I was super precious about all my cast iron for a long time. Then I had a thought watching this “cowboy” YouTuber wash his cast iron with some specialty thing.
“This fucking guy is like pretending to be out on the pasture or whatever. In the actual 1800s, this shit was probably just wiped out, or they used lye soap or something ridiculous! Why the fuck am I being so fucking careful?!?”
Now I do not care, like I’ve had my shit get rusty, crusty, “overheated”, the reality is that it’s a big ass chunk of metal! Short of deformation or intentional or extreme neglect (leaving it in the rain uncovered for 40 years) you will not destroy it.
If it gets too “sticky”, you oil it up and heat it, and bingo, it’s fine again.
Ok. But should you never put citrus in your garbage disposal because it summons the pipe demon, or are you supposed to put citrus in your garbage disposal because it repels the pipe demon?
Oooh, there is this great startup that sells a smart stream and rock for cleaning your clothing. The monthly subscription is very reasonable for the experience.
Yeah, food scraps belong in a landfill, where they can be sealed over and fester for years, perhaps preserved for future archeologists to study. Disposals just add your food waste where it can decompose and rejoin the cycle of life. We don’t need that
Yes, disposal can take care of the same subset of foods as composting and in pretty much the same way.
composting is a better choice if you garden but otherwise is extra steps
disposal is much more convenient, but if you don’t know what’s appropriate you may clog your plumbing. Or if you have a septic system, it probably wasn’t designed for that and will clog.
I rest easy knowing the food I put in the disposal is ground up and mixed with biological waste so is quickly digested on the way to the sewage treatment plant. I further know we have advanced treatment such that any remaining food sits in a digester for 30 days before being filtered and the remaining indigestible fraction sent to a landfill. I also have a reasonable handle on what to use it for, so have never had a plumbing issue.
Coffee is the only problem area. The grounds would be good to compost but bad to put in the disposal
I have a compost but the disposal is a fantastic addition to my life. Some rice in the sink? No problem. Broth, compost, disposal. Sometimes trash. Obviously divert as much as you can, but the garbage disposal in the sink is wonderful.
I used to hike to a mountain lake in New Hampshire for trout fishing. On the wall of the Adirondack shelter next to the lake was a large cast iron skillet. Random people used it for decades to cook fish over a wood campfire. The only cleaning it got was being scraped with a flat rock, rinsed in the lake, and picked at by woodland critters. It always worked just fine, and the fish tasted great.
Sorry if you’ve heard this before, but getting the pan hot is important. If the egg is cooked before it gets into the texture, it won’t stick at all. It’s tempting to add the eggs early because cast iron takes so long to heat up, but a cool pan will stick a lot more. I usually let the butter brown heavily before I crack the eggs. If you think that leaves the top undercooked, add a spoon of water and cover the pan to steam the egg tops.
The other guy is right about letting the pan get hot first, but also remember that “hot” doesn’t mean on high, eggs like to be cooked low and slow. Just make sure that it’s actually up to that temp before you crack them in. Flick some water into the pan, if it sizzles for a second or two than that’s good enough for eggs imo (some will recommend waiting until the water drops hover, I feel like that’s too hot for eggs, but you know try both see what you like). I personally try to crack the eggs into the pan before the butter browns, but that’s just me. Another thing to be aware of that’s been mentioned in other threads under this post is that cast iron with a course surface can make things harder, so consider getting a smoother one or sanding yours down. Finally, for your best chance of getting under the egg cleanly, I recommend a thin metal spatula with some flex, like a fish spatula. In my experience plastic spatulas are culinary bulldozers. Be patient, if you think it’s close to done use the spatula to peak under the edge for a bit of a crust to separate from the pan, and if it’s ready, work around the edges to get it loose before you try to move or flip it.
