Ugh. You wanna know the secret to cooking on cast iron/carbon steel? Just cook with it. Put fat in, get it hot, put your food in. It’s really that easy. Wipe it out when you’re done, rub some oil on it. That’s it. You can even cook tomato sauce in it, it’ll be ok. People have been using cast iron to cook all kinds of things, acidic and not, for literal centuries. This myth that cast iron/carbon steel pans are these delicate special snowflakes that need constant attention and maintenance needs to die.
I don’t have a horse in this race but everything is carcinogenic to some degree, burnt toast isn’t going to make any real difference. And why would cast iron have a polymer coating? Unless I’m missing something wasn’t the whole point to avoid that?
Your “basic chemistry” doesn’t match up with the lived experience of the plethora of people that frequently use cast iron/carbon steel. And yes, it doesn’t matter what type of pan, including non-stick, if you want your food to taste good you’re probably gonna start by heating up some fat. You’re only building excess carbon in a cast iron/carbon steel if you leave on bits of burnt food and season over that. If you clean your pan properly (with soap and hot water, because that’s totally allowed), that won’t happen. Tons of people cook with cast iron/carbon steel every single day and have absolutely no problems with it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone should only cook with cast iron/carbon steel, all I’m saying is using those pans is way less finicky than you’re making it out to be.
I have a side business restoring antique cast iron pans and I use them for most of my cooking. I cook whatever the fuck I want in them, I leave the pan dirty on the stove a couple days sometimes when I’m busy, I use a scotch brite and scrub them clean with dish detergent, it really doesn’t matter.
Go get a shitty Walmart pan and complain that CI is too hard to work with, it’s ridiculous. My CHF #8 is an amazing piece of hardware
But they do need special maintenance, compared to Teflon pans or ceramic pans, they are the most finicky and hard to work with.
There are a lot of things people have done for centuries. Being old doesn’t make something superior.
The problem with the people who prostletyze cast iron, is they usually assume that everyone cooks like them, but the reality is that cast iron is generally a pain in the ass. I mean just the fact that you need to cover the entire pan in oil Every time you put it away should be enough of an indicator.
If you treat cast iron with the same care that a non stick pan requires with just a little bit of oil it will be better over time. With those same instructions an average non-stick pan, used daily will degrade in 5 to 10 years. Iron is heavy and inconvenient, but carbon steel pans run 90% of the Michelin rates kitchens you will find. Cast iron can do much of the same work at home and, in the US is much easier to find. A 10 inch Lodge cast iron pan can be found in any X-mart. A 10 inch Matfer Bourgeat is a bit pricier and harder to source. Good luck with pan fried fish in a non stick pan after a month. Same with cooking 40 burgers or omelets a day for a month. 2 of the items I mentioned could do that easily. The average non-stick pan could not.
You definitely don’t need to oil it after every use. The main reason for applying oil is to keep it from rusting while it sits. If you just use it at least once a week then that rust isn’t a concern. Even if it did rust you can just scrub the rust off before you use it.
There is all sorts of special care you can do to cast iron if you really get into it. But if you really don’t care then you can just use it and wash it exactly like any other pan without issue. The whole soap thing is a myth now a days because modern soaps don’t contain lye anymore. Soap is entirely unnecessary in cast iron but it won’t hurt it. Seasoning is adequately acheived just by actually cooking with it. You really don’t need any special process to season it unless you deliberately stripped off all the old seasoning. You can cook acidic foods in it without issue. I do tomato sauce in mine all the time.
Coated pans require way more care. At least I can use proper metal utensils in my cast iron.
You don’t and it isn’t. I cook exclusively on cast iron, and I oil it only before I put some food that requires oil. I use hot water and a paper towel to wipe it clean. Been using it for years, way less scrubbing than stainless 90 percent of the time.
But I use it exclusively and daily, so ymmv.
Ugh. You wanna know the secret to cooking on cast iron/carbon steel? Just cook with it. Put fat in, get it hot, put your food in. It’s really that easy. Wipe it out when you’re done, rub some oil on it. That’s it. You can even cook tomato sauce in it, it’ll be ok. People have been using cast iron to cook all kinds of things, acidic and not, for literal centuries. This myth that cast iron/carbon steel pans are these delicate special snowflakes that need constant attention and maintenance needs to die.
