cast iron or carbon steel cooking

VanceInWA · May 1, 2022

"Survival cooking" could be different, but when it comes to camping (especially while hunting) Lodge and only Lodge.

Yarome · May 1, 2022

Mike_M57 said:
Imagine how advanced our civilization would be if people would stop believing in things that aren't true.

Good for clickbait, but I have to respectfully disagree with some of that.

Point 1: You "can" make new cast iron perform as well as old cast iron, however, old cast iron sets the bar and will "naturally" perform better due to the smoother casting process. To me that makes it pretty debatable if you can call it a "falsehood" that older isn't "better". More like... older cast iron is preferrable, but there isn't really anything wrong with newly manufactured. -Fail-

Point 2: That's a little more on point, but I don't know of anyone that claims that cast iron is AS nonstick as say... teflon. If care is taken it is "nearly" as non-stick, not a health hazard and incredibly more durable....not to mention a considerably better/even cooking surface. That's still a "win" in my book. -Apples and Oranges-

Point 3: It takes time to build up a truly seasoned surface on cast iron to the point that it's no longer adversely affected by slow cook foods with high water content or acids. You "can" use soap and water, yes, but you ARE hampering/degrading the seasoning process by removing surface oils that would normally be contributing to the long term buildup. Sometimes you might just have to, but if at all possible, avoid it. -Fail-

In any practical sense, a newly seasoned pan, old or new, will not perform to it's true potential. It takes time to work up a truly good pan. Bearing in mind that with the rougher surface casting of newly manufactured cast iron, that process typically takes more time to develop.

Probably drove a lot of viewers to his youtube, but half truths and a bit of twisted logic, IMHO.

rjmt · May 1, 2022

Yarome said:
Good for clickbait, but I have to respectfully disagree with some of that.

Point 1: You "can" make new cast iron perform as well as old cast iron, however, old cast iron sets the bar and will "naturally" perform better due to the smoother casting process. To me that makes it pretty debatable if you can call it a "falsehood" that older isn't "better". More like... older cast iron is preferrable, but there isn't really anything wrong with newly manufactured. -Fail-

Point 2: That's a little more on point, but I don't know of anyone that claims that cast iron is AS nonstick as say... teflon. If care is taken it is "nearly" as non-stick, not a health hazard and incredibly more durable....not to mention a considerably better/even cooking surface. That's still a "win" in my book. -Apples and Oranges-

Point 3: It takes time to build up a truly seasoned surface on cast iron to the point that it's no longer adversely affected by slow cook foods with high water content or acids. You "can" use soap and water, yes, but you ARE hampering/degrading the seasoning process by removing surface oils that would normally be contributing to the long term buildup. Sometimes you might just have to, but if at all possible, avoid it. -Fail-

In any practical sense, a newly seasoned pan, old or new, will not perform to it's true potential. It takes time to work up a truly good pan. Bearing in mind that with the rougher surface casting of newly manufactured cast iron, that process typically takes more time to develop.

Probably drove a lot of viewers to his youtube, but half truths and a bit of twisted logic, IMHO.

some of our cast iron is from the 1930s - still used
you are correct that old cast iron is smoother than new Lodge, but the new Lodge works just as well

but we have switched to carbon steel due to the weight
also, carbon steel heats up quicker
my son works from home and only has 15 min breaks - he can cook a full meal in 5 min in his carbon steel Wok

for both carbon steel and cast iron, we boil water in the pans after each use, then wipe them out hot
we cook with so many onions that all our cookware has developed good seasoning

and then there's Le Creuset i if cooking with high acids (tomatoes), we go to the coated cast iron