I’m a stainless steel enjoyer. Get that cast iron and teflon shit out of here.
Anon recommends a cast iron pan
Submitted 8 months ago by Early_To_Risa@sh.itjust.works to greentext@sh.itjust.works
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/287a3a10-456c-418e-a7b1-9fab70403aa4.jpeg
Comments
HEXN3T@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 months ago
umulu@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Let me add to your comment…
“PFAS filled Teflon shit out of here.”
affiliate@lemmy.world 7 months ago
wood and stainless steel is definitely the way to go. i don’t understand how nonstick seems to be the norm. are people not aware that the “nonstick” part of their pans is basically just plastic? and that it’s generally a bad idea to cook/eat/scratch plastic things?
grrgyle@slrpnk.net 7 months ago
I find they’re the same. You just have to oil them and use them regularly.
HlodwigFenrirson@lemm.ee 7 months ago
I never understood fans of cast iron. Its like still using candles for light, sure it gives a warming light, but electricity is cheaper, safer, and quicker to use for light. Same for pans, stainless steel have exactly the same use as cast iron without any of the inconvenience. Sure heating behavior is different, but who cares, you can get to the same results with stainless steel with a bit of experience… If you really want that “hipster cooking” feeling, just use copper, sure its way more expensive and you need to be extra careful, but its still better than to try using cast iron which is a real pain in the ass to use, making cooking twice as long as it should be… And for Teflon… it’s shit, weak as hell and will give you cancer. Aluminum is shit too, still better than teflon and at least its the cheapest.
Classy@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
If you’re buying modern garbage $10 pans from Dollar General don’t be surprised when they’re not performing as well as your Cuisinart SS. I have all SS and cast iron, and they both get about equal usage. CI is just better for meats. The higher heat conductivity and even temperature across the surface (with proper time to warm up) is incredibly useful. Searing is unsurpassable with CI. You can be rough with CI and it takes the beating in stride.
SS is better for quick heat and rapid changes in temperature. Boiling water, sauces, roux, etc.
I’ve had cast iron pans with old dinner remains sat in the bottom for 3 days, it comes off with hot water. And yes I use soap and water. If you use a good oil for seasoning and you set your pan up nicely you don’t have to worry about babying the seasoning.
twice as long
If you’re using CI for the right use cases it is WAY faster than aluminum. As I said, the heat transfer of iron is extremely good compared to thin walled aluminum or stainless. CI will cook chicken very fast. It’s all down to knowing your tools and using them correctly.
I can tap a nail into a wall with pliers, doesn’t mean they won’t do the job as well as a hammer.
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 7 months ago
I cook with cast iron almost daily, all I do is scrub it with hot water and let it dry, and it’s ready for the next day.
Poem_for_your_sprog@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Nothing cooks fried eggs as well as my cast iron pan. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, french scramble, omelettes, any kind of eggs. Sometimes I use it for sausage too.
I use stainless for everything else.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
Yeah, cast iron is a giant pain. I have a relatively heavy steel pan, which is fantastic for cooking anything I would cook on a cast-iron pan because it retains heat well, and it’s easier to clean. Screw cast iron.
Mjpasta710@midwest.social 7 months ago
It seems obvious you purchase equipment for restaurants. /s
Quite a hot take there. You ignored carbon steel in the conversation.
A large number of restaurants use rolled carbon steel or cast iron for searing and shallow frying.
Biorix@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Well, I found it to be easier than stainless. I know how to use stainless in theory, but I never managed to use it properly. lol
I realized there’s a hipster factor around it but I really find it easy to cook a lot of things without thinking twice. I’m only careful when I clean it.
gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
I use my 3 cast-iron on a rotation near daily, use soap and water to wash them, and season maybe once every 6 months to re-up it?
