I ran across this article today and thought you might enjoy it:
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Great article thanks for sharing. -
Interesting experiment!Comment
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Boy, if granny's ole skillet could talk....Comment
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Interesting article. However, few who are cast iron cooks try to fry an egg on a new cast iron pan, right out of the box and expect it to "slide right out of the pan." I know some manufactures claim this but I don't take them seriously. That level of seasoning takes time and effort, and it is difficult to achieve manually.
I found that my Finex skillet was easily the most non-stick out of the box than all of my new pans. The cooking surface is smooth, but there is some texture, so the surface will take up seasoning quickly.
The author mentions the Finex Handle, does the Finex handle get hot? Yes, of course it does. So does every other handle in cast iron cooking. You want a stay cool handle? Then you rule out putting something in the oven, over a fire or on your grill, because that handle will get hot no matter what it is made of. I didn't buy the Finex for the handle, I bought it because it is an awesome piece of cookware that is a blast too cook with. I do here people complaining about the handle being cumbersome. And I can understand that, but I have huge hands so I love the large handle. For once, I have a pan that I can really hold on too. Finex is not for everyone. Yes, the Finex is expensive. Yes, It is heavy. But I love to cook with them. They retain heat unlike any piece of cookware I own. And they look gorgeous over a fire and produce amazing results. They are probably my favorite cookware.
The article does touch on the fact that Lodge is a great choice. I would consider Lodge to be the best value and all around skillet. If your getting into cast iron cooking, Lodge is a great choice. They can be seasoned nonstick, very easily. If you know what you are doing. Aside from value, they are workhorses. I use them everywhere for all most all of my outdoor cooking. Lodge also makes a gigantic range of products. Plus, they are made in the USA, which is always a huge plus. Lodge Cast Iron is what I started with and I will always own Lodge pans. They are rougher out of the box than the others listed but they have to be at this price point. One of the main reasons the Finex and Field are more expensive is they are milled at the cooking surface, just like the vintage pans of years past. I don't think Lodge is trying to sell you a pan that is totally non-stick out of the box. That layer of seasoning is more to prevent flash rust in transport. (If you ask me)
Cast iron cookware takes time to develop and that is part of what makes it so special, you almost form a bond with the piece of cookware. Like a fisherman does with an old rod or like a ball player does with his bat. Long story short, I don't really think there is some great short cut to great, non-stick cast iron pans. "Pre-seasoned" cast iron is just a buzz word. That does not mean it is ready for frying eggs right out of the box, even if they claim it will. (with enough oil, you could make it happen it almost any pan.) It takes time, dedication and patience to get a truly non-stuck cast iron pan.
**My apologies, it is not my intention to rant.........
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Steve B, I love the Field Skillets. I have both, and use the large regularly. It's light and I haven't had any issues with sticking. But I also would probably use another pan to cook eggs in. The walls on the Field are very straight, and don't give the best access for a spatula compared to some of my other pieces.
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Great points. Cast iron is not something that is Teflon like right out of the box. It takes years (depending on how much you use it) to get it "non-stick" but even then you still have to use it correctly. It is the only pan I know that can last generations (SS hasn't been out long enough to see how long it lasts but it should last a long time also). Some families pass down their GGM cast iron pots and that is from my generations persepctive. (GGGGM) What other pan can you restore form a total rust bucket and still get generations of use out of it? I wish I could use mine more but they are a little heavy for me now. I am trying to work out all the ways to use them on my grills so that they become my go to pans all the time. No rant there Spinaker ...sounds more like a sales pitch and I'm buyin' it.Last edited by JimLinebarger; September 16, 2017, 03:47 PM.Comment
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I saw an article on a new company called Stargazer. Right now their initial product is a 10.5 skillet. It's very smooth on the inner surface. It advertised as 1lb lighter than "others". That was a complaint of my wife for our 10" Lodge, that and the rough surface, compared to our Griswold 12" & our Erie which are smooth and lighter than the Lodge, though bigger. The Stargazer is 80$ & I will take delivery sometime in October. We shall see.Comment
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I've been off the board for a bit, and just catching up but I have and love a lot of these new pans, the Stargazer included. Its the craziest surface I've ever seen on cast iron before. Completely smooth to the point where I've heard some complain of difficulty seasoning, but I haven't had an issue. The best feature are the rounded walls. Really good to get a spoon into for a baste
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Steve B
The Field Skillet is going to take time to season. The fact that they give it poor mark because it can't fry a slide-off egg right out of the box is short sighted. The Filed Skillet is more like the vintage Griswold pans, extra smooth but they too took time to season. They even mention this in the article. "The pan also felt difficult to season properly: it was harder to achieve an even coat of oil, perhaps because the smooth service was less porous and absorbent."
