Cast iron is the material to cook with. Yes, there are fancy and expensive stainless steel and Teflon cookware that you see used in restaurants and on the cooking shows. While These are good pans to cook with, they do not compare with the sturdiness, and durability of cast iron.

Cast iron skillets conduct heat beautifully, go from stove top to oven with no problem and last for decades. The best benefit of cast iron is the cost. You can buy a good cast iron pan for about $20 and it will last you a life time. I love using cast iron in my wood fired oven because I do not have to worry about the high heat damaging the pan or Teflon coatings.

If you season your cast iron cookware properly, the cookware will perform as good or better then the most expensive Teflon non stick pans on the market. The key is proper seasoning of the cast iron before using it for the first time. Many people are afraid to use cast iron because they do not know how to season the pan and they think that it is a long and hard process. Seasoning cast iron cookware is easy and requires very little effort. The key to successful seasoning is to wash and dry the cookware, coat it with a thin layer of cooking oil and then baking it in your oven for 1 hour. At the top of this page, I have included a short instructional video on how to season your new cast iron cookware.

If you do not use cast iron in your kitchen you are missing out. Cast iron will add flavor to your foods and will be a faithful companion in your kitchen for years. Many people pass down their cast iron cookware to family members for generations. The only thing to remember is to never wash cast iron cookware with soapy water once you have seasoned it. Soap will remove the seasoning that you have worked so hard to maintain.

I use cast iron most of the time in my kitchen and I encourage you to do the same.

Happy cooking!