Thread: Cast iron?

A flour tortilla Lasagna would be a good description!

Lots of leftovers etc. tossed in.

This batch not in my top ten dinners but a good tasting supper.

Been baking all my bread in a ceramic coated Cast Iron Dutch oven ....the best !

Some of Shan's friends gave us a plethora of fresh Huckleberries and Blueberries so we (Yes WE !!!!) decided to add a CI Pie Pan to the collection

Found this Ceramic one on Amazon shipped for under $30 warmed it up and oiled the rim, all ready for some Pies after the long weekend..

All of my friends know that they can always ask me for help no matter what and that I work for a reasonable 'wage' and that is cold Budweiser

However I've been making an exception for helping my first ex wife clean out her recently deceased older brother's place. It's been quite a chore--I'll confess to being a bit of a pack rat but he had sh*t that you wouldn't believe! Plus I don't think he'd ever dusted, vacuumed etc.

Anyway this is the third day that I've helped clear the house out so it can be sold. Her family has gone up a couple of times that I just couldn't make it but today the ex's husband and I went up to start dragging the crap from the upstairs down and I came home with these as my 'wages'---

The ones on the ends are Griswold and the two center ones are Wagner all of them are in great shape, they just need a bit of cleaning and re-seasoning.





This is an interesting piece as it has the 'Hammered Finish' on the lid and the sides of the Dutch and the inside of the pot is smooth as glass (the one spot with the gunk might be full of pock marks but I'll find out after the lye bath.



The inside of the lid doesn't look like it has ever been used--BUT--the bottom has been used and there's a build up of some kind of crud that I'm hoping that a week to 10 days in an lye bath will remove.

I tried to get some decent pics but failed---I'll try to get some help to hold it so I can show it better.

The bottom was a bit rusty and I didn't see any castings marks so I used a wire wheel to clean it up a bit and there are no marking so I don't have a clue who made the Dutch Oven.

All in all I'm very pleased with my days wages. Some of the pieces are duplicate sizes of what I already have but in more well known vintage names and others are new additions in sizes I don't have.

Through the years I've found that if at all possible it's always nice to stay friends with people who are part of your life.

Aloha!

What a great thread. I'm a cast iron devotee. I have a decent collection of Lodge, and a nice collection of Le Cruset enameled for cooking acidic foods like tomato sauce. I would not be without them.

I have had an issue with a fairly recent purchases of a Lodge skillet (2 years ago) where the pre-seasoning flaked off on me in spots, even with proper care, cleaning, and use. But overall, I've been extremely happy with Lodge. And I have no complaints about Le Cruset when you need enameled cast iron cookware. I bought a complete Le Cruset set in 1989 and still use it today with absolutely no issues. I paid $189 back then for a complete set and thought that was an awful lot of money. Now, I see some stores are charging up to $500 for just the dutch oven. Wow. I'm glad I invested in the set when I did. Looking back, I'm actually surprised I invested in a set back in the late 80s as a young man, but I'm sure glad I did.

Lodge seems reasonable in today's prices for the quality that you get. Unfortunately, I have no children to pass my cookware on down to. As you gents know, this stuff will last many lifetimes if properly used and cared for.

Gotta' love cast iron.

Mahalo!

Originally Posted by ZipZop

Aloha!

What a great thread. I'm a cast iron devotee. I have a decent collection of Lodge, and a nice collection of La Cruset enameled for cooking acidic foods like tomato sauce. I would not be without them.

I have had an issue with a fairly recent purchases of a Lodge skillet (2 years ago) where the pre-seasoning flaked off on me in spots, even with proper care, cleaning, and use. But overall, I've been extremely happy with Lodge. And I have no complaints about La Cruset when you need enameled cast iron cookware. I bought a complete La Cruset set in 1989 and still use it today with absolutely no issues. I paid $189 back then for a complete set and thought that was an awful lot of money. Now, I see some stores are charging up to $400 for just the dutch oven. Wow. I'm glad I invested in the set when I did. As a young man, I'm surprised I invested in a set back in the late 80s, but I'm glad I did.

Lodge seems reasonable in today's prices for the quality that you get. Unfortunately, I have no children to pass my cookware on down to. As you gents know, this stuff will last many lifetimes if properly used and cared for.

Gotta' love cast iron.

Mahalo!

I've got some Lodge and it's 'Ok' they are far heavier than the vintage pieces and they are no where near as well finished BUT they do work. I have given most of my Lodge away as I collected higher quality pieces but I do still have my two sided grill/smooth on one side and ridges on the other and my 10" Dutch Oven with legs for cooking over the coals.

As far as the La Cruset enameled ware goes as you've found you were indeed fortunate to have invested in it years ago because now they want your first born for even a small piece.

I do have one Lodge enameled ware Dutch Oven and it's very nicely finished I use it for canning jams and jellies along with other things and I'm very pleased.

NOW--the non enameled is still cast here in the USA however I believe that the enameled ware is made by the C. H. Ina Company. I find it sad that the enameled ware is of a higher quality than Lodge is putting out here in the states.

If you've ever handled some of the much older Lodge they did take time to have a much nicer finished product. I would imagine that the founder of Lodge (Joseph Lodge) could see what's coming and has been coming out of Lodge now he is turning over in his grave.

I have two Staub bread pans. I wouldn't be without them. They are Cast Iron with ceramic coatings and a thick ceramic plate on the bottom. Bread comes out of the oven with perfection.

I have a very few pieces of Skeppshult Cast Iron. It is Swedish Made from a very old company who hasn't skimpt on the product in 100 years. They even own the iron mine where the ore comes from and it's all made right there, not cheap though.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

I've got some Lodge and it's 'Ok' they are far heavier than the vintage pieces and they are no where near as well finished BUT they do work. I have given most of my Lodge away as I collected higher quality pieces but I do still have my two sided grill/smooth on one side and ridges on the other and my 10" Dutch Oven with legs for cooking over the coals.

As far as the La Cruset enameled ware goes as you've found you were indeed fortunate to have invested in it years ago because now they want your first born for even a small piece.

I do have one Lodge enameled ware Dutch Oven and it's very nicely finished I use it for canning jams and jellies along with other things and I'm very pleased.

NOW--the non enameled is still cast here in the USA however I believe that the enameled ware is made by the C. H. Ina Company. I find it sad that the enameled ware is of a higher quality than Lodge is putting out here in the states.

If you've ever handled some of the much older Lodge they did take time to have a much nicer finished product. I would imagine that the founder of Lodge (Joseph Lodge) could see what's coming and has been coming out of Lodge now he is turning over in his grave.

True enough. I'm happy with my Lodge cookware. I bought it about 10 years ago except for the most recent pan that I got two years ago. I've worked hard putting a much better seasoning on all of them, and they now are up to snuff (in my book anyway). For the price, I'm happy, but I'm not an aficianado of cast iron like some gentlemen here are. I'm just a loyal fan.

As far as the Le Cruset, I can vividly recall standing in a cookware store in New York back in the late 80s and laboring over purchasing the complete set of 8 pieces for $189 plus tax, on sale from $249. I am certainly glad my young self decided to pull that trigger. I settled on the Orange (Flame) color and I'm glad I did because I'm still a fan of that color to this day. In about 1995 ish, I purchased a medium size Blue (Marseille) Le Cruset dutch oven with lid for my mother (RIP). So I have that as well. More Le Cruset than I'll ever use in my lifetime.