If there is one pan one should have in the kitchen, it’s the cast iron skillet.
Durable, trustworthy but like your car, it will need some maintenance and care.
For cast iron skillets, one thing you’ll notice is how heavy and durable they are. It’s a skillet that literally can last forever if you take care of it and when I mention maintenance, there is one key word you should know… “Seasoning”.
To have a cast iron skillet become non-stick, you will need to season it. And no, that’s not seasoning with spices, it’s pretty much putting canola oil and spreading it on the skillet’s interior and then putting it in your oven (upside down) for an hour at 300 degrees. Then after an hour, let it cool and wipe it down.
And aside from seasoning, you just have to remember that cast iron skillets DO NOT LIKE SOAP nor does it like being submerged in water. And to clean it, all you need to do is wash in hot water by hand, and you can use a sponge to clean. But do not use soap, dishwasher or steel wool on an iron skillet.
And make sure you dry it, so it does not rust.
You take care of your cast iron skillet, it will last you forever.
But just remember that it needs to be seasoned ever so often. Like your car needs maintenance or oil changes, your cast iron skillet will need to be seasoned. So, whenever you notice food starting to stick, it’s time to season your cast iron skillet again.
While you can purchase cast iron skillets from garage sales (as even older rusted, bumpy ones can be made to look like new again), you can purchase them from a department store or stores that sell pans for a good price. Typically under $30.
And you can use the skillet to cook on the stove top or inside the oven. You get great heat distribution (although it does take a while to distribute the heat throughout the pan and it’s literally a multi-purpose skillet that you can use to fry, bake, grill, broil, etc.
