Guest guest Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 This is somewhat irrelevant, but never use shortening to season a pan! Use a saturated animal fat!!! The instructions say use shortening and not a salted fat, but my mom misread and told me not to use a saturated fat, so I used olive oil. Olive oil works like the ones my mom does with shortening-- works for a little while, wears away, sticks a little sometimes. I accidentally seasoned that pan with hamburger fat. I cooked a hamburger, it stuck a little as it was wearing away, and I let the fat sit there on the burner after I shut it off for an hour or so in my dorm. After that, it had automatically re-seasoned, and it has worked wonderfully!!! Things that would normally stick don't, and I haven't had to reseason it at all. And it was all an accident! Chris ____ " What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion, which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for those who do them wrong. " --Saint Isaac the Syrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 I love my cast iron cookware. The larger pans are heavy, but I make do. You can now buy your cast iron cookware pre-seasoned (from Lodge). Pretty cool. http://www.lodgemfg.com/home.asp --- In , Coyle <jafffaus@y...> wrote: > Hi, > > Could some please offer your opinion of cooking with > Cast Iron Pans. I have read that they are the best to > cook with, but they are soooo heavy. > > Replies would be appreciated. > > Jafa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 I like cast iron too. As long as I keep it seasoned, I don't have any problems with them. I've got three different sized pans and one small Dutch oven. I really like the Dutch oven better than the regular oven. I only use my regular oven when things don't fit in the Dutch. I think using them every day is making my arms stronger because I don't notice how heavy they are anymore! ) Marla ----- Original Message ----- From: Judy Toney <jtseniors@...> < > Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 12:06 PM Subject: Re: Cast Iron Pans > > I absolutely adore my cast iron. I won't use anything else! I didn't want to get any because they were heavy, but from all glowing reports finally gave in and got a small 10 " griddle type (very very short sloping side, not really a side). It wasn't as heavy. I followed all directions to the letter about seasoning and it was so super, I went and bought 5 more. Be sure to get the ones with the lip on the side opposite the handle or your can't lift them. > Judy > > Coyle <jafffaus@...> wrote:Hi, > > Could some please offer your opinion of cooking with > Cast Iron Pans. I have read that they are the best to > cook with, but they are soooo heavy. > > Replies would be appreciated. > > Jafa > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 How do you use a dutch oven? At 04:59 PM 1/17/03, you wrote: >I like cast iron too. As long as I keep it seasoned, I don't have any >problems with them. I've got three different sized pans and one small Dutch >oven. I really like the Dutch oven better than the regular oven. I only >use my regular oven when things don't fit in the Dutch. I think using them >every day is making my arms stronger because I don't notice how heavy they >are anymore! ) > >Marla > >----- Original Message ----- >From: Judy Toney <jtseniors@...> >< > >Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 12:06 PM >Subject: Re: Cast Iron Pans > > > > > > I absolutely adore my cast iron. I won't use anything else! I didn't want >to get any because they were heavy, but from all glowing reports finally >gave in and got a small 10 " griddle type (very very short sloping side, not >really a side). It wasn't as heavy. I followed all directions to the >letter about seasoning and it was so super, I went and bought 5 more. Be >sure to get the ones with the lip on the side opposite the handle or your >can't lift them. > > Judy > > > > Coyle <jafffaus@...> wrote:Hi, > > > > Could some please offer your opinion of cooking with > > Cast Iron Pans. I have read that they are the best to > > cook with, but they are soooo heavy. > > > > Replies would be appreciated. > > > > Jafa > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 In a message dated 1/18/03 5:17:42 PM Eastern Standard Time, Idol@... writes: > So buffalo suet would be a good cast iron seasoning fat? > > I looked at those pre-seasoned pans someone posted a URL for, and it > sounded like a great idea, but it turned out they use vegetable oil to > season the pans, which sounds like a health disaster. I guess so... I'm going on this new accidental discovery, but I'm seasoning a new pan with hamburger fat from a cooked hamburger right now, since that worked great last time. In effectiveness, i.e. how long it lasts and how " non-stick " it makes it, the hamburger fat whops shortening and vegetable oil's you-know-what. Unless it's a fluke, buffalo suet sounds great! Chris ____ " What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion, which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for those who do them wrong. " --Saint Isaac the Syrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Hi Irene > How do you use a dutch oven? > ### I have the one from http://www.dutchovencookware.com/ You can use it in several ways right over the fire. If you're going camping you can hang it from a tripod over the fire, or if you don't have a tripod, you can place it right over the fire. There's a lip on the cover so that you can also put hot coals on the top to even out the temp. (I've found that you don't really have to do that, the temp seems to stay pretty good throughout without it.) I have tried it right in my fireplace, but I usually just use it right on my gas stove top. I works great either way. All you need is fire underneath it then use it like any other oven/pot. