I actually clean my cast iron with kosher salt - never soap. I don't use newspaper. Probably because these days, I don't have a single newspaper in my house! LOL...I read my news online. Then I dry it again by heating it on the stovetop. Then I lightly oil it. I'm not exactly sure what makes it non-stick. But I think that once you use it a lot & season it when needed (oil it & put it in the oven for a few hours), it gets that good finish on it.

If I did have newspapers, I'm the kind of person who would actually try it. Grandmothers are ALWAYS right ;)

I clean mine like that! Just sans the newspaper. I must have picked that up from my mom or something. I don't know WHY I clean mine like that. It just seemed like the right thing to do. But it works for me!

Gas is the best. I have a really hard time cooking on anything else. You can use cast iron to cook anything. I fry eggs in mine. Cornbread is a MUST in a cast iron skillet. Pot Roast or Roast Chicken comes out great in cast iron. You can brown the meat & slightly sautee the veggies & then stick the whole pan in the oven.

Three years ago, I bought my son's teacher this cast iron dutch oven for Christmas...Amazon.com: Lodge Logic 5-Quart Double Dutch Oven... It's the perfect size for pretty much anything. Plus, you can use the lid to cook things in too. I'd say it's a good starter piece.

OMG. I totally took over this thread. I'm so sorry! :eek: I get so excited about cooking! LOL

I'm looking at ordering my first cast iron skillet and have a couple of questions.
1). What size skillet would you recommend? Most of the time I'd be cooking just for me.

2). I read about "seasoning" cast iron, and that in the oven you put baking sheet with tinfoil down to catch the drips. So, my question is, as the skillet is seasoned inside & out, when you cook with it on a gas cooktop, will anything drip off the pan onto the cooktop surface when it heats up? Reason I ask, is I already have a heck of a time keeping my gas cooktop clean :(

We have Emerilware plus other misc pots and pans. It's meh. Looks horrible after several uses. The frying pans are also handle heavy and like to tip. They are ok though.

For baking we use Pyrex mostly.

We went gorever without a KA mixer. Now I can't imagine baking without it.

I don't know, I'm waiting for my Mom to pass hers down! She's had it for almost 40 years I think! Lol

I would get a 12" skillet. I think that's a good, versatile size. You can roast 4-5 chicken breasts comfortably in a 12". My 12" skillet was my first cast iron piece. It still lives on my stove top with a paper towel "blanket".

Regarding seasoning, these days, most cast iron comes preseasoned. However, it's a good idea to season a preseasoned pan anyway...just to get it "worn in". When you season, the oil "cooks" into the pan. You'll see that when you take it out of the oven, there won't be any oil left on the pan to drip anywhere. When seasoning new cast iron, the pan may come out sticky. The heat turns the oil sticky. Sticky makes good seasoning. But you can't cook on sticky. So make sure you apply a THIN layer of oil when seasoning. If it comes out sticky, put the pan back in the oven at 450. As long as the cooking surafce isn't sticky, you're okay. The skillet handle or the sides might be sticky until you use it more, but that will eventually season into the pan. I season my cast iron upside down. This way, any excess oil will drip out of the pan. The oil won't build up & become thick and sticky.

When I season, I use Crisco. I don't use Crisco to actually COOK with. I just use it to season. Someone told me that Crisco is the best thing to use to maintain cast iron. So I always use that. It works for me!

My parents always said to never wash cast iron with soap. Just use a bit of oil and wipe it clean. Kind of funny but in all my years, Ive never submerged a cast iron pan in water or used soap on it.

I want new pots and too, but I need something that is light weight. The ones we have now are just so darn heavy.
The handles are metal and they get hot, I HATE THEM…I put them in the dishwasher when I’m not supposed to, so I also need them to be dishwasher safe, any ideas??

Deficiency of regular water can lead to lack of fluids, a condition that happens when you don't have enough regular water in your body to bring on regular features....

Cast Iron. I have a 12" skillet and a 15" skillet. For braising or stews I use my le creuset dutch ovens and I have two. These are pieces that last a life time. My other piece of cookware that I love is a pressure cooker.

Figured I'd check back with this thread. I did buy a cast iron skillet....a 9 inch Lodge (it's just me & Zo at home now).

It came pre-seasoned, but I seasoned it anyhow. I've not yet cooked anything in it. The darn thing is sooooo heavy that I decided to store it in the cupboard right next to the door to my kitchen/house...so should an intruder try to come in, I've got a ballbat behind the door & the skillet handy :D

Trying to decide what "first thing" I should try to cook in it. My cooking skills are very basic.