/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>18730948
It works, so why not? Don't fix what isn't broken.

>>18730948
idk, i grew up with cast iron, so i'm used to cooking with it, that's why i use it.

My mom bought be a cast iron pan for my birthday and after 1 use I put it through the dishwasher and it got destroyed so I learnt my lesson ad will never buy cast iron anything again because something that's weak enough to get destroyed by the dishwasher can fuck off outta my kitchen.

it adds iron to your food, of which lots of people have a deficiency

Anytime I've used stainless it was kind of shit but everything I've cooked in castiron comes out great

Cheap stainless pans are trash. Cheap cast iron pans are usable.

>>18730948
Because that's what my parents bought retard

>>18730948
Carbon steel best compromise

>>18731094
what makes it a compromise? it's by all practical means just like a cast iron

>>18731100
The surface finish is different, making its maintenance less autistic. The real chads just get enameled cast iron though.

>>18731115
The importance of the surface finish is that the carbon steel finish makes it utterly impossible to keep an evenly seasoned surface, so the autists quickly give up on it in frustration and move to cast iron where they shit up every thread with their bacon-stripped seasoning.

>>18731149
Or again, you just go enameled and don't give a fuck

cast iron is thick so it retains heat. that makes it good for searing and deep frying.
plus if you have a good seasoning on it then it can be pretty dang nonstick, takes effort and maintenance though.

>>18731173
You seem to feel pretty strongly about enameled cast iron. I use normal cast iron when I cook. Give me the rundown on why I should switch.

>>18730948
>Why would anyone use cast iron instead of stainless steel?
when I am shallow panfrying items like potato pancakes, fried okra, fried green tomatoes, there is no flucuation of temps once you set your temp for the burner it will stay there, despite moving batches in and out of the oil to drain. In a stainless, you'll be lowering the oil to prevent smoking or adding items that are going into oil that is too cold.
It's an annoyance factor that is just not going to happen if you switch to a thick cast iron.

>>18731238
You get to be a little more careful with it so you don't crack the enamel.

>>18731365
Just don't drop it and don't thermally shock it.

>>18731238
Glass shards add extra flavor.

I cook my tomato sauces in copper ware and feed it to my wife

i just use teflon

>>18731788
doesn't that cause cancer

>>18730948
Why would anyone use stainless steal instead of carbon steel? Serious question, I have no idea.

>>18731090
>Cheap cast iron pans are usable.
Raughs in chinesium/lead alloy
Cast iron is superior though

>>18730948
i fucking hate my stainless pan but i can't bring myself to replace it because i've gotten used to her flaws and i move house a lot and don't want to drag around a ton of cast iron
when i settle down i'll upgrade to cast iron because they manage heat easier and season well
stainless is more durable and it was an appropriate choice when i was a student

>>18730948
when you put food in pan, it steals heat from pan. the cooling effect can drop the temperature enough that it interferes with searing. cast iron can hold more energy, so cools down less. therefore, when the goal is to sear, cast iron is a safer bet. the reason restaurants dont use them is that they are heavier, less durable than carbon steel. also, heat retention isn't an issue if you just avoid overcrowding your pan to begin with.

>>18730948
Because boomers enjoy doing more work than they have to.

>>18730948
Cast iron is cheaper. That's it.

Well, you can buy cheap stainless but it's shit. To get results equal to CI you need a heavy-duty pan that's least tri-ply which is extra $$$.
If you have the money, there's very little reason to use cast iron, except maybe when baking something that needs a thick crust where heat capacity is everything. A good stainless heats much more evenly, no autistic maintenance and can sear almost as well to the point where there's no practical downside.

>>18730948
Cast iron is better for searing meat than stainless steel is.

>>18735220
you can get a $50 IKEA pan that's good and heavy. don't tell me you think that's expensive

>>18730948
They are big and heavy. They maintain heat. Even if you slap a big slab of beef on it it doesn't care. Sears well and doesn't start to boil it instead.
Still both have their uses.

>>18730948
I use both

>>18735220
>it's just more steel
dude, iron chads keep winning. but it's coppers game.