I’ll cook tomato shit in there no problem, just don’t fucking let it sit on there and get stuck or you’ll have issues. Never worry about food sticking
Chainmail + warm water + dot of soap and 15s of rubbing and I’ll have a perfectly clean pan ready to go for another use immediately if I really wanted. Hand dry, warm over stovetop to evaporate any remaining liquid to avoid rust
Tbh it’s less work than my stainless steel was because things get stuck WAY less often, and I’m an ADHD mess who never does dishes
You have to be amazingly shit with kitchenware to fuck them up
ReCursing@lemmings.world 8 months ago
The only thing I would use cast iron for is to fight the ninjas hiding behind my fridge
PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Unless you have arms like tree trunks then this is a bad weapon choice. Ninjas are notoriously fast and cast iron is notoriously heavy.
ReCursing@lemmings.world 7 months ago
I assume they would be slowed down by having to clamber out from behind the fridge, I can get them while they’re off balance
quixotic120@lemmy.world 7 months ago
The best pan is the $20 no name stainless steel pan from a restaurant supply store. Cast iron is for Dutch ovens that need to retain heat for stews and curries and shit. Anyone that genuinely prefers cast iron over stainless just doesn’t know how to preheat a pan and use cold oil. “Oh I want a pan that requires ongoing maintenance, can never be properly cleaned, isn’t actually non stick at all, and weighs 900 pounds so doing any kind of toss is a total pain in the ass”
beeng@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
Also work very well for oven pizza 👍👍
affiliate@lemmy.world 7 months ago
i tried cast iron pans many summers ago. but i found myself never using it because cooking is already inconvenient enough and cast iron pans just add a whole other dimension of inconvenience. it also makes me nervous that they’re never/rarely ever cleaned with soap and water. it was also very difficult to find consistent instructions on how to care for them and use them safely. so now i just use stainless steel instead.
YeetPics@mander.xyz 8 months ago
I love when people that can’t be asked to learn something new complain about the people that have.
The pan isn’t the problem 🤷
Pulptastic@midwest.social 8 months ago
My biggest complaint is the smoking oil really upsets my air purifier, that stuff can’t be good to breathe in. I only season my pans outside and that is not even annually, only as needed and it is basically never needed.
After cooking I wipe the pan out with a dry rag and if it is just oily I let it ride. If there’s any crust stuck to the pan I’ll scrape it and wash with hot water in the sink. Dry it with a towel, light spray of avocado oil, wipe it off, put it away.
I’d like to upgrade my hood over the externally exhausted microwave vent I have, but until then I don’t use them inside in anything hot enough to smoke so we’re not breathing that crap in. Good enough for eggs or browning a sautee but I’m not going to sear meat indoors.
Krauerking@lemy.lol 8 months ago
Yeah the grease smoke is a lot.
But also you shouldn’t cook bacon hot actually. You want it to slowly render out the fat at a medium heat. Honestly will still make it greasy around the pan but shouldn’t be smoking that much.
RBWells@lemmy.world 8 months ago
That is how I do it, low and slow with a bacon press, it is still a little splattery but not bad at all.
YourPrivatHater@ani.social 8 months ago
Sticking to the thing is literally the intended way, its supposed to stick and create a natural anti stick surface, thats why you don’t wash these pans with soap.
rustydomino@lemmy.world 8 months ago
With modern dish soap it’s fine to wash cast iron pans. I think “don’t wash cast iron with soap” is a throwback to old lye based soaps.
YourPrivatHater@ani.social 8 months ago
Nah, it’s because the taste sticks and you shouldn’t scrub the layer of burned in away. The longer a cast-iron is in use the more of a unique taste it develops by itself, you can taste which cast-iron was used for cooking when you know them.
I have three and can taste the difference.
And no, its not dirty, its the intended use of cast-iron.
Sc00ter@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Exactly. Lodge agrees with you
krolden@lemmy.ml 8 months ago
I have one that’s got some titanium coating so I dont have to deal with the seasoning shit.
JackbyDev@programming.dev 8 months ago
I have no idea what kind of pots and pans I have. I know they’re not cast iron though lol. I just use them and they work.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
Then most likely teflon.
SSJMarx@lemm.ee 8 months ago
Love my cast iron. Got it for free from someone who had bought it and never used it, had to scrub the rust off but since then the only maintenance its required it wiping out the excess grease and oil after cooking with a paper towel.
