Thread: Cast iron?

Originally Posted by Walterbowens

The lodge does good, but looking at others cast iron, the bottom of my lodge has a grainy finish, insted of a smooth one.

It is like buying a current production S&W or an old blue one from the '70s or earlier ..... same with Case XX pocket knives. It ain't that they are that much better, just that the older ones are prettier. Even if they are slightly better where the rubber meets the road, are they $$$ better ? OTOH, if you pick 'em up reasonable on Craigslist or at yard sales, flea markets, that is cool. Just going on ebay and paying a premium isn't necessarily worth it, IMHO.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

After a 100 yrs of use,it will be smooth all over

Ah, that must be why I am smooth all over!



rs,
Tack

I've used new Lodge and imo the older stuff is easier to cook with. The smooth inside is a dream to cook on.

Cast iron is cast Iron,The old stuff is nice because it has been used,some for a century or more,well worn, well seasoned to the core.
Even the new lodge stuff,given time and alot of use will come around.

One of the best, IMHO, materials for cooking ever. Have several pieces including a couple of dutch ovens (one for camping with legs and a couple for the kitchen both enameled and bare seasoned), a griddle, a pan, and a couple of old "corn stick" molds.

Thank for the info fellas, I do think the grainy surface is from sand casting. My wife and are going to look around for an old one that is smooth till we get ours that way. Now I know why every one wanted their grandparents cast iron, very used, and just thinking about how much grandma used it..... Priceless!!

With the older stuff, Lodge included, they used to mill the inside smooth so it didn't take as much to get a good non-stick surface.

I started using cast iron pans about 5 years ago. I love them.

I have a 9" Lodge, 6" no-name, and a 12" Lodge. I got the 6" and 12" at a flea market, removed a lot of rust and caked on stuff, and seasoned them well.

I've got the modern production lodge stuff - few pans and skillets and a dutch oven. They don't mill the insides anymore, so they are pretty grainy - those pockets is where oil pools and it doesn't get seasoned as well.
There isn't mystery to the seasoning, it's burned fats that polymerize forming a layer which doesn't stick to the food. To form good layer that's bound to the iron underneath it has to be very thin and a grainy surface + gravity makes for varying thickness of the fat layer.
Pretty much any fat would work for seasoning as long as they are polymerized properly.

The one food I still cook in teflon pan is gyozas - it's probably because the cast iron needs less heat from the stove than I'm setting.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Cast Iron is cast Iron,all my stuff is old,but is it any better than the newer stuff,I think not

I have a couple three cast fry pans, old Griswolds and one Wagner from Sidney. The older ones are way and far away smoother finished, whether from being brushed for 90 years or not I don't know. The new stuff, inside, is rough even with the faked seasoning. I won't be around when the new stuff might get smoother ..