It’s hard to beat a cast iron skillet. There isn’t another piece of cookware in your kitchen that stirs up images of nostalgia and frontier expeditions and covered wagons like cast iron can. It’s also highly likely your very own grandma’s house featured the ubiquitous, black-as-midnight, heavy skillet ever present on the stovetop. Elsewhere on the net, you’ll find people commenting the best ways to care and restore and season their cast iron. So really cast iron cookware has a following that just can’t be matched but what is it, that makes it so special?
Cast Iron is Non-stick
Teflon pans are a thing of beauty when it comes to delicate creations like crepes, or so they say. Well I say cast iron has them beat. Not only will your pan be nonstick after properly being seasoned, but the seasoning won’t come off when using metal utensils, nor will it produce harmful chemical fumes that cause respiratory problems. I guess teflon has it’s place but I’ve gone through about three teflon skillets in the past eight years but the cast iron ones my grandmother uses are the same ones her mother used. Talk about longevity. And speaking of longevity, did you know that the older cast iron skillets, especially those made by the now defunct company Griswold are highly sought after and not just by collectors but by people who still plan on using them?
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 Griswold Cast iron 6 Smooth Bottom Large Logo  US $29.99
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 Griswold Cast Iron 8 Block EPU Heat Ring US $69.99
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 Griswold Cast Iron 8 Smooth Bottom Large Logo US $49.99
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 Griswold Cast Iron 9 Block Logo Heat Ring US $69.99
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 Vintage Danish Cast Iron Ebelskiver Aebleskiver Pan Griswold 32 962Clean US $41.00
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 ANTIQUE GRISWOLD VICTOR 8 10 INCH CAST IRON SKILLET FULLY MARKED Item 4301 US $29.99
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Cast Iron is Heavy
When buying cookware, you always hear that you should get something with a heavy bottom. The reason for this is heat distribution across the pan. Where cast iron really excels in the weight department is in heat retention or the ability of the pan to keep dishing out heat despite having say a huge cold raw porterhouse steak dropped inside. Lesser pans lose their heat, the heavy ones get right to work at crust formation. Hmmmm steak crust.
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