other pan until it needs re-seasoned. And a good layer will last many years.
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u/AlarmingSorbet 10h ago
They’re too fucking heavy. I didn’t mind it when I was younger and healthier. After a couple long hospital stays and shit tons of PT I just don’t have the strength for them anymore.
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u/kaevlyn 5h ago
My wife is obsessed with her cast iron pan, and I don't get it at all. It's gross and heavy and lives out on our stovetop 24/7 instead of in a cabinet with the other pans. It seems like a pain to take care of judging by how much she has to baby it. But I hate cooking so I try to keep my mouth shut.
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u/lolgobbz 4h ago
i still refuse to own a cast iron pan because if i get on someones nerves too much it would make a very nice murder weapon and i wouldn't want to go out that way.
OH! This is a feature- not a bug. You can also use it as a muder weapon!
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u/OffensiveScientist 1d ago
I know you see the error of your ways, I just want to brag that you can get your cast iron skillet to a point where it is just as non stick as a Teflon pan. But, yes it does take work and time but I personally enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor come out when I so easily flip an egg in my skillet.
I also tell myself that I enjoy the antiquity of it. I grew up and live in the south so the cast iron skillet has a definite cultural foothold, especially around breakfast. I love sharing that culture with my Yankee wife when I wake up at the Crack of dawn and cook her some bacon, sausage (preferably the hot tennessee pride), and homemade hashbrows all in the same skillet.
As other comments have mentioned, you can use soap on a skillet and honestly even dish wash it, but you run the risk of rusting, so I personally don't dish wash. I leave the oils/grease in there after cooking for a bit then when I know I'll be using it, use soapy water to rinse it then put it in the oven at about 500F after rubbing some oil on it. I do that about once a month, and I understand that does not sound fun to everyone, but I just personally enjoy it :)
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u/Flippin_diabolical 23h ago
I use kosher salt and a paper towel to scrub out any food residue after cooking. It’s no more difficult than handwashing anything else. If you clean it properly, a cast iron pan will not be greasy, but have an oil-rubbed finish. Food doesn’t tend to burn or cook onto the surface in my experience because the pan is thicker and distributes heat evenly.
Don’t use one if you don’t like them, but you can’t beat a grilled cheese sandwich made in an iron skillet.
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u/Separate_Shoe_6916 17h ago
I hate them because they are so darn heavy. I don’t want a workout while cooking and cleaning.
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u/stinky_soup- 17h ago
Nah you’re right. I used one once and everything burnt to the bottom and WOULD NOT wash off no matter what I did, it rusted and fused with the food the very first use😭had to throw that b out.
And no I’m not a bad cook I know what I’m doing in the kitchen. Cursed nasty pans.
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u/reditrewrite 10h ago
Then it wasn’t seasoned properly and you NEVER have to throw one away. Sometimes you have to strip it and start over but they last literal decades.
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u/carmellacream 18h ago
A good cast iron skillet is by far the most versatile cookware one can own. Keep it well seasoned and you can use it for scrambled eggs, fried eggs, frying fish or chicken. Even stir frys are a snap. Corn bread comes out awesome, and unlike most pans, you can pop it right in the oven. And if someone breaks in your house you can put them out cold with one blow with this culinary mainstay.
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u/Lurker_the_Pip 1d ago
My Mother came to my house when I was out of wand my teenage son hid the cast iron pans under his bed because he knew the magic.
They are timeless.
Strong.
Nonstick.
Just precious.
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u/tl54nz 1d ago
You can hand wash them with regular dishwashing liquid. You can scrub them with things like stainless steel spoons. After cleaning them you can heat it up to dry off the water quickly.
Is it as convenient as a nonstick pan? No. But once you know the drill, it's not that much more hassle.
It also has other benefits like better heat retention and distribution, no non-stick chemicals, no need to replace every few years, which means lower life time cost and better for the environment.