The polymerized coating on cast iron is stripped almost immediately with anything acidic. It’s basic chemistry.
Put some fat in the pan… You mean exactly what I do with my stainless steel?
Also cooking the way you describe builds up carbon, which is carcinogenic.
What needs to die is the emotional attachment people have to a technology that has its place, just not for every day cooking.
My grill Pan and Dutch ovens are cast iron. But they are Enameled making them a lot more useful. ,
I don’t have a horse in this race but everything is carcinogenic to some degree, burnt toast isn’t going to make any real difference. And why would cast iron have a polymer coating? Unless I’m missing something wasn’t the whole point to avoid that?
Your “basic chemistry” doesn’t match up with the lived experience of the plethora of people that frequently use cast iron/carbon steel. And yes, it doesn’t matter what type of pan, including non-stick, if you want your food to taste good you’re probably gonna start by heating up some fat. You’re only building excess carbon in a cast iron/carbon steel if you leave on bits of burnt food and season over that. If you clean your pan properly (with soap and hot water, because that’s totally allowed), that won’t happen. Tons of people cook with cast iron/carbon steel every single day and have absolutely no problems with it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone should only cook with cast iron/carbon steel, all I’m saying is using those pans is way less finicky than you’re making it out to be.
I have a side business restoring antique cast iron pans and I use them for most of my cooking. I cook whatever the fuck I want in them, I leave the pan dirty on the stove a couple days sometimes when I’m busy, I use a scotch brite and scrub them clean with dish detergent, it really doesn’t matter.
Go get a shitty Walmart pan and complain that CI is too hard to work with, it’s ridiculous. My CHF #8 is an amazing piece of hardware
But they do need special maintenance, compared to Teflon pans or ceramic pans, they are the most finicky and hard to work with.
There are a lot of things people have done for centuries. Being old doesn’t make something superior.
The problem with the people who prostletyze cast iron, is they usually assume that everyone cooks like them, but the reality is that cast iron is generally a pain in the ass. I mean just the fact that you need to cover the entire pan in oil Every time you put it away should be enough of an indicator.
If you treat cast iron with the same care that a non stick pan requires with just a little bit of oil it will be better over time. With those same instructions an average non-stick pan, used daily will degrade in 5 to 10 years. Iron is heavy and inconvenient, but carbon steel pans run 90% of the Michelin rates kitchens you will find. Cast iron can do much of the same work at home and, in the US is much easier to find. A 10 inch Lodge cast iron pan can be found in any X-mart. A 10 inch Matfer Bourgeat is a bit pricier and harder to source. Good luck with pan fried fish in a non stick pan after a month. Same with cooking 40 burgers or omelets a day for a month. 2 of the items I mentioned could do that easily. The average non-stick pan could not.
You definitely don’t need to oil it after every use. The main reason for applying oil is to keep it from rusting while it sits. If you just use it at least once a week then that rust isn’t a concern. Even if it did rust you can just scrub the rust off before you use it.
There is all sorts of special care you can do to cast iron if you really get into it. But if you really don’t care then you can just use it and wash it exactly like any other pan without issue. The whole soap thing is a myth now a days because modern soaps don’t contain lye anymore. Soap is entirely unnecessary in cast iron but it won’t hurt it. Seasoning is adequately acheived just by actually cooking with it. You really don’t need any special process to season it unless you deliberately stripped off all the old seasoning. You can cook acidic foods in it without issue. I do tomato sauce in mine all the time.
Coated pans require way more care. At least I can use proper metal utensils in my cast iron.
I’ve been cooking with cast iron for years, all I do is scrub it with hot water only and let it dry. No re seasoning, no coating in oil, nothing.
I’m genuinely impressed you’ve managed to fuck up using cast iron.
You don’t and it isn’t. I cook exclusively on cast iron, and I oil it only before I put some food that requires oil. I use hot water and a paper towel to wipe it clean. Been using it for years, way less scrubbing than stainless 90 percent of the time.
But I use it exclusively and daily, so ymmv.