Smooth or Rough Cast Iron

[TheDan]

It's crazy how seriously people take this stuff. My grandma just cooked with hers, I'm sure she never thought twice about any of it.

My daughter has one of my grandma's pans. I know neither my grandma, mom, or her put any thought into it. My mom would even wash it with soap

The thing has over 100 years of seasoning. Don't think it's possible to hurt it anymore.

It's smooth on the cooking surface, BTW. The outside of the pan is rough where it was never polished, so you can see where they took the time to finish the inside.

 

[leVieux]

The marketing wank from Lodge says their rough texture helps hold the seasoning better, but Lodge also owns Finex where they sell polished cast iron pans for ten times more. So which is better?

View attachment 418990

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This must be some alloy or coating.

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[reddog]

Been cooking on cast for 40 years or so, my best pans are smooth bottomed, run a fingernail over them smooth smooth. I have some newer pans that have some texture on the bottom that you can see and feel with a fingernail but it won't catch that seasoned and cook just fine. I have a Lodge griddle that is Lodge rough and it seasoned fine but cooking on it is nothing like the griswald I later found and use daily which is smooth.

 

[cav2108541]

The marketing wank from Lodge says their rough texture helps hold the seasoning better, but Lodge also owns Finex where they sell polished cast iron pans for ten times more. So which is better?

View attachment 418990

depends what you like to look at, doesn't make too much difference for the cooking. Smooth looks gooder but seasoning is what prevents sticking and adds to the food flavor

 

[TheDan]

 

[Lead Belly]

It took me a lot of effort to get my wife to stop trying to wash my Griswold Erie cast iron. It is very even thickness and smooth; perfectly seasoned- my pride and joy.

I bought my wife a big enameled fry pan from Aldi for $30 and we use the heck out of it, too. I think it cooks wonderfully and she can wash it with as much soap as she likes.

tangent...
I'm a bit of a cookware snob- have a complete set of Falk thick copper clad with thin layer of stainless. I bought the set used as they are a fortune new, but the control of copper is second to none. Gas stove is a must.

Falk has Try Me special pricing on a few- a saucier in balloon style is my go-to as it has no corners and whisk works perfectly. I tell people to give them a try.

Cooper Cookware | Try-Me | Falk Culinair USA

Our ‘Try-Me’ products provide you and enticing opportunity to use and feel the quality and durability of our entire line of copper pots, pans, dutch ovens and specialty copper cookware.

www.copperpans.com

 

[Whistler]

I'm always amazed at that point where an interest becomes an obsession and your perspective on "expensive" changes so radically.

Those pans look really nice, I've always wanted a nice egg pan, my decidedly lower-end copper & stainless (comparatively) is as I've close as I've found to what I want. I don't think I cook at that level frankly.

My Griswold and Wagner cast iron is off limits except when Mrs. Whistler cooks cornbread, I let her use one.

 

[MountainGirl]

How does cast iron do on electric stoves? Been using a set of thick bottom stainless and no matter how long I let the skillet come to temp the edges stay cooler, so much so I have to rotate what I'm frying for even browning.

 

[leVieux]

If you want to make a. scratch roux, your Iron pot needs a smooth inside bottom.

 

[TheDan]

How does cast iron do on electric stoves? Been using a set of thick bottom stainless and no matter how long I let the skillet come to temp the edges stay cooler, so much so I have to rotate what I'm frying for even browning.

Electric was all my mom ever used. Not sure if the pans still had hot spots or not, but I sure did eat a lot of great food cooked in cast iron skillets on an electric stove.

 

[Army 1911]

Cast iron works well on electric stoves. So does the copper clad ones. Induction stoves are different and I have no experience with them.

 

[Lead Belly]

Cast iron works well on electric stoves. So does the copper clad ones. Induction stoves are different and I have no experience with them.

Induction uses magnetism to work, so it must be a magnetic pan: iron/steel. Electromagnetic Induction is the proper name.

Induction is the wave of the future. You can have your pasta water boiling in a minute. You can get very responsive heat control (the key to good cooking).

They sell Induction hotplates that are inexpensive and work quite well.

 

[Vaquero]

Induction uses magnetism to work, so it must be a magnetic pan: iron/steel. Electromagnetic Induction is the proper name.

Induction is the wave of the future. You can have your pasta water boiling in a minute. You can get very responsive heat control (the key to good cooking).

They sell Induction hotplates that are inexpensive and work quite well.

View attachment 463958

If the bottom of the pan is truly flat.
If there's a slight wobble, it's not great.

 

[leVieux]

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Back when my beautiful Wife & I first got together, she was no cook. Her Sis & I were teaching her. She insisted on running my cast Iron through the dishwasher. Of course it rusted, so I told her to just let it dry and I’d clean it up & re-season it. She threw it all in the garbage.

Then, some 35 years later, she had become a pretty good cook. Her pan & butter T-bones & burgers were first rate, cornbread is wonderful. Great caldo de res, best french fries in town, shrimp spaghetti, etc.

Then she discovered cast Iron. At first just small skillets for scratch cornbread. She uses peanut oil & butter in the pre-heated skillets, staggers their timing in the over, so we ls have fresh hot cornbread during a meal.

Now we have dozens of cast Iron cookware items, including a wok, a comal, big variety of Dutch ovens, pots, pans, etc.

leVieux

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[TheDan]

 

[Lonesome Dove]

We have both and they work equally.
It what I use to fry taco shells, tosdada shells and chips with. My wife an daughters use them for most all their pan cooking.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

How does cast iron do on electric stoves? Been using a set of thick bottom stainless and no matter how long I let the skillet come to temp the edges stay cooler, so much so I have to rotate what I'm frying for even browning.

As long as it's at they work great. If you have one that's not flat it can be corrected with a grinder or belt sander.

 

[leVieux]

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Back when my beautiful Wife & I first got together, she was no cook. Her Sis & I were teaching her. She insisted on running my cast Iron through the dishwasher. Of course it rusted, so I told her to just let it dry and I’d clean it up & re-season it. She threw it all in the garbage.

Then, some 35 years later, she had become a pretty good cook. Her pan & butter T-bones & burgers were first rate, cornbread is wonderful. Great caldo de res, best french fries in town, shrimp spaghetti, etc.

Then she discovered cast Iron. At first just small skillets for scratch cornbread. She uses peanut oil & butter in the pre-heated skillets, staggers their timing in the over, so we always have fresh hot cornbread during a meal.

Now we have dozens of cast Iron cookware items, including a wok, a comal, big variety of Dutch ovens, pots, pans, etc.

leVieux

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