/ck/ - Food & Cooking

I assume most of it is just hate for something that isn't what they're used to.

And hate that vintage cast iron is expensive, and cheap modern cast iron is pretty shitty in comparison.

I love my Griswold and Wagner skillets. But i'd rather use stainless steel or carbon steel before touching a modern lodge or similar low-tier cast iron.

>>16063772
Modern Lodge is fine, just set it outside to rust for a month and then hit it with the steel wool, then season as normal.

>>16063789
Yeah, they're fine :^)

>>16063806
>can't care for "her" possessions
Again, this is a sign that you should be in line at McDonalds wolfing down those McChickens, it's not the fault of cast iron. You're simply too stupid to understand how to follow the very simple instructions on how to season cast iron, a secret that even illiterate medieval peasants could understand since childhood.

>>16063816
lodges come preseasoned though, supposedly ready to use right from the factory.

>>16063821
That's horse shit, you don't have to believe that kind of shit.

It's an anti-rust coating for retail look and feel. You're not meant to cook on... do they even say what that "seasoning" is? LOL

Remember, people in marketing lie, and deserve, at best, suicide.

>>16063827
Direct from the lodge website
> Each of our cast iron pans comes seasoned and ready to use, right out of the box.

> Seasoned with 100% natural vegetable oil

>>16063762
>Smithey

baste

I used to live around the corner from that guy

Lack of intelligence and culinary skills

>>16063835
>soy
blech

>>16063872
I mean, sure. The point was more that it should work just fine out of the box. The fact it generally doesn't is a problem with their seasoning, and their pockmarked interior.

>>16063879
>it should work
This is a heck of an assumption. Why do you believe marketing people? The "seasoning" is a simple coating to ensure the pan doesn't rust in transport or on the shelf in a high humidity environment.

Do you honestly look at marketing copy on packages and believe it? Holy fuck.

>>16063897
There ARE false advertising laws you know?

does anyone have the definitive guide on how to season? mine is getting a little shitty.

I don’t hate it, its just that I have All Clad, Carbon Steel and Le Creuset, so there is literally no reason for me to ever pull out my bare cast iron again. I think the last time I used it was over two years ago for pizza.

>>16063943
I use mine exclusively for burgers. Gives the best sear

>>16063901
But no false advertising prosecutors.

>>16063943
>carbon steel
total meme, the seasoning just floats on the surface of the pan instead of soaking into the matrix of the cast iron

>>16063976
>total meme, the seasoning just floats on the surface of the pan instead of soaking into the matrix of the cast iron

youre just talkinf out of your ass anon. Ive own multiple carbon steel woks and their seasoning is excellent

>>16064124
Carbon steel simply can't be seasoned properly, it's not porous enough. The seasoning is some ugly layer which floats on top the metal and is easily damaged.

A properly seasoned cast iron pan has polymerized oil in the minute crevices and matrices of the much more porous cast iron, and it can not be scraped off. I can clean my cast iron by running hot water on it, even scrub it with steel wool, and set it on the counter and within a few hours a natural sheen will appear, it's the polymerized oil, the thing that's the seasoning and what makes the pan non-stick slowly seeping out as the pan contracts after being under hot water. It's just a cheap Lodge that I've had for decades and taken good care of.

>>16063789
is this legit? why not straight out sanding it instead?

not dishwasher safe and can't afford a kitchen servant to hand wash it for me, duh!

>>16064168
>adding a step to the manufacturing process
what is value engineering?

>>16064155
It doesnt need to be porous, the polymerised oil bonds to the steel. Its the same process as whats happening inside the cast iron pores only with less surface area.

The seasoning layer on carbon steel is not damaged easily, maybe you just suck at it. Ive cooked acidic sauces for stir fries inside mine and the seasoning was fine afterwards.

>>16064242
The polymer bond is extremely weak and can be scraped off. You can't scrape off the seasoning of a properly seasoned cast iron pan because the seasoning is in the matrix of the porous iron.

It's very simple to understand if you don't try your hardest NOT to.

>>16064252
Whatever, anon. Ive seen cast iron pans chip their seasoning off.

Carbon steel is the superior choice for a wok, prove me wrong. A cast iron wok would break your wrists.

>>16064266
I dont think anyone here is suggesting you get a cast iron wok anon.

You also probably don't have a burner powerful enough for real wok cooking anyway. So even with carbon steel, you're not doing proper wok cooking.

>>16064277
Just proving that carbon steel is not a meme.

>You also probably don't have a burner powerful enough for real wok cooking anyway. So even with carbon steel, you're not doing proper wok cooking.

The secret is cooking the ingredients in batches. As long as the oil is hot enough to smoke and you dont crowd your wok, you can absolutely do a proper stir fry at home.

>>16064277
The whole you don't have a burner big enough to use a wok is bullshit. Do you think the average chinese person has a wok burner in their house? you can't replicate restaurant food at home, no, but that's not the only thing you do in a wok.

>>16064308
Has nothing to do with the size, but the power output.

Unless you've got an expensive range top, OR a dedicated wok burner, it's just not gonna give great results unless you do tiny bitch batches like >>16064284 says. But you're not gonna make stirfry for 3-5 people all at once.

>>16064332
Stir fry takes like 5 mins with proper preparation. You could just make a meal for 1 person at a time, keep it warm in the oven, and proceed to cook for the next person. All it takes is some logistics.

>>16063902
I can tell you how I have seasoned mine, with great results.

