Cast Iron Pans

So I ashamed to admit that at the age of almost 30, and having been cooking for over ten years now..I had no idea about the wonders of a cast iron pan! My brother told me he wanted one for his birthday so I have just been doing some reading up on them. After some research, I am quite convinced that after I buy my bro one..I will also get myself one as well.

So here is what I thought was most interesting about cast iron pans.

1) They keep for ages, unlike stainless steel pans and your usual pots and pans, it seems like cast iron pans can keep for a very long time as long as you take care of them. (also they are probably more affordable than the normal pans!)

2) They are even distributor of heat.

3) They can move from the stove to the oven, so that is super useful if you want to make frittatas or dutch oven pancakes.

4) They are a pretty good asset to your kitchen, they make you look like a pro.

5) If you put cold liquid into a hot cast iron pan, it will crack almost immediately.

The interesting thing that I read about these cast iron pots, is that you have to keep them well seasoned. At first I thought that meant you had to season your meat pretty well before you plopped it into the cast iron pan (yes embarrassing but at least I am willing to admit that I had thought that)

Seasoning the cast iron pan is a process in which you would do something like the following:

"Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you warm the pan gently over low heat on top of the stove. Using a brush or a paper towel, spread a tablespoon or so of a fresh neutral oil like corn or grape seed in the pan; the surface should be evenly covered, with no excess. Put the pan in the oven, bake it for about an hour and let it cool in the oven."

Sound intimidating? It's ok because apparently now there are cast iron pans available that are pre-seasoned! Pretty neat huh!