Mine has the opposite problem. Eggs slide around, no stick. However when I crack them on, they spread like water. I recently used Teflon for the first time in years, and the eggs pooled up at a perfect size and shape for a sandwich. I’m jealous. It’s probably a heat thing but the eggs already brown a lot so I didn’t want to make the cast iron hotter
All the fancy shit is just too save from having to season it again, and seasoning is a bit of a pita. Getting the whole pan kinda hot, adding a bit of a short chain oil, baking it at like 450 for a couple hours, and letting it cool back off.
I’ll just be kinda careful with mine and avoid having to do all that.
The sentiment is good, but you can easily avoid the rust and stickiness by using enough oil while cooking and if the surface is damaged wash it with soap and then if there is any bare metal heat it with a tiny amount of oil to remove the moisture and wipe out excess before putting it away. If no metal is showing and water is beading up, just dry with a towel!
Funny enough, I made the opposite journey. Bought a LeCreuset a while back and had to toss it after 1.5 years, because the enamel started to flake off, despite great care handling/cleaning it. Replaced it with a cast iron skillet and am thoroughly enjoying its simplicity.
I’ve always wondered if that is taking the durability advantage of cast iron and coating it with enamel that can chip or scratch. Taking the nice non-stick surface of perfectly season cast iron and covering it with something that will never be as slick
The cast iron subreddit drama is one of the few things I miss from reddit. Even got me to buy a few more and cook more often with them!
I was super precious about all my cast iron for a long time. Then I had a thought watching this “cowboy” YouTuber wash his cast iron with some specialty thing.
“This fucking guy is like pretending to be out on the pasture or whatever. In the actual 1800s, this shit was probably just wiped out, or they used lye soap or something ridiculous! Why the fuck am I being so fucking careful?!?”
Now I do not care, like I’ve had my shit get rusty, crusty, “overheated”, the reality is that it’s a big ass chunk of metal! Short of deformation or intentional or extreme neglect (leaving it in the rain uncovered for 40 years) you will not destroy it.
If it gets too “sticky”, you oil it up and heat it, and bingo, it’s fine again.
Ok. But should you never put citrus in your garbage disposal because it summons the pipe demon, or are you supposed to put citrus in your garbage disposal because it repels the pipe demon?
You guys need to lay off the pipe demon. He’s just doing his job like the rest of us.
But he does prefer oranges over lemons.
You should rip your garbage disposal out and replace it with a normal drain, then put your food waste in the compost or trash instead.
Yea and carry all of your laundry to the river and beat it against a rock!
Oooh, there is this great startup that sells a smart stream and rock for cleaning your clothing. The monthly subscription is very reasonable for the experience.
(we. thought. you. was. a. toad.)
Yes, because scraping your plate off into a trash can is so much less civilized than scraping it off into a sink. 🙄
The neighborhood gang of masked bandits prevents me from doing this. They like to pillage the trash cans and leave the evidence all over the driveway.
Yeah, food scraps belong in a landfill, where they can be sealed over and fester for years, perhaps preserved for future archeologists to study. Disposals just add your food waste where it can decompose and rejoin the cycle of life. We don’t need that
What part of
did you not understand?
This part
Yes, disposal can take care of the same subset of foods as composting and in pretty much the same way.
I rest easy knowing the food I put in the disposal is ground up and mixed with biological waste so is quickly digested on the way to the sewage treatment plant. I further know we have advanced treatment such that any remaining food sits in a digester for 30 days before being filtered and the remaining indigestible fraction sent to a landfill. I also have a reasonable handle on what to use it for, so have never had a plumbing issue.
Coffee is the only problem area. The grounds would be good to compost but bad to put in the disposal
I have a compost but the disposal is a fantastic addition to my life. Some rice in the sink? No problem. Broth, compost, disposal. Sometimes trash. Obviously divert as much as you can, but the garbage disposal in the sink is wonderful.
I used to hike to a mountain lake in New Hampshire for trout fishing. On the wall of the Adirondack shelter next to the lake was a large cast iron skillet. Random people used it for decades to cook fish over a wood campfire. The only cleaning it got was being scraped with a flat rock, rinsed in the lake, and picked at by woodland critters. It always worked just fine, and the fish tasted great.