>wash it in dish washer to remove oils and seasoning
>scour with steel wool, make sure it's real steel wool and not some pot metal
>take outside and spray with hose
>water it every couple days until it starts to rust all over
>wait a week
>hit it with steel wool until rust is gone, this will smooth the inside
>coat with bacon grease, frying some cheap ends and pieces then pitching them is the easiest way
>repeat several times until the pan is completely non-stick
Baking the shit out of it on high heat is a terrible idea because the oil will char and carbonize instead of polymerizing.

Riddle me this OP, why do restaurant kitchens use carbon steel instead of cast iron if it's so great?

>>16064352
At that point why even use a wok? Just use your skillet on high heat and fry each ingredient separately, then combine and toss at the end.

>>16064370
Because it's much easier for the dish people, known for their amazingly high IQs, to clean. It can always be scoured and washed in a dish washer if the seasoning layer floating on top the carbon steel is damaged, which is cheaper and easier than seasoning cast iron.

>>16064375
I guess that would work. I dont see why that would be better/easier though. Especially if youre gonna toss it in the end, the wok would make it easier.

>>16064370
They do use cast iron though, especially if they're searing something

>>16064370
Because cast iron is heavy as shit and that matters when you're cooking for hours on end, not just cooking dinner.

>>16064399
>I dont see why that would be better/easier though.
Because of the shape of the pans. A wok has a very small bottom, and is curved. A skillet is flat. You have more surface area to fry upon. It will be faster.

>>16064447
You would need to use way more oil since the bottom is wider. Theres also less control over heat since you cant scoop ingredients to the side like in a wok. A wok also has higher edges which facilitate tossing.

I agree it would be faster, but stir fries are so fast that the time saved would be negligible.

My all clad pan is objectively better

Most people don't cook so the concept of a cast iron pan seems alien to them. We call them telfon tards.

I use stainless and enameled cast iron. I don't see the need to use bare cast iron when it does nothing better than those two types. I even prefer carbon steel to it; although maybe mine is just seasoned much better

>>16063762
This is why people on here seethe over cast iron:

>Contrarian, see r*ddit faggots drooling, mouths agape at cast iron pans, so their gut instinct is to despise it
>Lazy, view anything which might be a mild inconvenience to them as the worst thing ever
>Insecure, they own some other type of pan and the idea of praising or hearing others praise something they chose not to buy makes them feel insecure and anxious, as if any praise for cast iron is by default a negative critique of them

Even give the appearance of thinking cast iron is alright and you will be accused of being a r*ddit fag, an inefficient moron, or a poor consoomer. It's pointless to argue or reason with such people.

Because it's a big lie, it doesn't add anything to the food and its a bitch to take care of. Why do all that shit when I can put my aluminum/enamel in the dishwasher and be done with it.

>>16063762
They are easy to take care of but are not always the tool for the job. Having quality carbon and steel pans is required for the serious.

>>16064591
carbon steel pans are rarely REQUIRED

they can be nice in certain situations, but I've never run into a situation where I NEEDED carbon steel pans.

I don't own a single carbon steel pan, but I do own several stainless steel pans, cast iron pans, and copper pans.

>>16063806
I think you turned it into gold bro, it's way more valuable now

>>16063902
I bought my Wagner new back in the mid 1980's when they were still in business. All I ever did was cook on it. Mostly bacon the first few times, then whatever needed cooking. A few years later i got a lodge and did the same thing, no sanding, no rusting, no nothing. just fucking cook with it. Both will cook an omelette without sticking. The lodge is smooth now, 30 years of cooking with a steel spatula has gradually worn down the bumps.

>>16064377
>cheaper and easier than seasoning cast iron
And you still get top tier food using carbon steel. So... its better. No need for cast iron. Case closed

>>16063762
I hate smashing things when I put it down heavily. I like putting things down heavily.

Have staub cocote, is great. I think only real downside is that you shouldn’t wash it in dishwasher.

>>16065594
It’s OK to be lazy and admit you can’t take care of a piece of iron, something illiterate peasants managed to do for hundreds and thousands of years.

mine is seasoned but its only like 3-4 cooks before stuff starts to stick, is this normal? i presume its not supposed to be truly perfectly non-stick
i can scrape it off but its an inconvenience, how do i get it to last at least a week?

I don’t dislike cast iron at all.
But it’s only my tool of choice if searing a steak or cooking over an open fire.
For almost all other applications, I prefer carbon steel pans.

>>16064545
They’re shills who are interested in selling products which wear out. Amazon revealed it was using the same chat bots they deploy for advertising to defuse pro-Union sentiment recently. They targeted individual employees and even had bots impersonate their co-workers.

>>16066769
Give us a long post detailing how you seasoned it, with what, how you clean it, and what you do after you clean it and I’ll decide if I should bother to honestly reply to you.

>>16066818
>They targeted individual employees and even had bots impersonate their co-workers.
Sounds interesting. Valid sauce, plz.

>>16066831
Just search Hacker News for it, there were quite a few posts with copious sources. I’m not here to hold your hand, that’s enough to get you going if you care. It was just a few weeks ago when their union vote “failed.”

>>16066785
Nobody asked you.

>>16066769
>i can scrape it off but its an inconvenience
scrape it off and keep cooking with it. the more it's used the better seasoned it gets.

>>16063902
Just make half a dozen French crepes in it using canola oil and with the heat really high, so the oil is right at the smoking point when you pour the batter into the pan. That always brings my seasonning right back up to 100%

>>16063901
>There ARE false advertising laws you know?

those dont do anything just fyi