Who makes good quality cast iron cookware?

[Swede50]

I am looking for some good Cast Iron Cookware for the Wife to use. She is always bitching about the stainless pans I bought. I absolutely won’t buy any more scratch and stick (Non Stick Coated) pans again. Did you ever wonder where the non stick coating goes?

My father always talks about his mother using cast iron cookware.

What brand do you recommend?

And I would like to know a little about seasoning, cooking and cleaning cast iron cookware.

Your assistance will be appreciated.

 

[Joe Yanta]

Swede I think that some of the better CIware are out of business. I think Griswold has gone, not sure about Wagner. Anyway I think Lodge and Lewis and Clark make some decent stuff. Hunt the antique stores in your area. You might find some nice older CI for less that you can buy new for. I just bought an older 8" dutch oven with lid for $24.

Good luck

Joe

 

[Blizzard of '93]

some foreign stuff is actually fair-to-good quality (and some is lousy). check the bottom interior surface if it has been ground slick it's likely OK.
the USA made stuff will cost ya, but money talks.
the non-stick stuff is OK for frying eggs and such but not much else.

 

[ameling]

Griswold and Wagner were pretty much the "standards" for CI cookware from the late 1800's on up through most of the 1900's. But you will now have to search the garage sales and antique/junque stores to find them.

I use a no-name old skillet every day. It's only mark is a 7 cast into the the more "stylized" handle. And it does have a small iron ring cast onto the outside bottom (fire ring) instead of a perfectly flat bottom. This was done to help you cook on an old wood-burning cookstove. I like it - it has a little more "style" to it than those classice Griswold/Wagner frypans.

To season CI cookware, you heat it up and wipe in some oil. That oil then seeps into the pores of the cast iron, and starts to fill them up. And as those layers of "seasoning" build up and fill in the microscopic pores in the iron, it becomes more and more Non-Stick. Nowdays most people use some form of vegetable oil (corn/soy/peanut). But the old way was to use real unsalted LARD or unsalted BUTTER - amimal fats.

Around here in the upper Midwest, a lot of groups hold pancake/sausage feeds as a fund raiser - through the church, legion, or the town. And many times they will start to have problems with their pancakes sticking to their gridles. So they throw on some more margarine hoping that it will help. But it just soaks into the pancakes, and they start sticking again. About then some old timer (man or woman) will walk over with some butter or lard, and liberally slather down the grill. Sticking problems over! There is just something in amimal fats that works like a charm. And vegetable oils just don't have it.

I tend to fry my eggs with margarine. But when I clean my CI skillet, I then "season" it again with butter or lard.

Check out the Cast Iron cookware being offered by Lehman Brothers out of Ohio. They are one of the big suppliers for the Amish communities. And if something isn't any good, word gets around real fast. So you can check what they have to offer. A web search will get you to their site. Otherwise, most hardware stores now carry the Lodge brand.

Hope this helps.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[Many Klatch]

Hey Swede. We have bought all of ours at antique stores and flea markets. The traders get tired of hauling all that iron around and you can get some nice pans for $15 to $25. Look for a glass smooth bottom on the inside. The better pans used to be lathe ground, the new stuff isn't, they pretty much leave just like it came out of the mold now. Find one that suits your fancy and take it home. Fill it full of water and boil it good. I do a rolling boil for 10 or 15 minutes the first time I clean it. That will kill or remove about everything. Then wipe it out good, use soap and steel wool if you want. Then heat it back up and season like Mike says. I found that rendering down lard to tallow will season anything.

We have a graduated set of 7 fry pans, two deep pots with bales bales, one grill and one skillet that we have gotten from various shops and junk piles. We use them every day.

Many Klatch

 

[Bountyhunter]

Swede,

Where in Central Kansas Are you? Lindsborg? I'm from that area too. You have some real big auctioneers at Salina, Hays, Dodge, and Hutch. When they have big estate auctions, you can find good old cast ware pretty cheap at those estate sales. My cousin works for the auctioneer at Salina. Look for the ones with slick bottoms. The ones with gritty bottoms from being cast, and the ones that have had the bottoms turned with a dull tool will never season right. The old ones have a pure slick bottom in them.

Even if they are grungy and rusty, do not fear, as long as they are not cracked or broken. Dutch Ovens should have the recessed lid for holding coals when baking. I cook taters in the inside and saute mushrooms in the lid.

If the skillet is clean, good. If it isnt, then scrub it clean all over and then season it. Beef tallow works best, lard will work too. Coat the skillit with tallow or lard and then heat it to about 400 till it quits smokin. You gettin the idea that the outdoor grill looks good? Otherwise you need a good stove vent, cause it will smoke. Grease it and heat it a couple times inside and out and it will take on the black castiron appearance. Dont let nobody inside that skillet with those dam green scrungy pads that end up in wimmens sinks. No scourin powder, just dip it in some soapy water and wash it out with the dishrag then dry it and heat it on the burner and oil it lightly. It wont rust and the black no stick will keep building up better than any store bought no stick cookware. If you make stew of whatever with tomatos, they can take your seasoning off, but dont despair, just oil it and put it in the grille and reseason it. It it kid proof.

If you cant find good stuff at the auctions, then in that area, look for Lodge. I dont know if Hutch or Salina has a Crackerbarrel restaurant, but they usually have a good selection of cast iron, and it will be Lodge.

 

[mrbortlein]

Swede,
Some of the big box sporting goods stores (Dick's) have Lewis and Clark in their camping gear. Is there a Cabelas near you? That is where we bought most of our Duch ovens. They have the Cabelas emblem on the lid, and they come pre-seasoned. Also, I've seen Lodge in our local Wal-Mart. I've seen it in the camping and the house hold cook ware sections. Good luck trying to make your wife happy.
mrbortlein

 

[atki]

the only cast iron cookware still made in the us is Lodge. I have studied a few frying pans from skillet throwing contests. The asian made pans have nice air holes in the casting.. Lodge, never.

