Cooking eggs on a cast iron skillet.
Teflon is toxic. A well-seasoned cast iron can become just as non-stick. I’ve yet to achieve that lofty goal, though.
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i’m working on ours. it’s getting better & better.
I have one but it’s 15" so we haven’t used it enough to build up that much of a season. It’s there — but not eggs-there.
Yeah, I don’t want to have to put that much work into getting something to be non stick. I’m o.k. with the toxicity if it makes my life easier.
If you read the article, though, it all boils down to: “use it a lot and cook with lots of fat at first. And don’t clean it.”
To me, that doesn’t sound like too much work.
It’s a lot more work than "take out non stick pan from cabinet, cook with it, put it away.
Seems to me that drenching something in fat to avoid toxicity is wildly counterproductive. Especially since “toxin” is a bit of a catch all term without any specifics as to what kind of “toxins” or any proven side effects.
This compared to fat and oil and such, which are well known to be unhealthy, and have clearly documented (and visible, fatty) side effects.
Now if you had said “Use a cast iron skillet, because you have to drench it in fat, and fat is delicious,” I would have agreed.
1. you don’t have to drench anything in fat
2. what is unhealthy about fats?
John said:If you read the article, though, it all boils down to: “use it a lot and cook with lots of fat at first. And don’t clean it.”
Well, with lack of exercise, fat can cause fatness. But I was probably thinking more about cholesterol, which would be from oil, or whatever.
Mostly my point is that random use of the word “toxins” annoys me. And fat is delicious.
Evan said:Seems to me that drenching something in fat to avoid toxicity is wildly counterproductive. Especially since “toxin” is a bit of a catch all term without any specifics as to what kind of “toxins” or any proven side effects.
This compared to fat and oil and such, which are well known to be unhealthy, and have clearly documented (and visible, fatty) side effects.Now if you had said “Use a cast iron skillet, because you have to drench it in fat, and fat is delicious,” I would have agreed.
First of all, I didn’t say “toxin” I said “toxic.” I said this because I was being very specific about the polymer called Teflon and how it has proven side effects. It’s a known poison. I have to make sure my bird is clear from the room because if I heat a dry teflon pan he’ll die in a matter of minutes. People at my father-in-law’s chemical plant have been sent home with symptoms of teflon sickness, a known and documented poisoning caused by teflon.
So now that you’re officially schooled on that, let’s move on the fats. This whole “fats are unhealthy” bullshit needs to stop. It’s some junk the nutrition industry cooked up in the 70’s and the myth hasn’t died since. Fats are good for you. You need them in your diet. They are calorie rich, but calories don’t matter if your insulin levels stay low. In other words, chicken that’s breaded and cooked in the oven will make you fat quicker than chicken that’s unbreaded and deep fried. You will also have higher cholesterol. Awesome!
Lastly, seasoning a pan with fat does not leach fats or calories into the foods you eat. They create lipid-polymers which coat the pan. If they’re leaching into your food, they’re not doing their job and you haven’t seasoned your pan right.
John said:I have one but it’s 15" so we haven’t used it enough to build up that much of a season. It’s there — but not eggs-there.
yeah, big is good but unwieldy. we have a 12" which seems to be perfect for most things & on weekends we can use it up to a few times a day, but only ever washing it before bedtime as long as the cooked items are similar (i.e. not steak & then fried doughnuts).
i sincerely hope eggs come soon because we still use the nonstick a lot for that. damn toxic toxins.
mandy said:
yeah, big is good but unwieldy. we have a 12" which seems to be perfect for most things & on weekends we can use it up to a few times a day, but only ever washing it before bedtime as long as the cooked items are similar (i.e. not steak & then fried doughnuts).
Don’t mind me, I’m just taking this out of context and giggling.
mandy said:
yeah, big is good but unwieldy. we have a 12" which seems to be perfect for most things & on weekends we can use it up to a few times a day, but only ever washing it before bedtime as long as the cooked items are similar (i.e. not steak & then fried doughnuts).
Don’t mind me, I’m just taking this out of context and giggling.
Thanks Sammy for the double giggling.
I accidentally washed my friend’s cast iron skillet with soap-he was very forgiving but told me that if I had done that to his Appalachian mama’s skillet, she would have hit me with it.
I am going to Kentucky for the summer and the only thing I plan on bringing back to Philadelphia is a well seasoned skillet. Bring on the fat!
Fats sure are good for you, if you use them. Being Americans, I feel safe in the assumption that many of us don’t as much as we should.
And OK, teflon is bad. I suppose I already knew that. Though it never hurts to toughen yourself up against it. Or maybe always hurts.
I dislike the skillet because it doesn’t fit in the dishwasher.
Then you’d love cast iron skillets. You don’t have to wash them at all!
John said:Then you’d love cast iron skillets. You don’t have to wash them at all!
Salesman. This is not entirely true. Technicality!
My mom gave me a couple of her old Griffins when I first moved out. They came complete with 30 years of seasoning. They’re amazing.
I think, for the most part, she picked all of them up at the thrift store initially for about a quarter.