Cast Across Generations: Why cast iron skillets are extraordinary

Cast Iron Skillets.  If you could only ever have one pan to cook with, this would be it.

I love to cook.  I come from a family of great cooks.  I grew up eating my mom’s food almost every night, and when I would go visit my extremely southern grandma in South Carolina or my Hungarian grandmother in Miami, food would often be a central focal point of our visits.  The images, sights, smells, and sounds of the kitchen dominate many of the memories I have with them.

Food is something that connects us with other human beings.  The preparation, enjoyment, and even cleaning up of the dishes brings people together.  Many of my fondest memories with my family are one shared over a dinner table.  Why do you think people have dates over meals?  Why do businesses discuss important issues, or woo clients over dinner?  It seems to be one of the few remaining places that we can connect – where the taboo of using our devices or doing other tasks at the table remains. 

Yet, even with something as pure and connective as preparing and eating food, it can be so easy to get lost.  Spend 5 minutes in the kitchen section of Homegoods or – God-forbid – Williams-Sonoma, and you will get inundated with all the things you need to buy.  These are things that you must fill your countertops, your drawers, and your cabinets with to have the “authentic” cooking experience.

I know I have fallen prey.  I love to cook, and I love things – so naturally, I needed to get cooking things.  From college onwards, I filled my kitchen with all the things a Gordon Ramsey acolyte would need – sets of knives, sauce pans, spoons, and machines.  I needed blenders and food processors and tools – so many tools!  It got to the point where I needed a big kitchen just to store it all.  Everything needed a place – including the cantaloupe ball maker and lemon zester.

Cooking became even more of a chore when after the flush of creativity and work to make the perfect dish abated, I was left with two sink wells full of dirty dishes and plastic pieces. The stuff started to control me, and all of a sudden, I found that my credit card statements started filling up more and more with Grubhub and fast food charges.  Rather than trying to wrangle all my kitchen stuff to make a meal, it was easier and less of a headache to order out or grab something on the way home. 

Worse, however, is that I still had thousands of dollars invested in the stuff in my kitchen.  At one point, I had two different juicers, three different plate sets, and over 15 cooking spoons and spatulas alone.  It all was just sitting there, and I was spending even more money not to use it.  The management of my kitchen was annoying to the point that I didn’t want to even bother. 

To be fair, most of the stuff in your kitchen has a decent amount of utility – I would even say that the kitchen is one of the most practical rooms of your home.  As you can see though, you can easily get overwhelmed by all of the “tools.”  Fortunately, there are several SIMPL=E life tools you can utilize in the kitchen – this article is about cast iron cookware.

An American Legend

Cast iron cookware it nothing new – ever since man has had the ability to forge items from iron ore, we have been cooking on it.  In the modern era, cast iron pots and pans were the only cookware available in the United States up until the early parts of the 20th century.  Even today, the idea of cast iron harkens back images to pioneers, cowboys, and the American Frontier. Conestoga wagons filled to the brim with supplies surely including a least a few cast iron pieces.

It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that they fell out of vogue in the kitchen.  As the domestic home market developed lighter, cheaper, and thinner pots and pans, cast iron was seen as outdated, primitive, and high-maintenance.  Copper, glass, stainless steel, aluminum, and new-age nonstick-coated cook wear emerged to dominate the market.  Cast iron remained on the scene, but only in its own niche.  Instead of a kitchen with a handful of cast iron pots and pans, they kitchens filled with cheap, thin pieces – even thousand dollar sets of expensive designer cookware – cough All-Clad cough.

Do we actually need all this stuff in the kitchen?  Do we need a dozen non-stick pans, copper-core pots, and the tiniest saucepan only big enough to melt butter? My answer is no.

If you could only have one single piece of cookware for the rest of your life, what would it be?

It should be a 12-inch cast iron skillet. 

When I was developing the SIMPL=E idea – cast iron was the example I kept thinking of – it is the gold standard for a SIMPL=E life tool.

For one, they are the epitome of solid – its a single piece of cast iron – it defines heft in the kitchen.  In fact, it’s hefty enough to kill someone with (especially abusive ex-husbands in rural 1930s Alabama).  Despite some myths, they are not fragile.  They can be thrown around and abused for decades, and still never truly fail.

They are also completely oven safe – in fact, I have only recently discovered just how great they are in the oven.  Thanks to a recipe I got (from the New York Times of all places), the best baked chicken I’ve ever made is in a cast iron skillet.  Pies, bread, casseroles, pizza, roasts – you just name it, and it will bake. 

Naturally, it also works exceptionally well in the outdoors.  My first cast iron skillet was bought specifically for my car camping kit.  It heats well on a camp stove, grill, and even an open campfire flame.  Try doing all these things with a $100 non-stick sauté pan.

While cast iron does not heat evenly at first, once it gets hot, it has the unique ability to stay hot.  When adding cooler food, it doesn’t drop the temperature like other materials.  This property is what gives cast iron its unique searing capability, and makes it great for crisping food.

Along with staying hot for longer periods of time, it also has a strong emissivity ratings – plainly put, cast iron has the great ability to radiate heat to expanded areas around the pan.  This characteristic is important for thicker food, as it allows larger pieces to cook through more effectively.

“Seasoning” is the important piece when it comes to cast iron.  Devotees have many quirks and superstitions about how best to season and maintain cast iron, but it really comes down to one thing: oil.  Seasoning is simply maintaining an ever growing layer of polymerized oil on the primary cooking surface of the pan.  When combined with heat and air, this oil effectively turns into a natural plastic that fuses with the iron – sealing it from moisture and creating a nice non-stick coating.  Over years or even decades, this seasoning can become quite thick and even glassy – it’s a point of pride for many.

Its around this seasoning aspect that cast iron gets it reputation for being high maintenance.  Without a good seasoning, cast iron will stick to food and rust.  Detergents and highly-abrasive scrubbers will remove oil and possibly some of the seasoning.  Water – even droplets – left on poorly-seasoned cast iron will cause rust.  This is why you never use soap when cleaning them.     

In the end, you will not find a more versatile piece of cookware for your kitchen than a cast iron skillet.  I use mine almost every day.  If you have one hidden away in your cabinet or attic - get it out and give it new life.  If you don't, grab one at your nearest big box or thrift store  - they are not expensive, and they will easily last your whole lifetime and even that of your children.  Even easier - buy a new one off Amazon right here

Want to learn even more:

A great article on cast iron seasoning from Serious Eats

The remarkable market for vintage, antique cast iron

How to hunt for your own antique cast iron