/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>17232665
>is X a meme?
-_-

>>17232673
Sorry for sounding so basic, I’m just curious to see some discussion on if they’re worth it. I’ve had a cast iron pan for years but it annoys me that every year or two, the seasoning starts flaking off after some food burns on or I cook something too acidic.

>>17232665
they're pretty good †bh, but take a bit of extra care

if you ever pour water into a hot enamel iron pan the enamel will likely crack, don't use it on induction unless you start very low and slowly increase the heat to allow the entire pan to heat up - the point is you need to avoid hot spots as much as possible, you want the whole pan to heat up at the same rate. you don't have to season it per se, but wash it with a plastic brush and hot water, I use a wooden spatula and those cheep wooden forks to scrap the gads out rather than a scour pad

don't exceed 200ºC or it'll start to fall apart

>>17232682
They’re great for some things, less great for others.
Upkeep is zero effort, but you can’t abuse it like regular cast.
I have a LC enameled skillet and use it frequently. But I’d also own a regular cast pan if I didn’t have a carbon steel one. It doesn’t fully replace bare cast, for reasons such as not being able to take as high of a temperature.

>>17232665
i use my enamel cast iron like a regular cast iron no problem

cakes cornbread pupusas pie

for general frying i prefer stainless steel

>>17232665
I have a Staub, enameled, Dutch oven. It's great for slow braised big meats like making a ragu or cassarole. Also have used it to make bread. Very simple to clean and maintain. Recommended.

>>17232762
Fuck yeah Staub-bro.

>>17232665
yes they're nice
the enameled stuff I have was pretty cheap but sitll seems to hold up fine
mostly use them over my bare stuff because they're shiny and colorful
brings joy into my life

>>17232665
Wait what’s the point of cast iron if it’s covered in enamel, at that point why not have any other kind of enameled pan if you’re just cooking on the enameled surface?

>>17232854
Because enamel doesn’t stop cast iron from acting like cast iron in terms of thermal properties?
>why not have any other kind of enameled pan
High quality enameling is not a cheap process and isn’t a good coating for thinner materials that bend/dent more easily.

>>17232762
>>17232772
Based. Which ones do you have?

>>17232762
I use it for searing meats too

Why buy a pan when you can use that directly

The only issue is the price, its an investment, but itll last a lifetime

>>17232888
Just the round coquette pot, it's not that big, I think it's like 3 or 4 qt or something, perfect for 2-3 people. They can be very large (too large).

>>17232906
Zwillings website is great though (zwilling is the parent company), they always have a big sale on. I got my Staub pot for like $150 down from 400.

Searing meat is fantastic. I have a slow cooker I use for very long stews/pulled pork (7+ hours) but for a ~3 hour stews (like ragu) it's my go to now for sure.

>>17232888
I have their 7qt cocotte in grenadine color.
Funny enough, almost everything else I have is LC. Skillet, stockpot, some bakeware, etc. but when it came to getting an oven, it seemed Staub made a genuinely superior one.

>>17232940
Yeh I nearly got a le cruecet as well, but went for Staub in the end. It was a little cheaper but still a premium product (I didn't want the cheaper lodge/amazon basics type pots as people say they chip/discolour easily). I went for Matte black which has held up well, hides stains and thought it would go with any kitchen/cookware colour scheme I go with over the years too, so future proofed.

if you have to ask you're too poor to afford it

>>17233076
Mommies cookware doesnt count kid

>>17232665
they have their pros and cons compared to raw cast iron skillets

raw
>cheap
>requires maintenance
>better non-stick properties, but only when properly seasoned
>almost indestructible - even if you fuck up the seasoning you can always restart from scratch

enameled
>relatively expensive
>almost no maintenance, can even be cleaned in the dishwasher
>non-stick straight out the box, but slightly worse non-stick properties
>very sturdy, but if you damage the enameled coating you have to throw away the pan

>>17233574
>>17232665
>Bought a three set on Amazon for $50+ when my CCs had higher cash back on online purchases
>used on my shitty cheap ass convection cooker
No problems so far, and I'm enjoying how evenly these things cook.

>>17233574
they're not much more expensive unless if you get overpriced shit
neither is non-stick
if you damage it, you just strip the enamel and use it as a cast iron pan

>>17234171
>unless if you get overpriced shit
So you mean the well-made stuff that doesn’t chip if you sneeze on it

>>17234314
have yet to see anyone provide any proof for these claims that le creuset or staub have higher 'quality' enamel than cheap unbranded stuff

>>17234328
Probably because the people who have owned enamelware from both ends of the price range and formed their own opinion as a result don’t really care about convincing some internet rando.
It’s not like I get a commission on what you buy.

>>17234337
yeah you're just going by this preconceived notion that more expensive=better

>>17234361
Yes. It has nothing to do with having owned less expensive things and eventually being able to afford more expensive versions of those things and noticing actual quality differences between them.

