cast iron cookware

amazon has insanely cheap cast iron skillets, i don't think you can find em any cheaper than this.

lodge is the only brand of cast iron cookware currently being made in the US, founded by joseph lodge in 1896, they are also the oldest family-owned cookware foundry in America.

there are cheaper cast irons you can purchase, that are made in the china, but these are so cheap, why go that route? so much more fuel is used to ship things from china, and then there's the concern that china irons are not pure, or that the chinese poison everything they export to the US...

you can find vintage US made cast iron, which are pretty cool, and slightly lighter, but more expensive.

if you're not aware of cast iron cookware, they're only the best.
most cookware these days is coated with chemical non stick surfaces, whether it's teflon, or some other chemical concoction, it's easily scratched, burned, and emits toxic carcinogenic fumes when being manufactured, or when overheated during cooking. hmm that sounds nice. a lot of cookware out there is also aluminum, which will leach into your food, and body, and end up in your brain like all those alzheimer brains.

cast iron is the original, traditional, economical, natural, frugal, eco friendly material for cooking. they are indestructible, and will literally last 100s of years. other than stainless steel pots for making soup, cast iron is the only other cookware worth using. it can go straight from the stove to the oven; i won't even use any baking trays anymore. any iron that may leach into your food is a good nutrient for your body. you can't scratch it very easily at all. cast iron heats very evenly, and it just an overall much more pleasant experience for cooking. once you try it, there's no going back.

they're also super easy to take care of. all you have to know is, don't wash them with soap, and don't let them get dry and get rusty. you're supposed to season them with some sort of oil, but this can be done much more loosely than most people make it sound. when i first get a new one, i heat it up, drip some oil on it, spread it around with paper towel, and then let it cool. from then on, i just cook with it, and either don't clean it, rinse it with warm(not hot) water, or scrape it clean if needed. but really there's nothing wrong with leaving food residue on it, and what you really want is to let it be coated with oil from the last time you cooked, that prevents it from rusting, or being sticky when you cook with it.

i'm convinced there's nothing you can't use it for, fried eggs and omelets, pancakes, veggies, fish, broiling steaks, baked chicken, pizza, home fries, grilled cheese, mac n cheese, baking cookies.

i have this ongoing photo album on facebook:
local organic cast iron cooking facebook photo album