Cast Iron Skillet... The Healthiest To Cook With

From Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2015:

The iron contamination in the cast iron skillets is a benefit to your health. To maximize the benefit cook longer and use acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and vinegar. the amount of iron in three ounces of spaghetti sauce increases nearly tenfold after cooking in a cast iron skillet due to the sauce's acid content.

Ceramic ware - be cautious as there may be lead in the pan and you probably bought it from a store that imported it from China that puts lead in little dolls paint!

Non stick pans- contain Perflouroctanoic acid (PFOA) and it is considered a carcinogen to humans. The EPA is working to eliminate it and in brands like Teflon have switched to Polytetaflourorthlyene (PTFE) to make their non-stick coating.

Ain't life grand?

rhinefire said:

From Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2015:

The iron contamination in the cast iron skillets is a benefit to your health. To maximize the benefit cook longer and use acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and vinegar. the amount of iron in three ounces of spaghetti sauce increases nearly tenfold after cooking in a cast iron skillet due to the sauce's acid content.

Ceramic ware - be cautious as there may be lead in the pan and you probably bought it from a store that imported it from China that puts lead in little dolls paint!

Non stick pans- contain Perflouroctanoic acid (PFOA) and it is considered a carcinogen to humans. The EPA is working to eliminate it and in brands like Teflon have switched to Polytetaflourorthlyene (PTFE) to make their non-stick coating.

Ain't life grand?

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I've always liked my iron skillet better than the newer types.

joG said:

I've always liked my iron skillet better than the newer types.

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I like the vintage cast iron skillets. The newer ones (post 1970'ish or so) the made the surface a little rougher, so that they can preseason the pans. In my opinion, that makes it less desirable. Cast iron dutch ovens are the best for making chili in.

rhinefire said:

From Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2015:

The iron contamination in the cast iron skillets is a benefit to your health. To maximize the benefit cook longer and use acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and vinegar. the amount of iron in three ounces of spaghetti sauce increases nearly tenfold after cooking in a cast iron skillet due to the sauce's acid content.

Grows hair on a man's chest too.

Ceramic ware - be cautious as there may be lead in the pan and you probably bought it from a store that imported it from China that puts lead in little dolls paint!

True if the glaze used on ceramic wares is low fired. Lead burns off at high fired temperatures which is reason potters will not use lead glazes at high temperatures.

Non stick pans- contain Perflouroctanoic acid (PFOA) and it is considered a carcinogen to humans. The EPA is working to eliminate it and in brands like Teflon have switched to Polytetaflourorthlyene (PTFE) to make their non-stick coating.

We threw out all our teflon pans when it was noticed the pans were not performing as expected.

Ain't life grand?

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For some more than others.

RAMOSS said:

I like the vintage cast iron skillets. The newer ones (post 1970'ish or so) the made the surface a little rougher, so that they can preseason the pans. In my opinion, that makes it less desirable. Cast iron dutch ovens are the best for making chili in.

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I like my mother's old one from the 1940's. She got it from her mother.

i like cast iron skillets, and have thought about getting a whole set. however, i doubt the other kind is unhealthy or carcinogenic. after all, cooked meat itself contains heterocyclic amines regardless of what you prepare it in, and those are carcinogenic. the air also often contains carcinogens at some level. non stick pans probably aren't going to kill you. however, cast iron skillets have a cool factor, and that's good enough.

Helix said:

i like cast iron skillets, and have thought about getting a whole set. however, i doubt the other kind is unhealthy or carcinogenic. after all, cooked meat itself contains heterocyclic amines regardless of what you prepare it in, and those are carcinogenic. the air also often contains carcinogens at some level. non stick pans probably aren't going to kill you. however, cast iron skillets have a cool factor, and that's good enough.

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are they worth it? does the food really taste better?

rhinefire said:

From Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2015:
The iron contamination in the cast iron skillets is a benefit to your health. To maximize the benefit cook longer and use acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and vinegar. the amount of iron in three ounces of spaghetti sauce increases nearly tenfold after cooking in a cast iron skillet due to the sauce's acid content.

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Acid in your cast iron can be a real pita.

QuadpolarNutjob said:

are they worth it? does the food really taste better?

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depends on the cook.

seriously, though, i think that there are some advantages, but i doubt that it's that noticeable. it's probably more that they are super cool, you have to prepare the pans, and that they pretty much last forever. a non stick skillet has a limited life (though i have made mine last well past their prime.)

QuadpolarNutjob said:

are they worth it? does the food really taste better?

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I certainly can be better--a lot better...depending on the food.

If you're just frying an egg or two, I doubt there's any real difference.

But if you are trying to cook anything with some heft to it--a steak, fried chicken, etc.--or if you're trying to cook a large quantity of something--pancakes, quesadillas, etc.--cast iron can't be beat.
The mass and properties of the cast iron cookware enable it to hold it's temperature better than lesser cookware.
Adding chicken to the hot oil will necessary cool the oil, but if the pan stays hot, the oil won't cool as much and will reach temp again more quickly.
Each time you drop pancake batter on to the pan, it cools the pan a little. With a cast iron griddle, there's enough heat in the pan that the cooling from the cakes is not as noticeable as when you are cooking with a less massive pan of some other material. So your cakes just keep on coming off the griddle quick and hot.

