/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>12976929
no, get stainless steel

>>12976929
>What's the general opinion on cooking with cast iron?
€8^O}

>>12976929
Cast iron isn't as versatile, it doesn't make sense to go from nonstick as your primary pan to cast iron as your primary pan. Like most tools, some are better suited for specific situations.

Big cast iron fan, but I cook greasy foods regularly. I would suggest nonstick ceramic for what you are cooking.

>>12976929
It’s a must have in a kitchen but it’s not the daily driver for cooking or sauté

>>12976929
Fish is not easy to do on cast iron

>>12976929
Why would you limit yourself to one pan made of one type of material? Different tools for different jobs.

>>12976929
>$400 USD cast iron pan

dude, just get one from a thrift store. $5

>>12976967
>>12977440
>>12977443
Thank you, I didn't think about using different pans for different uses.

>>12976958
>>12977139
Alright so after learning about the above, I decided to google a bit deeper, and formed this list about what to do get

Stainless steel for sauteing chicken
Carbon steel wok for stir fry vegetables
nonstick for everything else

Is this overall correct?

>>12976929
this is a debate that goes on every bloody day on this board
here's the lowdown
cast iron has a high thermal mass - it makes it good for searing meat or veg, but lessso for stuff like sauces or omeletes
If you try not to scratch it and let oils sit in it for a moment after use, it will develop a non-stick patina
a properly made one will last a lifetime and is a lot of good fun
I have a le creuset skillet that has been cleaned in a bonfire and ocean, and still cooks very nice

>>12976929
blue steel pans are much more versatile and can do 99% of cast iron tasks without being fuck heavy.

>>12976929
Cast iron is fine, and you get used to using it after a while. Carbon steel is good as well, same goes with stainless but I find shit sticks to stainless way too easy, but I use it for making anything acidic like tomato sauces or braising. Seasoning gets stripped if you cook something like tomato sauce in it.

Also you can cook eggs and fish in cast iron no problem, and nonstick pans are completely pointless and no good for anything besides beyond being idiot proof cookware.

And seasoning isnt there to make pans non-stick thats a myth. Its there to protect the iron from oxidizing when its heated up. The non stick properties come from heating the pan properly and using enough oil when cooking, you can slap a coat of vegetable oil on your pan and burn it in the oven for an hour if you want because sometimes the factory seasoning isnt that great. Just dont expect it to magically be like teflon.

>>12978474
Never gonna make it with that attitude bro

Came across a recipe for polk chops that involved putting them in a cast iron pan and then into the oven. Can I do that with my stainless steel pan instead or will I suck dicks

>>12978474
ngmi

>>12978765
Stainless is unironically the best for shit like that. Especially since you can deglaze it and get some delicious pork gravy without fucking up the seasoning.

>>12976929

I just moved and now I have a glasstop electric stove and I'm scared. My cast iron pans are gonna scratch the fuck out of this thing isn't it?

>>12977767
Just buy a fucking stainless steel one. It's the only one you can abuse with impunity.

>>12980923
Not unless you shove and shake your pan around.

>>12976929
>seasoning an entire day
five minutes for cooking simple stuff like potatoes and pancakes, after half an hour of that is is smooth enough for fried eggs not to stick. With plain old canola oil, no organic flax seed shit required.

>>12976929
>iron poisoning

>>12976967
I disagree. Cast iron is the most versatile. Can bake in it, deep fry, sautee, self defense... If i could only have one pan it would be cast iron

>>12981287
Baking in it is the only thing in your description that every other pan can't do.

>>12976929
>What's the general opinion on cooking with cast iron?
I like it

>>12981258
>t.aneimc

>>12981384
So you admit it's more versatile

>>12976958
This. Much more versatile

>>12978765
Stainless can go into the oven fine

>>12981287
Stainless can do everything you just listed

>>12981808
You can't make pizza

My cast iron pan that I found in a second hand store, completely rusted, is now my everyday pan after putting an afternoon of work into it.