>>17234372
Is it simply that one chips easier than the other? Do they have better nonstick properties?

Enamel is a strange middle ground. It's not as nonstick as well seasoned cast iron or actual nonstick, it won't rust, but it can chip, and chipped enamel can't be repaired. So it's not as bulletproof as normal cast iron too - you have to treat it with some level of care to avoid chipping. I have one but I also have a lot of different types of materials of pans in my kitchen. It's certainly not essential, but it is useful for acidic sauces that will react with a normal cast iron pan.

>>17235776
I have Le Creuset and I can't tell any great difference between the nonstick properties of it or the Chinese stuff. It does seem more hardy, but I would still use proper precautions and take care of it.
It should be noted that the rim will usually be raw iron and have the same precautions as normal cast iron. IIRC they use food grade wax to prevent rust but this will obviously melt/wear away in the oven or with usage, so reapply or take precaution as usual.

>>17235794
>>17235807
Thanks. One thing I was wondering is, can sponges (the softer kind of scrubby sponges, not the coarse ones) wear down or otherwise damage the enamel, especially if there are burned on pieces or discolouration you need to really scrub off?

>>17235824
No, sponges will not wear down the enamel. Chips usually result from large abuses like dropping the thing, leaving it empty over high heat forever etc.

>>17232665
Not a meme but the enamel coming off *is* a big issue. However if you can keep it you'll have an excellent tool on your hands. Personally the only enameled cast iron I have is my dutch oven. All the rest are bare. This is by coincidence more than any choice or preference on my end.

>>17232888
I have the black 26cm cocotte
>>17232954
Sometimes I think LC is superior in that the enamel is cream or whatever and not black, makes it easier to see if anything burns and if you have removed all the browning at the bottom when deglazing

>>17232665

There is literally no reason to buy any kind of pan except the cheapest €2 teflon pans from Lidl.
>b-b-but they won't last!
So? Juyst chuck them in the trash and buy a new one. They're so cheap you could literally have a new pan for every meal you cook and it would still be cheaper AND more convenient than cast iron.

Enjoy your microplastics and PTFE poisoning, chud.

>>17237721
u r n ass hole

>>17237704
>Sometimes I think LC is superior in that the enamel is cream or whatever and not black
They have different cooking properties. The black is better for searing and higher heat if you want to use it for that.
It’s why LC uses the matte black enamel in their skillet. They keep the cream in their ovens because it’s their signature item and that’s their signature interior.

>>17232665
Got an amazon brand enamelled dutch oven for 60 bucks and I love it. I’m sure the enamel will come of prettu quick compared to some staub shit but whatever.

>>17237771
not if you care for it properly anon

>>17237761
How do the colours have different cooking properties? Serious question, I’m guessing it’s different kinds of enamel but I have no idea about this stuff.

>>17237772
i won't. i'm going to flog the fuck out of this cheap piece of shit

>>17237791
don't be materialist anon. yes it won't last *forever* but you should still care for it and make it last as long as possible.

don't heat it up too quickly with hot and cold spots because the enamel will crack, don't clean it with scour pads, don't dump water into it when it's hot, scrape it clean with wood and plastic, and that fucker will last you 10 years or maybe 20

>>17237782
It isn’t so much the color, but that the cream enamel is more glossy where the black is a matte finish.

>>17237816
How does the glossy vs matte finish affect its cooking properties though? Matte means more surface area since it’s textured?

>>17237823
none of it makes a difference
it's just marketing bullshit that these idiots are willingly regurgitating to justify the money they spent on their special branded cookware
same idiots that will claim that cheap=bad and expensive=good
i have yet to see a single person provide even a SHED of proof on these claims in any of these threads

>>17237844
>imagine being this retarded
You can’t honestly fucking think that different surface materials make no difference in cooking.
You sound bitter, and that’s about it.

>>17237852
yeah because a slightly *matte* surface transfers heat so differently than a glossy one would
my nigga whoever is paying you to shill should get a refund because you're doing a terrible job at it

>>17232665
If you have the spare cash to buy a good brand then they are absolutely worth it over traditional cast iron.

>>17237852
>>17237867
you guise are funny

>>17237867
Shoo, retarded bitter faggot.
If you think that a material being designed for use with higher temperature makes no difference, you need to get the fuck off the cooking board.
>t-temperature doesn’t matter with cooking!
Fuck off.

>>17237878
Nice sear anon.

>>17237888
I hope it helps out to rest the fuss about enameled cast iron not being able to sear as well as raw cast iron.

>>17237735
The enamel is glass, what are you talking about? There’s no plastic

>>17238529
Unless it’s lodge and then it’s made of chinesium.

>>17232665
Those are cancerous when they burn fren, beware

>>17237888
Here’s another one done in the same le Creuset frying pan.

>>17239747
you should get a grill pan

>>17239759
I have a double burner grill pan for group cooking because grill lines impress plebs but I much prefer a pan sear.