Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Cast iron leet

erock.prose.sh

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 337 posts

Re: Cast iron leet

#91

Post by LBJsPNS »

nicexe wrote: post #7

Cast iron is far from perfect. I use it for steaks because they are hard to sear in other cookware. The cleanup and seasoning processes make cast iron hard to use for anything else. I plan to get a ceramic one (with iron core) but even if it solves the seasoning process and the cleanup process, it isn't the best to sear steaks in it. My point is that each tool has its use and in this specific case, cast iron is not t…

I am going to assume your pans have never been properly seasoned if you have trouble cleaning them after cooking a steak.

Re: Cast iron leet

#92

Post by peatmoss »

randallsquared wrote: post #46

Cast iron is easier to deal with if you have an outdoor or really-well-ventilated oven for re-seasoning, which you'll have to do from time to time, in my experience. It's actually far, far easier to just get a new pre-seasoned cast iron pan (I also bought Lodge, as the fine article's author did), but if you're going to buy a new pan every year anyway, suddenly nonstick doesn't seem like a bad deal.

I have just started a business recycling peoples' cast iron. Please ship me your offcasts, and I'll sure that they are re-seasoned and re-released into the wild.

Jokes aside, you can buy some flax oil, wipe it on thin, and let the pan sit a few months and the oils will polymerize on their own in a few months. Or, you can buy a naturally pre-polymerized boiled linseed oil (flax oil that has been heated--just make sure you get one without chemical dryers like Tried & True brand) and it'll polymerize on its own in a few days. Likely it'll still smoke a little bit when you cook.

But you could also get a cheap hotplate and take it outside if you're really worried about the smoke. You don't need to use the oven method, just use a very, very thin coating of oil, bring it up to temp slowly and hold it there. Cast iron is a decent heat conductor, so you can get good coverage.

People get way too obsessive about seasoning cast iron, like it's magic to get a good seasoning and a horror if the seasoning gets stripped away. It's not. Badly damaged seasoning is like 10 minutes inconvenience.

Re: Cast iron leet

#93

Post by bratwurst3000 »

Sorry but I cant sign this. Stainless steel with and without enforced bottom is the way to go.

I have also cast iron and I polished and seasoned the living shit out of it and it still sticks omelette. For delicate things like eggs I use an non stick pan from tefal for 10€ that I buy new every 2 years….. why not? It works way better than stainless and way way way better than cast iron.

The only advantage of cast iron is heat retention but this is solved with reinforced stainless steel.

Btw copper is for sauces and marmelade … got them too….

Here some other downsides of cast iron…

You have to maintain it realy well with regular seasoning and cleaning. You cant clean it with a ironsponge. Acid stuff will atack it. And du you realy want whatever this seasoning is in your food? That stuff has to be polychained burned oil. And Iron is one of the most agresive free radicals that you can pump in your bloodstream ;)

Ps: I am french so I am a complette ashole if its about cooking

Re: Cast iron leet

#94

Post by hcarvalhoalves »

In my country (Brazil), it is traditional to cook in cast iron. There are pans, pots, skillets… everything you can think of. It’s also cheaper than steel, ceramic, etc. Funny to see people elsewhere “rediscovering” these products.

The one I have is like this (around $ 20 USD):

https://www.apaneladeferro.com.br/frigideira-de-ferro-fundid...

I cook everything on it: steak, fish, eggs, sautéed tomatoes, etc.

> They are easy to clean ( with one of these)

I never have to clean it with anything, just wash ;)

If you have to scrape, either you burned the food or it wasn’t seasoned. You don’t need to do anything special to season, just cook everything on it and don’t scrape clean.

Re: Cast iron leet

#95

Post by noninc »

twiss wrote: post #43
jstx1 wrote: post #31

In general I find that cast iron is very overrated. > Here's a list of myths about cast iron skillets: (...) You can't cook with acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes) because it'll destroy the seasoning You might not destroy the seasoning but you will get metallic tastes in your food. I don't get why anyone would pick cast iron over stainless steel for an acidic sauce that needs to be cooked for a longer period of time. Also…

Re. your analogy, aren't they more like the C of cooking pans? Hard to use right, easy to make mistakes, etc. The initial even matches :)

Ha :) Though cast iron pans are not a tool, that no one ever managed to succeed entirely.

Re: Cast iron leet

#96

Post by gorgoiler »

I read somewhere that iron and steel expand at a microscopic level, when heated, such that you can fill these small holes up with oil and get a non stick cooking surface.

Whenever I’ve washed up an iron pan I always put it back on the heat with some oil. You can literally see the water bubbling out of the surface as the pan gets hot and the water boils off.

Re: Cast iron leet

#97

Post by peatmoss »

tekacs wrote: post #12

Nowadays it’s also much easier than it used to be to buy smooth cast iron, which becomes extremely easy to cook even fairly sticky foods on after just a seasoning or two (e.g. https://fieldcompany.com/products/field-cast-iron-skillet ). As sibling commenters have mentioned, smooth vs. rough does seem to make a difference. Source: I have cast iron like these and use it to comfortably cook eggs and food where sticking…

I found an old cast iron pan at a second hand store that was antique (i.e. ground smooth). After cooking on the old one, I went out and bought some flap disks to stick on a drill and polish my modern lodge. It does work better. But not as good for eggs as carbon steel (which you also season, and has same durability advantages as cast iron)

Re: Cast iron leet

#99

Post by vptr »

Totally agree with what you said about non-stick pans. Sounds like a total scam. I myself did not go with cast iron skillet (only for some outdoor/bbq stuff). But I switched to stainless steal pan from demeyere like 10 years ago. It's still like new and made thousands of meals. Now i'm in a (slow) process of converting all my equipment to stainless steel from demeyer, quality is just that good. Buy for life.

Re: Cast iron leet

#100

Post by brudgers »

eutectic wrote: post #58
Swenrekcah wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A downside of non-stick pans are the unknown side effects of the non-stick substance used, though.

Teflon is inert unless you really overheat it.

The 'f' in 'teflon' is the F from the periodic table.

Florine is remarkably not inert.

Teflon is a relatively stable Florine compound.

But as you say, it can destabilize when the pan is used within a few sigma of ideal cooking temperature.

Post reply on HN