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The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away
The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away
Cast Iron Myths That Need To Go Away
- Thread starter Webster
- Start date
Phil Perrin
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Nice read,thanks!
Clint
TVWBB Olympian
Nice Article Webster. I agree with a lot of it but my observation on #6 is a little different. Only a month or three back I put one of my 12" CI skillets away and pulled out the less-used twin to work on building its seasoning. I noticed after a few uses (maybe after some slight mishandling) that the seasoning was really thin & worn through to where I could see metal, but I used it and re-seasoned it on the range (clean, heat, wipe with oil), and only a few uses later the seasoning was restored, and the bottom of the pan is really smoothing out only a couple months later---surprising how smooth it's getting. I've been using avocado oil to cook with & season lately.
I almost swapped pans again since this one's better than my other, but I'll use this one for another month or two & then switch, I think.
Myth #6: "Modern cast iron is just as good as old cast iron. It's all the same material, after all."
The Theory: Metal is metal, cast iron is cast iron, the new stuff is no different than the old Wagner and Griswold pans from early 20th century that people fetishize.
The Reality: The material may be the same, but the production methods have changed. In the old days, cast iron pans were produced by casting in sand-based molds, then polishing the resulting pebbly surfaces until smooth. Vintage cast iron tends to have a satiny smooth finish. By the 1950s, as production scaled up and was streamlined, this final polishing step was dropped from the process. The result? Modern cast iron retains that bumpy, pebbly surface.
The difference is more minor than you may think. So long as you've seasoned your pan properly, both vintage and modern cast iron should take on a nice non-stick surface, but your modern cast iron will never be quite as non-stick as the vintage stuff.
I almost swapped pans again since this one's better than my other, but I'll use this one for another month or two & then switch, I think.
Myth #6: "Modern cast iron is just as good as old cast iron. It's all the same material, after all."
The Theory: Metal is metal, cast iron is cast iron, the new stuff is no different than the old Wagner and Griswold pans from early 20th century that people fetishize.
The Reality: The material may be the same, but the production methods have changed. In the old days, cast iron pans were produced by casting in sand-based molds, then polishing the resulting pebbly surfaces until smooth. Vintage cast iron tends to have a satiny smooth finish. By the 1950s, as production scaled up and was streamlined, this final polishing step was dropped from the process. The result? Modern cast iron retains that bumpy, pebbly surface.
The difference is more minor than you may think. So long as you've seasoned your pan properly, both vintage and modern cast iron should take on a nice non-stick surface, but your modern cast iron will never be quite as non-stick as the vintage stuff.
Clint
TVWBB Olympian
It would be smoother! I've heard no down side. Mine are smoothing out over time so I think you'd just reduce several months of time to break each piece in.
Consideration should be given to your sanding material and cleaning it after----maybe scotchbrite on a rotary sander or wire wheel or brass brush chocked up in a drill----------This is probably the only place where we have to be careful to avoid any toxins.
I agree with you Clint about #6. Much is said about the surface, and to be honest it's not that much of a difference between the new stuff and the vintage as far as the non-stick surface goes. I do prefer the smooth, but use both and don't even think about it. All I know is the more you use it, the better the surface gets.