Don't waste money, get one second hand.

God damn I love that fucking pan. Makes awesome pancakes.

>>12982070
I have a $15 cast iron for that
And you probably could make pizza in stainless if you really wanted, it just wouldn’t have the nice shape a cast iron gives

>>12977767
Stainless with an aluminium core is the best type of pan. It's great for both searing and sauteing. Some people falsely believe cast iron is better for searing food, but this is completely untrue. Tri-ply is capable of the same high eat, only it's evenly distributed throughout the pan, this helps create perfectly even seared food and great fond. With cast iron the food will cook unevenly due to hot spots and fond will burn.

Non-stick is good for eggs, but that's all.

is it a bad idea to try to make a red wine sauce for my steak in a cast iron pan? all I have is 2 good cast iron pans and then a shitload of 20 year old and totally shot nonstick pans. seeing pictures of stainless pans with all that crusty goodness on the bottom makes me think I'd get way better sauces with one

imagine giving a shit what pans retards on /ck/ prefer

>>12982357
Stainless is way better for pan sauces. Iron doesn’t create enough fond and the seasoning is sensitive to acid

>>12980923
Glass is harder than iron, if anything the glass will scratch the pan. Just dont drop it.

>>12982527
is cooking a steak in a stainless pan the same as cast iron? Just crank the burner all the way up and wait 10 minutes?

>>12982577
Pretty much but it usually takes less time to preheat than fast iron

>>12976929
i got a lodge cast iron pan the other day, why is it so heavy?

>>12982660
Dyel

>>12982161
>Buy secondhand 2000's Lodge CI skillet for $5 from Goodwill
Not worth it unless you pick up a vintage piece like a Griswold or Wagner when you could just buy a 12" Lodge for $15 that you don't have to waste a few hours reseasoning and will work almost the same.

>>12982679
Huh?

>>12982766

It's got no name or markings, but here in NZ you can't pick up a CI pan for less than 50 bucks nzd, so a couple of hours love was worth it

>>12982766

This is how much a lodge costs in my country

>>12983057
Where the fuck do you live? That’s like $15 here. How can a hunk of iron be so expensive?

>>12983170

New Zealand, so everything is either made here and shipped to fucking China (because the chinks love kiwi products), or we need to import everything.

Feels bad man.

>>12976929

>>12983325
Lodge is manufactured in the US, but I guess the costs of shipping can make the difference.

What do you guys think about off brand cast iron like grand?

>>12983363
That isn't shipping alone. That's some tariff or tax BS. Likely there is a Kiwi iron worker's union at work.

>>12976958

>>12980923
just make sure you dont get any sand and dirt from leeks or potatoes between your pan and the glass, then it wont scratch.

>>12976929
>>12977767
Instead of getting a new teflon (plastic) nonstick, get a ceramic nonstick pan.
That is all.

>>12981793
let me know how your fish comes out, cunt

>>12981793
Spaghetti

>>12983325
Why is your manufacturing sector so much stronger than Australia's, though? Your industry produces shittier product than ours, but we let ours die and prefer to import worthless crap with doctored paperwork from China (communism in 2019 is just the ability to successfully fake paperwork, for those not already in the know).

FUCK JANNIES
FUCK NIGGERS
AND ABOVE ALL
FUCK CAST IRON

>>12984328

Kiwi iron

>>12976929
I like carbon steel for my main pan cause it's a lot lighter and heats/cools quicker. I have smaller cast iron pans for steaks etc. which I don't do so often.

For some reason there are no decently priced stainless pans available where I live. I do have some Le Creuset stuff that I got free/cheap which is good for acidic stuff or slow simmers.

>>12984661
IDK man. All I see is locally made shit sold under some Kiwi chef's name for half the price, which is still 2/3 more than it ought to be after conversion rates. How else do you explain that?

