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Cast Iron CookwareAdvantages and DisadvantagesI own some Cast Iron Cookware as well as having a set of tri-ply stainless steel cookware. I use both kinds at home and at the restaurant.
I like to fry chicken, steaks, pork chops and hamburgers using cast iron skillets. Cornbread is really special coming out of a cornbread pan. Baked beans from a cast iron Dutch Oven always taste great. When cooking blackened fish, nothing works better than a cast iron skillet.
My grandmother and mother used to cook everything in cast iron but the cookware fell out of favor for two reasons: it is heavy and maintaining it was thought to be more difficult once the new metal cookware became available.
Cast iron cookware is still heavy, but some things have changed. You can now purchase pre-seasoned cast iron thanks to a newly developed seasoning process. Lodge Manufacturing, a 100 year old family-owned American business has developed a pre-seasoning process.
They have an electrostatic spray system that applies a vegetable oil combination deeply into the pores of the iron. The cookware is then put into an extremely high temperature industrial oven which bakes the coating into the surface. The resulting seasoned cast iron cookware is far superior to anything we can achieve at home. Most foods do not stick readily to these pans. I love this cast iron cookware despite the fact that it is heavy.
Cast iron is still the best even heating cookware. Yes, it heats more slowly than metal cookware so I usually sauté with my stainless pans. However, cast iron holds the heat for a long period of time which is advantageous for cooking certain foods. What specific cast iron cookware do I use most often? My pre-seasoned Lodge Logic cast iron square skillet helps me make fabulous cornbread. This 10-1/2 W x 16-1/2 L x 2 H inch pan is specifically made as a cornbread pan but it can be used to cook many other items as well. 
And now this pan comes with a handle mitt and cornbread cookbook from the National Cornbread Festival! This package deal is only available online. Click on
Lodge Cast Iron Cookware. In fact, a number of items you might be interested in are only available on the web. I have a resource listed for you below.
When family and friends are visiting and want my buttermilk pancakes and bacon, I use my double (two burner) griddle, pictured here. Turn it over and it is a grill!
This reversible two-burner griddle features a slight slope into a grease gutter. It's cooking surface is 19 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches. You can even put restaurant stripes on your grilled favorites. The ribbed bottom pan lets you keep foods from simmering in fatty drippings so you're cooking low fat.
It is ideal for vegetables, burgers, and sandwiches. It has high sides and is 10 1/2 inches square.
A friend recently said she'd never cooked with cast iron. "How is it different?" she asked. Instead of just answering her question, I bought her two Lodge Logic pans The book is 360 pages full of tips, tricks and recipes. The two pans include a 5 quart Dutch Oven and a 10 1/4 inch skillet. An interchangeable lid is included along with a mitt for the handle. She is now cooking great fried potatoes and eggs and stews with her cast iron cookware!
There are also cast iron sets available online. You can click a link below to research cast iron pots and pans. There are many choices to fit your circumstances.
One of the things you'll see as you do your research, cast iron pots and pans are relatively inexpensive, especially when you understand they will last for several generations.
Lodge Logic Cast Iron at Amazon.com. More Cookware InformationThe Cooking Store
I hope you found the information about cast iron cookware helpful. If you have time, please check out the other cookware information by visiting the pages linked above.
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No, she is not a "dummy." Like so many people today she has simply never experienced cooking with cast iron.
