Huh. My recurring biceps pains are the bane of my existence. And I was also refused for a blood donation due to insufficient hemoglobin. I need to try iron supplements.
Hate to be that guy but y’all need iron pans. Proper sears at temperatures that would disintegrate Teflon, better and self-healing anti-stick coating than anything else (if used properly), you can use a metal spatula, no more anaemia, what’s not to like?
Two main problems I have with cast iron - the care that they take is too much effort, and their constant risk of rusting if they’re not coated in oil at all times is just too much bullshit to deal with for a kitchen tool. The other issue is that I try as best as I can to do oil-free cooking, and cast iron is antithetical to that.
A baking sheet with parchment paper, in a toaster oven, is significantly more convenient.
Two main problems I have with cast iron - the care that they take is too much effort, and their constant risk of rusting if they’re not coated in oil at all times is just too much bullshit to deal with for a kitchen tool.
I don’t use cast iron either they’re heavy and I generally don’t need the heat capacity. Think De Buyer Mineral B, in that direction.
Care+feeding in the usual case consists of as little as wiping them down with some kitchen tissue, or holding them under water and rummaging around a bit with a bristle brush (don’t use a plastic one they can’t take the heat), then re-applying oil which is literally a second of work. In nasty cases, steel wool instead of brush.
Explaining all that took longer than actually doing it. Residual heat does most of the work: Evaporating left-over water. It might also already polymerise the new oil a bit, but generally that’s done when you heat the pan up rule of thumb if it’s not smoking off then you aren’t frying at temperature.
Also it’s not like the pan would break instantly if you leave it out without a coat of oil. Some fly rust, is all, nothing serious. Scrub it off with steel wool or leave it on it actually doesn’t matter iron oxide won’t kill you.
The other issue is that I try as best as I can to do oil-free cooking, and cast iron is antithetical to that.
Vilifying fat is a ploy of the sugar and tobacco industry. Literally, it’s all well-documented: The sugar industry to sell more sugar, the tobacco industry to blame the epidemic of heart disease on anything but smoking.
Also we’re talking about drops, you do not need more than a thin film on the thing. Thin as in “try to get it all off with kitchen tissue”. If you burn it off when heating though you need to add some more before adding ingredients, what the Chinese call “hot wok, cold oil”, it’s a simple and reliable way to get excellent anti-stick. You don’t need Chinese amounts of oil for that, maybe a tablespoon (actual one not those strange US measurements).
No thanks. I don’t really need to sear anything I’m the flames of hell, care is a huge pain, you can’t ever fully clean it, it stains dish towels, and it weighs a ton and a half.
Stainless steel all day for me.
My iron pan might very well be lighter than your stainless, it’s actually quite flimsy. I guess technically they should be called steel pans because it is steel, as in iron alloyed with carbon but not so much as to make it cast iron, it just isn’t stainless.
That said yes stainless is also a proper thing they are very capable when it comes to searing in the flames of hell, but generally more for when you want things to stick and then deglaze. I’d go nuts making eggs in one.
This “you can’t even clean it” – it gets heat-sterilised every use. Patina isn’t dirt same as any other protective/functional coating isn’t.
Also stainless might have similar iron advantages as non-stainless pans. I repeat: You’re not my enemy. People can also keep their enamel pans (old or the new-fangled non-stick ones), very useful if you want to e.g. boil tomato sauce for a while. It’s Teflon I actually have an issue with.
I prefer use of steel pans for eggs, meat, pancake, potato,… I recommend use of thin one (weight less) with flat bottom (easy to maintain coating). Evertime you finish your cooking pass it under a stream of cold water and later you could use a steel wool to remove residue and then your traditional sponge and soap. Let it dry without using kitchen towels. Don’t worry about rust you could remove it with a paper before use.
For vegetable use a cast-iron pans, choose one with enamel so you don’t need a special care.
For boiling water the best is steel with enamel but hard to find in good quality, I use stainless steel with tri-layer and a layer of steel in between.