>>12984303
Not familiar with Grand brand stuff, but for the most part, iron is iron. The shitty cheap stuff cooks just as well and has the exact same quirks as the expensive stuff.
What you pay for with the expensive shit is hand finishing of the pieces to make them smooth and light. You can do the same thing yourself to cheaper pans if you wish. Just sand it out with 50 grit sandpaper until it’s smooth and there you go.

>>12983363
Import duties. Kiwiland has to make money somehow. Might as well do it by forcing their own citizens to pay 10x the going rate for everything.

>>12984590
Comes out just fine. That’s the beauty of using oil or butter when cooking.

>>12976967
I use cast iron, carbon steel, and stainless for everything in my kitchen. there's no need for teflon anything in a kitchen.

>>12978765
most roasting pans are made of stainless FYI

>>12984677
can you order from lodge? they often do 20% off online purchases and also free shipping.

>>12976929
>What's the general opinion on cooking with cast iron?
Great for _some_ things, not so great as a do it all purpose pan. It does not replace teflon.
>Have to replace my teflon pan Because it's flaking and I'm curious if cast iron pan are worth seasoning an entire day or two for.
Most cast iron are not milled and buffed as smooth as glass as they were 100 years ago, which is why good old ones are collectibles and priceless. New pans are textured and slightly bumpy coating no matter how much seasoning you bond onto it. You'll season it just fine, but it will never ever replace teflon. Stainless steel will be smoother, and teflon will always be the best nonsticks, and both do better with beans.
>I mainly cook chicken, fish, vegetable, beans, and onions. Not sure if that matters or not
You'll use your cast iron for baking skillet corn bread, dutch baby, german apple pancake, frittatas, some casseroles if you don't have something better. Pan frying requiring copious oil, like shallow pan frying of green tomatoes, okra, chicken cutlets, schnitzel, fritters, croquettes. It holds the heat well between batches in and out of the oil. You can of course do bacon, sausage, sausage gravy. Brown any meat that you want a deep dark fond to scrape up and turn into lovely pan sauce or gravy. It browns nicely. It also has the ability to finish up in the oven.
Cons: heavy. cleanup requires some water to soften up bits. Use soap. It's not as delicate as people say, just don't scrub hard, soften crusty bits, then light duty sponge. Air dry/completely dry before storing, and don't store it too long between uses. Need to refresh that oil coating with frequent use or oils can go rancid and sticky. If you want intermittant usage, you buy a le creuset or similar cast iron that is enamel coated. No fear of rancidity or rust forming, and they're slightly nonstick in nature. Less oil is healthier cooking. Another con is iron in your food (for men).

>>12980923
>I just moved and now I have a glasstop electric stove and I'm scared. My cast iron pans are gonna scratch the fuck out of this thing isn't it?
Any food on the surface acts as abrasives between a pan and the glass. Keep the glass clean between uses. Clean of oils too, because they can oxidize and darken up like how they do on Pyrex or Corningware pans, or coat underside of your pans. Wipe it down with surfactants to remove greasey oils, and then clean damp rag, then dry rag. Squeaky clean is key. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to wipe, and might even be the easiest stovetop.

They make a special sort of buffing cream cleaner for glass cooktops, comes in a small bottle (Weiman?). Think soft scrub, but even finer, plus a bit of chemicals to remove spots. You use a few drops to buff out the rings and dull scratchy areas. But, yea, don't move your pans anymore during sautes. Lift pots up and off burners in a gentle motion straight up, no drag, and it'll stay nicer. When and if you buy pans, a helper handle will assist you with the lifting straight up. But, the cream works really nicely.

>>12984369
Names?

I've got a huge set of 1960's le creuset pans and pots. All that hideous vintage orange color but they're great I love using them since I got them free. It'd cost thousands to replace them so that's pretty neat, shits pricey. Just the 5 quart dutch oven is like 800$ bucks alone. I have 2 of them, various frying pans, sauce pots, casserole dish, steamer pots, and lids. You can find old cast irons at yard sales or flea markets that are in awful condition but you can manage to restore them fairly well just look it up on YT. Luckily my set was stored well and maintained beautifully so them shits look perfect.