Cethin@lemmy.zip 8 months ago
Just a heads up, despite the popular myth, it’s totally fine to clean cast iron with soap. The seasoning is a polymer (plastic) that is bound to the pan. The soap destroys grease, but the polymerized stuff isn’t effected. You don’t need to every time if you don’t feel like it, because heat should clean things fairly well, but don’t be scared to do it if it’s dirty.
humorlessrepost@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Useless context: the soap thing used to be true when soap had lye.
Luvs2Spuj@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I’ve stopped using cast iron after some experimentation. It has some uses, but none of which can’t be done equally well in a stainless steel or carbon steel pan.
I find these respond to temperature changes better and so are easier to control. My big iron pan also doesn’t heat evenly enough, so extra care is needed to cook things consistently if it spans a wide area of the pan.
I think the best place for iron cookware is for oven pots, not for hobs and frying.
Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
I’ve only found 1 carbon steel pan i actually like (and I love it) due to the crappy thin flat handles that hurt to hold. Bit pricy tho:
Krauerking@lemy.lol 8 months ago
Damn.
Luvs2Spuj@lemmy.world 8 months ago
That is beautiful. I am now in the phase of convincing myself not to buy it even though it’s obviously only going to end one way…
Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
… Just get a fucking non stick pan and don’t use wooden or iron utensils on it. Done, problem solved.
Evotech@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Lasts 3-5 years tops
Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
May or may not slowly poison you as well.
Krauerking@lemy.lol 8 months ago
Barely
azi@mander.xyz 8 months ago
[deleted]Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
Using plastic spatula on a non-stick
You’re beyond hope.
Thcdenton@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My cast iron griddle is the most used thing in my kitchen, after grilling something on it I get it ripping hot, pour water on it, scrub it with a rag until its clean, then coat it in cooking oil and wait for it to smoke. Takes like 2 minutes and it never leaves my stove.
Doxin@pawb.social 7 months ago
Heat cooking oil in the pan until it starts smoking. Hey presto it’s seasoned. Tomato will not strip it, nor will soap. Intense scrubbing will.
Cast iron is so easy to care for. Just don’t stick it in the dishwasher or let it stay wet after washing.
buddascrayon@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Once again we are reminded of the fact that 4chan is full of bullshit.
dubious@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Let anon go camp in the woods for a week and report back.
jmsy@lemmy.world 8 months ago
My gf got me a cast iron pan. I despise it. It’s so much work compared to my other pans and I don’t see any benefits. I only bring it out if she’s watching me cook over my shoulder, so now I cook I tell her to relax on the sofa with some streaming or a book.
Fosheze@lemmy.world 8 months ago
So a few tips for cast iron if you want to know why people like it. It does take a bit of practice because cooking with it feels different and wrong when you’re used to other pans. But once you know how to work it it legitimately does cook better and clean easier while being practically indestructable. I used to think the same as you until I made myself learn how to use it and now I will never go back.
Let it properly heat up before you put anything in it or it will stick. Flick a drop of water at it before cooking and if the water beads up then it is ready. Unlike other pans, cast iron has a lot of mass and takes a bit to warm up. But that also comes with the advantage of being able to maintain an even and stable temp across the pan. Cast iron feels like cooking on induction no mater what type of range you have.
When in doubt use more oil, butter, or grease.
Use metal tools. This alone is one of the big advantages of cast iron. Unlike other pans you don’t need to baby cast iron. I use a steel grill spatula on mine.
When you’re done cooking just wipe it out with a paper towel while it is still hot. Unlike other pans you actually want to leave a thin layer of oil or grease on cast iron. You only need to get the food out of it which usually only requires a quick wipe. If you cooked something saucy then just wash it like you would any other pan (except don’t leave it to soak), just be sure to completely dry it on the stove afterwords and apply a thin layer of oil to it.
Use it at least every other week. The more you use it just for frying thing the more nonstick it gets as the layer of seasoning builds up. Letting cast iron sit is how it gets sticky and nasty. If you are going to store it long term then wash it with soap, dry it on the stove, and coat it in a thin layer of flaxseed oil because that stuff stays good practically forever.