Feb 9

Feb 9 10 Reasons Why You Need Cast Iron in Your Life

LIFE, Recipes, Favorite Things, Home, Trim Healthy Mama

What's all the fuss about cast iron? Are they really that useful? Are they high maintenance? What exactly do you *do* with cast iron?

I'll answer all these questions with tips on how to make it last 100 years.

First off, cast iron is not a new thing. Grandmas in the South will tell you all about their cast iron that they received as wedding gifts 50 (or more) years ago. That's the beauty of cast iron - when you take care of it (which is not hard, AT ALL) it will last forever.

These are my 10 Reasons Why You Need Cast Iron in Your Life:

You can grill year-round. I adore my combo cast iron grill/griddle. You can have the smoky, char-grilledflavors of summer all year without having to step foot outside. Just like the skillets, the grill retains heat and you get the beautiful grill marks and flavor with less of the hassle.
No more pancake accidents. I had non-stick electric griddles for YEARS. Then, one day I couldn't get through a batch of pancakes because every. single. one. would stick to my griddle. I used oil, I tried different temperatures, and still would have at least half my batter in crumbles and pancake remnants. Then, I got my cast iron grill/griddle, and everything changed. No more burnt or sticking pancakes! I wish I had saved myself the headache years ago.
Pass it on to your kids and grandkids. No joke, my cast iron pans will probably outlive me. Those suckers can take a beating! You can drop, bang, and even scorch them all you want and they'll still come out looking perfect. It's really hard to actually hurt or mess these things up.
Cheap in price, but not in practice. You know those kitchen gizmos you get for cheap (as in very little money) knowing they won't last? This isn't one of those. Cast iron cookware is very affordable, and it will last forever (See also #7). If you're the garage-saling type (which I am ^_~), I'm willing to bet you could find some cast iron pans for a couple bucks. People will toss perfectly good pans simply because they don't know how to properly season them. Madness! (If you're ever in need of re-seasoning your pans, check out this guide on how to do it.)
It's versatile. You can cook anything from bacon and eggs, to cornbread, steak, chili, stews, and skillet desserts. You can also use cast iron on any cooktop: ceramic, gas, electric, you name it. Also, how many pans do you know of that can go from the stovetop, to the oven, straight to the table? I mean, really I'm saving you from doing too many dishes, if nothing else.
Iron builds muscle. OK, these cast iron tools are HEAVY. At the very least, you'll build your biceps working with cast iron.