I Love My Cast Iron Pan!

I bought my first cast iron cookware, a cast iron skillet from Lodge Logic, and have only used it twice, but already I am in love with it.

It takes a bit more getting used to because it's really heavy (you could really hurt someone with this), and you clean it and prepare it differently than other pans.  You have to "season" it after each use by spraying (or in my case, spreading) a thin layer of oil onto the clean warm pan, and letting it set.  This seems to work, as when I cook, the pan doesn't stick at all.  You do have to use oil when you cook too but that's like with any cookware.  And the pan comes pre-seasoned so you can use it right away.

It works just as well as a non-stick pan but you can scratch the surface and not worry that it'll ruin the coating.  If some of the material leeches into your food, it's actually good for you because it's made of iron.  It just puts a little more iron into your diet.

I got this because the non-stick coating on my pan had started to scratch off a lot and I was getting antsy about the coating getting into my food and also because cooking became a pain once the coating stopped working.  (I didn't realize that you're not supposed to use non-stick under high temperatures).  Cleaning it was a pain too because I couldn't scrub -- even though food started sticking to it -- for fear that the coating would come off even more.  But that is not something you have to worry about with the cast iron pan.  They actually recommend that you scrub it with a good, stiff brush.

With cast iron, there might be a little extra step to prepare it, but the reward you reap is worth it.  The ease of cooking with and cleaning it makes up for that step a hundred times over.  And when I use it, the food seems to cook more evenly, and taste more delicious.  It's weird, but for the first time in my life, I am in love with cookware.