This is prob'ly why the poster upthread said that cast iron is nice for making chili.
Cast iron is great for browning meat. The pan stays hot enough that the meat doesn't steam in it's own juices first.
If you start with stainless steel pot, you can get it quite hot, that helps and you should, before you add the meat. But once you drop that meat in, if you are not careful, the meat will release so much juice so quickly that the meat is actually being boiled instead of browned.
It's much easier for cast iron to stay hot enough to boil off the juices at the rate they are exuded from the meat. So the meat sears and browns right away instead of boiling first.

Plus, you can take advantage of these heat holding properties in your oven as well. You an almost fry in your oven with preheated oven and cast iron.
Pouring cornbread batter into a hot skillet gives it a tastier crust.
There's more, but you get the idea.

The way that cast iron holds, distributes, and releases heat make it a valuable cooking tool.
And they're tough as hell. The one we use every day is around 60 years old. ...still smooth & level after all these years and uses.

There's nothing quite like them. Though there are a wide variety of them.

The best fried foods are in greasy spoon joints/diners are made on stainless grilles, very old and seasoned, not cast iron skillets. That says cast iron does not hold in flavor like the stainless grilles despite the material being more porous in iron. Yet, cast aluminum and cast iron outdoor grilles are much better than any stainless grille.....why?

rhinefire said:

The best fried foods are in greasy spoon joints/diners are made on stainless grilles, very old and seasoned, not cast iron skillets. That says cast iron does not hold in flavor like the stainless grilles despite the material being more porous in iron. Yet, cast aluminum and cast iron outdoor grilles are much better than any stainless grille.....why?

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Stainless grills in restaurants are not seasoned. They are scrubbed every night.
That's the point of using stainless--it's easy to clean thoroughly.

Your cooking surface is not supposed to "hold flavors"

Those big-ass flat grills work great because they are big. They are a huge thick sheet of steel that can hold a lot of heat. Large hot mass means that it will stay closer to temp when you drop a lot of food on it. Staying hot means that you can keep cooking food as fast as you can drop it.

Outdoor grills are not the same thing as a flat grill that you'd make hash browns on if you were a short-order cook in a greasy spoon.

Simon W. Moon said:

Stainless grills in restaurants are not seasoned. They are scrubbed every night.
That's the point of using stainless--it's easy to clean thoroughly.

Your cooking surface is not supposed to "hold flavors"

Those big-ass flat grills work great because they are big. They are a huge thick sheet of steel that can hold a lot of heat. Large hot mass means that it will stay closer to temp when you drop a lot of food on it. Staying hot means that you can keep cooking food as fast as you can drop it.

Outdoor grills are not the same thing as a flat grill that you'd make hash browns on if you were a short-order cook in a greasy spoon.

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You do realize those old stainless grilles from diners are auctioned off or sold directly for very large sums of money. At 67 yrs. of age the best burgers I have ever had did not come off a open fire grill, rather an old diner grille.

rhinefire said:

From Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2015:

The iron contamination in the cast iron skillets is a benefit to your health. To maximize the benefit cook longer and use acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and vinegar. the amount of iron in three ounces of spaghetti sauce increases nearly tenfold after cooking in a cast iron skillet due to the sauce's acid content.

Ceramic ware - be cautious as there may be lead in the pan and you probably bought it from a store that imported it from China that puts lead in little dolls paint!

Non stick pans- contain Perflouroctanoic acid (PFOA) and it is considered a carcinogen to humans. The EPA is working to eliminate it and in brands like Teflon have switched to Polytetaflourorthlyene (PTFE) to make their non-stick coating.

Ain't life grand?

Click to expand...

Cast iron has always been the best way to cook, problem is many do not know how to cook with a cast iron skillet or griddle or dutch oven. With cast iron,they never get scrubbed, they get seasoned with fat and after used only needed to be rinses and wiped down. Also if the seasoning is stripped off with soap it will rust.


Fyi cast iron is the only way to make cornbread, if it is in anything else,it is not cornbread!

rhinefire said:

From Environmental Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2015:

The iron contamination in the cast iron skillets is a benefit to your health. To maximize the benefit cook longer and use acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and vinegar. the amount of iron in three ounces of spaghetti sauce increases nearly tenfold after cooking in a cast iron skillet due to the sauce's acid content.

Ceramic ware - be cautious as there may be lead in the pan and you probably bought it from a store that imported it from China that puts lead in little dolls paint!

Non stick pans- contain Perflouroctanoic acid (PFOA) and it is considered a carcinogen to humans. The EPA is working to eliminate it and in brands like Teflon have switched to Polytetaflourorthlyene (PTFE) to make their non-stick coating.

Ain't life grand?

Click to expand...

had problems with anemia as a kid
my goal before i go is to eventually donate 50 gallons of blood
was deferred by red cross at one time for low iron in the sample; the nurse suggested cooking breakfast in a cast iron skillet prior to coming in
she was right. next donation, the blood sample sunk like an anchor
seems the iron does leach into the cooked food. a good thing

Simon W. Moon said:

Stainless grills in restaurants are not seasoned. They are scrubbed every night.
That's the point of using stainless--it's easy to clean thoroughly.

Your cooking surface is not supposed to "hold flavors"

Those big-ass flat grills work great because they are big. They are a huge thick sheet of steel that can hold a lot of heat. Large hot mass means that it will stay closer to temp when you drop a lot of food on it. Staying hot means that you can keep cooking food as fast as you can drop it.

Outdoor grills are not the same thing as a flat grill that you'd make hash browns on if you were a short-order cook in a greasy spoon.

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Actually the ones I have seen get scrubbed several times per days but using only water and a brass brush then it is squee-geed and cooking oil thrown on it. You can see this in Chinese restaurants that cook for the viewing public Mongolian style.