Seasoning Cast Iron

Ok. There are various and sundry reasons that you would want to use cast iron in your kitchen.

I thought that the only reason I wanted to do it was because my grandma did it, and she was a good cook, so why not continue the tradition? I remember them being a bit of a pain to clean sometimes, but they looked cool, and what is more important than that.

I didn't think much more of it. I thought that a set of cast iron cookware would be expensive, and they definitely weren't at the top of my list, so I dropped it.

About a year ago, we started watching the Food Network in our house, and I got attached to a show called Good Eats. In this show, Alton Brown talked continually about how wonderful cast iron was to cook with, and he said that he recommended it because of how dark cheap it was.

And behold, I was in a store one day, and there was a set of three skillets for around $15, which I thought was a bargain. I bought them and they came home and sat in a cupboard unused.

And I watched more Good Eats, which made me comment to my husband about how much I really should consider using the cast iron.

I saw the light after a near death experience for my husband. His iron level was at an undetectable level (meaning it was less than 1 on a scale of 30-300). I read shortly thereafter that you can get iron in your diet by cooking with cast iron. The last piece of the puzzle came when I realized that my baby is going to need more iron soon because breastfeeding is notoriously low in iron.

So, as a lifesaving feature in my family, we started cooking with cast iron, and I COULDN'T BE MORE HAPPY!

Here are the reasons I would cook with cast iron.

• I swear, it makes the food taste better.
• They really are so darn cheap.
• They last a lifetime.
• They have even heat distribution, so no hot and cold spots in food.
• They aren't toxic to your health.
• They are actually easy to clean when seasoned correctly
• You get a workout when lifting them.
• It doesn't warp like every Teflon pan I have ever owned does.
• You get iron in your diet from the cast iron.
• Unlike most things (except cheese), they get better with age.
• You can fry something on the stove top and then putting it in the oven without changing dishes.
• It is actually one thing that can be passed down to the next generation when you die, because they will outlive you.

OK, I am out of reasons, but you should consider it...really!