Is all cast iron equal?

I am a huge fan of Lodge.

It is largely a regional company.

Griswold (sp) is popular with yankees.

Go with lodge. Season with lard or bacon grease in the egg.

Never clean it with anything execpt hot water.

No soap ever!!!! It will mess up the seasoning.

To get cast iron up to its true non stick potential, you must cook with it regularly for decades.

I have a few pieces that are smooth as glass on the inside and never stick.

Hit a few yard sales and flea markets to try to find some used cast iron.

Hope this helps.

I prefer antique cast iron. It just seems to be cast better. Griswold or WagnerWare are a couple of good brands. WW is usually less expensive. Here in New England, I can generally find what I need in the local antique shops. Disclaimer: I have used mine only on my stove top or in the oven... since I don't have my egg yet.

Need to find a Dutch oven. I have one, but I am NOT putting a LeCrueset in an Egg!! :woohoo:

if you can afford to pick and choose, as far as pans go, don't buy anything new unless the interior bottom (and sides, if available) are flat-ground. Most today is (of-course) sand cast, and so the interior is bumpy, like a nonstick pan but without the non-stick coating.

here's a shot of my great granmother's pan (now mine). one of a few we inherited. See how it's ground flat? that pan is more non-stick than any so-called non-stick pan i've ever used. and the coating doesn't flake off because there isn't one. (i took this pic yesterday for a post about last night's dinner. who knew it'd do double duty)

look how shiny slick and jet black that is...


little closer. this one is newer than my number "0", and the sides aren't perfectly smooth (see the rings from grinding?).



keep an eye on eBay for wagner ware, or at yardsales. if you need a pan tomorrow, i dunno. maybe newer pricier ones can be had that are ground flat. the cheap chinese stuff isn't. don't know about lodge.

i dunno if all old pieces were ground, like dutch ovens, etc.. or even if a dutch oven needs to be. if it's just for liquids, no problem. but if you were frying meat (like for stew), i might want the D.O. to be ground flat.

i picked up some old pieces last weekend, but they aren't antique, and are NOT ground smooth inside.

here they are pre- and post-seasoning. used stuff is cheap and sometimes better.

pre-seasoning


and post...

Ive always been told when it comes to CI dont buy anything except made in USA .

The ones made in china seem to be thinner and and have various other alloys

Lodge is a good brand. I need to hit some garage sales and find myself a Dutch Oven and a couple of pans myself

kinda tough to get the lead to hang around through the process of smelting iron.

not defending chinese cast iron by any means, i'm just always skeptical of inspecific warnings.

most lead issues come from mexican pottery, or highly decorated stuff (painted) being used in cooking. even American products (some slow cooking inserts) have allowed lead to leach into the food.

Stike,

Thanks for the tutorial on CI - I've found a new hobby, i.e., collecting CI at least trying to collect some. :woohoo:

Now you're my wife's favorite person as she couldn't get me to yard sale or flea market in the over 30 years we've been married. :( - now I'm lookng forward to it

Thanks :unsure:

Cool! All this CI talk sent me to my usually well stocked antique shop this afternoon to buy a Dutch oven specifically for the egg. They had nothing! Not a single piece! I was afraid the LC would be damaged by the smoke from the egg. Thanks.

re: the stoves. depends how thin they are.

as for pans.... all comes down to whether you know what you are looking at. if you have no idea what you are looking at or what quality it is, go by brand name i guess.

I do get to Fredericksburg on occasion. Thanks for the advise.

If you should happen to visit Myrtle Beach on vacation, there is a Lodge factory outlet store that is comprehensively stocked, provides regular cooking demos, and offers attractive prices.