WB

 

[Heidi 1672]

You are correct sir, Lodge is the only American made cast iron producer in the U.S. today. If you are into BlackPowder Shooting and Hunting,don't even consider that Korean and Asian manure.

 

[rafterob]

Lodge is the best modern maker of cast iron cookware in America. It takes awhile to get them seasoned to where they perform like the antique stuff. If you have access to a deep fryer or turkey fryer that is the best way to season the new stuff. Put in in and let it sit for an hour. If it is a home style turkey fryer, you need to monitor the temperature between 350-375 degrees. I agree with others, try to find the "real" thing at thrift or antique stores. I was lucky enough to inherit a set of my Grandmother's.

 

[Gemoke]

check out ebay

 

[nagamon]

My favorite by far is Vollrath, made in Sheboygan, WI. Griswold is good, Wagner is OK, There are some others but they are harder to find and can get pricey. Griswold is by far the most popular among the masses. It is high quality, dense iron that isn't overly thick and it was polished at the factory to a very acceptable finish. The easiest to find and the cheapest because it was the most popular is the #8 frying pan and the #8 Dutch Oven. Check for pitting and cracks before the purchase. After acquiring them build yourself a HOT fire. place the pieces (separate) upside down in the fire and watch til they are red hot. The melting temp. of iron is 2550 degrees so if you damage it in a wood fire it was cracked to begin with. This will eliminate anything that was ever cooked or painted on. Take them off and let them cool or leave them and take them off the next day. (safer). What you now have is a pan the way it was the day it was cast. At this point you will want to "cure" the iron which is nothing more than rustproofing it and helping with sticking problems. The original method that most teach is suet from beef. I don't recommend this as it is not very sanitary especially if you don't use it regularly. The most common and cheapest is corn oil or vegetable oil. This works well but you won't want to store it for long periods of time as it can go rancid. The best for long storage and what we use all the time now is bees wax. Natures most sanitary gift and will never go rancid. You will need to heat the pan up to about 300 degrees and wipe the pan down with whatever you decide to use while it is still hot. My wife makes me do this outside as the first cure will smoke like crazy. Vollrath and Griswold you may have to heat a little hotter. They are a higher quality iron and denser. The idea is to open the pours of the iron so that the curing goes into the iron. Do this a few times before you use it and on the inside after each use. Eventually your pan will build up a coating that will make a mirror look dull. If you use bees wax be careful how hot you get it as there is a reason they make candles and fire starters out of it. The nicest thing about Cast Iron is you never have to replace it and it work just as good now as it did 100 years ago. A quick note on the makers, most of them were wiped out by the great depression. So most of the pans you find are somewhere in the range of 70 to 120 years old. Beats the heck out of Teflon!
Chris

 

[Allan Gray]

Lodge :thumbsup:

Cabelas has a good selection also but I, personally, have become disgusted with them after visiting their Nevada store. Most of the stuff is made in China and over priced for what you get.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Grisswald and Wagner are two good old brands if you can find them. Lodge is still made USA and good quality. My favorite way to season cast Iron is the get a lot of lard and ten lbs of potatoes and start making french fries.When the potatoes are all fried pour out the lard and let the cast iron slowly cool.Wipe out with a paper towel.The cast iron will be seasoned and you will have had some good eating.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

this is a fella that's been around cast iron pans for awhile. :thumbsup:

Grisswald and Wagner are two good old brands if you can find them. Lodge is still made USA and good quality. My favorite way to season cast Iron is the get a lot of lard and ten lbs of potatoes and start making french fries.When the potatoes are all fried pour out the lard and let the cast iron slowly cool.Wipe out with a paper towel.The cast iron will be seasoned and you will have had some good eating.

 

[atki]

when you consider how long you will keep a good cast iron skillet, $16 bucks to buy a lodge is worth it. How much of your time and gas is used hunting through antique stores.

I guess I'm not happy about antique stores when half the stuff in them I got for a wedding present many years ago. What's that make me!?!
WB

 

[nagamon]

Lodge is good American quality cast iron. But it is as we say in the trade "as cast". It is not machined. Lodge is the only brand I would consider if you are going new. It can be polished if you wish to spend the time. The China iron is full of porosity and is any thing but dense. It is not cast under pressure like American iron and instead of adding steel nuggets to strengthen it they add what we used to call pot metal and if overheated can separate from the iron.
Chris
PS. I have never been to a rendezvous that doesn't have a few Griswolds for sale.

 

[PJC]

I just purchased a LODGE cast iron frying pan and griddle at BASSPRO. I also purchased aLODGE, CAST IRON, HIBATCHI...It was just too cool to leave in the store. Most young people will not know what a HIBATCHI is. Also spelled HIBACHI.

PJC

 

[eastonhick]

As others have said, prowl the antique and thrift stores. Last week I found a sweet little 3 quart dutch oven, stamped Made in USA on the bottom, for $8.50. :thumbsup:

 

[Birdman]

Swede one thing I didn't see mentioned is also be careful picking up old used CI. Many of the smaller pots or caldrun shaped pots have been used to hold who knows what or even used to melt lead or other nasty stuff. If in doubt!!! don't buy it.Rust n burnt on black stuff(food) is no problem to clean off.I've taken many fry pans etc all the way back to shiny metal n reseasoned for home or camping use. You can also smooth out the inside bottoms if ya use an orbital sander and take yer time. They smooth up real nice if ya take it easy n don't wear em to thin. Then like said by others , season it well n enjoy