This is true and the main reason why after only "two-rounds of seasoning" it wasn't non-stick! There is a tradeoff with smooth pans. The seasoning takes more time to become established on smooth pans, but you don't need as many layers to get to that non-stick cooking surface. The surface is less porous and thus, there is less to fill in to make it non-stick.
The folks at Field Skillet are trying to replicate what Griswold and many other vintage manufactures did. Produce good quality cookware with a smooth cooking surface. The fact is, people cooked with lard and other animal fats that had more ALAs in them which allowed this vintage pans to take on a tougher, more durable finish, faster. This has all but been taken out of many fats we cook as things have moved off open grazing and into confinement or feed lots. Steve, your Filed Skillet is a good one and it will get there too, as will mine, but it takes time and effort. Patience is a virtue, my brother.Comment
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I was underwhelmed on the first read and decided to let Spinaker have first comment. A second reading was, if possible, even less impressive.
After her introduction, she states the goal of "...are the fancy new design features really valuable and worthy of the higher price tag? What's the best cast iron skillet money can buy?" Then she evaluates six skillets. There are more that six manufacturers of CI skillets, so you can't answer the second question as "the best" might be one of those you didn't evaluate.
Then she moves on to the factors she evaluated, the first being "How non-stick is the pre-seasoned coating?" Then informs us that factory seasoning is really just a head start on more seasoning that will need to be done by the purchaser. So right off the bat she negates her first factor.
She begins with the skillets 'they' recommend. In her top pick, the Victoria, she fries an egg with no oil and the and "....in the end it slid out easily." Apparently so easily she suspected they had put on a "...secret chemical nonstick coating." But she assures us that according to Victoria's website they use only oil. The hot link to their website goes to their 'Use and Care' section which does not tell us what Victoria uses to pre-season with. It does have a list of recommended oils the purchaser should use in maintaining their CI, but it does not state what Victoria uses.
Allow me, assuming you've lasted this far, to jump ahead to the Finex and Field. The Finex she states, "Perhaps because of that smooth surface there was minimal sticking when I fried eggs...." Then at the Field review, after reporting how the egg stuck and the pan did not respond to seasoning she states, "...perhaps because the smooth surface was less porous and absorbent." So on the one skillet the smooth surface results in minimal sticking, on the other it makes it resistant to seasoning causing sticking? Which is it? The clue is in the word 'perhaps', a word used to express uncertainty. She doesn't have a clue as to what she is talking about.
Price seemed to play a role in her evaluation. The first recommended is the lowest priced, followed by the second lowest priced, and then the third. The last to be recommended is the "Best Fancy Option", the Finex. But then suggests that, if you "...shell out..." it's because "...you prize its looks because the far cheaper Victoria has a better nonstick surface out of the box." At least she refrained from ending it with 'you vain SOB.'
Then she moves on to the skillets 'they' don't recommend, the Field and the Utopia.
So there we have it, correct? Four recommended, two not. But wait! She finishes with The Bottom Line. And what is that? "...you won't go far wrong with any of these choices..."
If Ms. Johnson is reading this, allow me to offer her some advice. Don't drop $20.91 on the Victoria. Poke around yard sales until you find one for five or ten bucks. While you are there, check out a Griswold. I know, they are considerably more, fifty to hundred or more. Then consider this, the seller, or the seller's grandmother or great grandmother, might have only paid five or ten bucks for that Griswold brand new, and then used it for fifty or more years. Maybe then you'll realise it's not how much or little an egg sticks to pan out of the box that really matters when it comes to which one is the best cast iron skillet money can buy.Comment
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My opinion might be crushed, but I don't think the "bumpy or rough" surface of the newer CI's has anything to do with nonstick quality of the skillets. I have a made in China 8" & a 10" Lodge & reseasoned them both from the original & they work just fine. I think it's what you do with & how you handle them as to their effectiveness. Most important, is use em.Comment
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Speaking strictly about skillets, do you guys that use CI have/use anything else besides CI?Comment
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Carbon Steel. Solidteknics out of Australia has great products, and the best pans I own are from Blanc Creatives in Virginia: http://blanccreatives.com/
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Nah, I even eat my cereal out of cast iron, yeah, that's the way to do it.
Skillets are only cast iron, we've got some stainless pots, so sauces, soups, and stews are made in them. The only other thing I use is my carbon steel woks.Comment
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