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I put whatever I'm cooking (roasts or potatoes, etc.) on a stainless steel plate inside the oven to catch any juices. That way it's really easy to clean. When I'm done I usually just take out the plate and wash it, and that's it. (Although sometimes juices overflow and spill out of the plate onto the oven.) I got the stainless steel plate from the sporting goods store in the camping section. Marla P.S. made a good point about seasoning skillets with saturated fat. I've had a couple of my cast iron pans for a long time before I was into more saturated fats. The instructions were to use stuff like vegetable oil for seasoning, but I also have found that if you just cook with saturated fats, the skillet gets really nicely seasoned on its own. Sometimes you have to wash it off and give the skillet a good scrubbing depending on what you cook. In that case you should season it again before putting it away otherwise it'll rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2003 Report Share Posted January 18, 2003 Chris- >Use a >saturated animal fat!!! So buffalo suet would be a good cast iron seasoning fat? I looked at those pre-seasoned pans someone posted a URL for, and it sounded like a great idea, but it turned out they use vegetable oil to season the pans, which sounds like a health disaster. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 In a message dated 1/19/03 12:52:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, Idol@... writes: > I haven't taken the cast iron plunge yet myself, but for awhile I'd been > thinking that coconut oil would make a decent seasoning since it's a > saturated oil. OTOH, since it's a medium-chain fat, it's not nearly as > stable as the long-chain fats in beef tallow and other fully-saturated > animal fats. So now I'm thinking that tallow or suet would probably be > much superior. > > But bear in mind I say this as someone whose only cast iron cookware is > enameled. Wouldn't clarified butter be best? It's far more saturated than any " meat " fat, that people eat at least, even buffalo, mostly long-chain FA, and the only problem I'd see with using regualar butter is burning the milk solids. Chris ____ " What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion, which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for those who do them wrong. " --Saint Isaac the Syrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Carol- >What about using coconut oil to season the pan? I haven't taken the cast iron plunge yet myself, but for awhile I'd been thinking that coconut oil would make a decent seasoning since it's a saturated oil. OTOH, since it's a medium-chain fat, it's not nearly as stable as the long-chain fats in beef tallow and other fully-saturated animal fats. So now I'm thinking that tallow or suet would probably be much superior. But bear in mind I say this as someone whose only cast iron cookware is enameled. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 , How does chain-length figure into oxidization? I was under the impression that oxidization capacity was primarily linked to the amount of double-bonds, that each double-bond posed a vulnerability to oxidization, so that SFA were very stable, MUFA were next, and out of PUFA n-6's were more stable than n-3s because they have two instead of three double-bonds. What's the deal with chain-length? Thanks, Chris ____ " What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion, which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for those who do them wrong. " --Saint Isaac the Syrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2003 Report Share Posted January 19, 2003 Chris- >Wouldn't clarified butter be best? It's far more saturated than any " meat " >fat, that people eat at least, even buffalo, mostly long-chain FA, and the >only problem I'd see with using regualar butter is burning the milk solids. Not necessarily. Butter has all different chain lengths and a good deal of mono-unsaturates. According to the USDA database, here's how 100g of anhydrous butter oil breaks down: Fatty acids, total saturated 61.924 4:0 3.226 6:0 1.910 8:0 1.112 10:0 2.495 12:0 2.793 14:0 10.005 16:0 26.166 18:0 12.056 Fatty acids, total monounsaturated 28.732 16:1 undifferentiated 2.228 18:1 undifferentiated 25.026 20:1 0.000 22:1 undifferentiated 0.000 Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated 3.694 18:2 undifferentiated 2.247 18:3 undifferentiated 1.447 18:4 0.000 20:4 undifferentiated 0.000 20:5 n-3 0.000 22:5 n-3 0.000 22:6 n-3 0.000 Beef tallow, OTOH, breaks down as follows: Fatty acids, total saturated 49.800 12:0 0.900 14:0 3.700 16:0 24.900 18:0 18.900 Fatty acids, total monounsaturated 41.800 16:1 undifferentiated 4.200 18:1 undifferentiated 36.000 20:1 0.300 Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated 4.000 18:2 undifferentiated 3.100 18:3 undifferentiated 0.600 So butter is quite a bit more saturated than tallow, at least according to the USDA, but it's also shorter in chain length. My hunch is that tallow would be the better bet. Does anyone have any idea how closely these numbers correspond to the figures for organic, grass-fed animals, and whether there's any information on buffalo suet, which is supposed to be extremely saturated? - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 > > Hello all, > > Just wondering about the best method to season and clean the cast iron pans. This is what I've been doing but I still can't fry an egg in it without sticking - After use I take my handy dandy pampered chef scrapey thingy to scrape out the bitties and then I just wipe the rest out with a paper towel. Then I put more CO in and put in the oven at 250 for an hour. Any advice? Hi Kim. It isn't necessary to put it in the oven every time you clean cast iron. You only need to put it in the oven when it needs to be re-seasoned. What I do is scrape it out, and put CO or bacon grease in it and rub it around well with a paper towel (unbleached). Then I put it on a hot burner for a little bit - watch so you do not leave it on too long. > Also someone gave me some anodized frying pans for Xmas - is this the same as teflon and is it safe or no? +++Is it anodized stainless steel or anodized aluminum? > > AND what kind of oven pans should we use? I've only been able to find aluminum or teflon. There is never any stainless ones in the stores. +++I use pans like Pyrex or Corning Ware, or glass, or my good old trusty cast iron frying pans. I can never get the information I need on bakeware labels, and I haven't found any good stainless steel. Another option is stone bakeware like Pampered Chef. All the best, Bee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2010 Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 > > Thanks for the info on that! > > One more question - are enamelled cast iron pots (like a dutch oven) safe? And do you need to season them as well? +++Hi Kim. No, you do not need to season enamel coated cast iron. Bee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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