It’s them critters, I’m telling you!
You just can’t get a good woodland-critter-saliva sauce in the big city.
scribbles furiously get woodland critters for cleaning…
Got it!
Isn’t that the whole point of cast iron pans?
they can be treated like shit and still work?
They also hold more heat so they can get hotter which is great for searing steaks.
I don’t understand how people use them to cook eggs. Every time I try they stick. I gave up.
Sorry if you’ve heard this before, but getting the pan hot is important. If the egg is cooked before it gets into the texture, it won’t stick at all. It’s tempting to add the eggs early because cast iron takes so long to heat up, but a cool pan will stick a lot more. I usually let the butter brown heavily before I crack the eggs. If you think that leaves the top undercooked, add a spoon of water and cover the pan to steam the egg tops.
The other guy is right about letting the pan get hot first, but also remember that “hot” doesn’t mean on high, eggs like to be cooked low and slow. Just make sure that it’s actually up to that temp before you crack them in. Flick some water into the pan, if it sizzles for a second or two than that’s good enough for eggs imo (some will recommend waiting until the water drops hover, I feel like that’s too hot for eggs, but you know try both see what you like). I personally try to crack the eggs into the pan before the butter browns, but that’s just me. Another thing to be aware of that’s been mentioned in other threads under this post is that cast iron with a course surface can make things harder, so consider getting a smoother one or sanding yours down. Finally, for your best chance of getting under the egg cleanly, I recommend a thin metal spatula with some flex, like a fish spatula. In my experience plastic spatulas are culinary bulldozers. Be patient, if you think it’s close to done use the spatula to peak under the edge for a bit of a crust to separate from the pan, and if it’s ready, work around the edges to get it loose before you try to move or flip it.
Mine has the opposite problem. Eggs slide around, no stick. However when I crack them on, they spread like water. I recently used Teflon for the first time in years, and the eggs pooled up at a perfect size and shape for a sandwich. I’m jealous. It’s probably a heat thing but the eggs already brown a lot so I didn’t want to make the cast iron hotter
To paraphrase NetShaq, some people like to take something known for being bullet proof and then treat babying it like it’s their entire personality
Rust you can grind off, but if it was used to melt lead down, that will kill one of these cast iron pans.
I like to think of it as “a little extra sweetness”
All the fancy shit is just too save from having to season it again, and seasoning is a bit of a pita. Getting the whole pan kinda hot, adding a bit of a short chain oil, baking it at like 450 for a couple hours, and letting it cool back off.
I’ll just be kinda careful with mine and avoid having to do all that.
The sentiment is good, but you can easily avoid the rust and stickiness by using enough oil while cooking and if the surface is damaged wash it with soap and then if there is any bare metal heat it with a tiny amount of oil to remove the moisture and wipe out excess before putting it away. If no metal is showing and water is beading up, just dry with a towel!
Doesn’t make a very good anvil. Breaks too easily.
I’ve graduated from cast iron to ceramic coated cast iron.
All of the benefits of cast iron with the added appeal of never having to reseason it.
I have a LeCruset enameled cast iron pan and love it. So easy to clean, doesn’t need seasoning.
Funny enough, I made the opposite journey. Bought a LeCreuset a while back and had to toss it after 1.5 years, because the enamel started to flake off, despite great care handling/cleaning it. Replaced it with a cast iron skillet and am thoroughly enjoying its simplicity.
There’s a huge difference between the low end LeCreuset and the high end ones.
I don’t even understand why they make the cheap stuff, the ceramic just flakes off and it’s garbage. The high end $$$$$ stuff lasts forever tho.
Oh this was a high-end model (medium-sized pan, wooden handle, cost about 200€). This is why I was so disappointed that it didn’t last very long.
I’ve always wondered if that is taking the durability advantage of cast iron and coating it with enamel that can chip or scratch. Taking the nice non-stick surface of perfectly season cast iron and covering it with something that will never be as slick
Looks might impressive though
Sometimes the simplest of things appear as the scariest.