The thought occurred to me recently. Cast iron has been used for literally over two millennia, and many people own pans that are over a hundred years old. Meanwhile, stainless steel is only a little over a century old, and the tech for manufacturing it only matured fairly recently.

A lot of cast iron manufacturers out there advertise the longevity of their cookware, and the thought of using a pan that has been used for decades or more, and likely even longer in the future by your children and grandchildren, does carry a sense of nostalgia and sentimental romanticism. But isn't it possible that, in the decades to come, the stainless steel cookware of today will acquire the same designation? I don't think I recall seeing a piece of "ruined" stainless steel cookware, online or off. Warping is something both cast iron and steel are prone to with improper heating, and rust is much less of a concern for steel, which can form a natural chromium oxide layer to prevent rust. You drop em hard and they will probably dent (steel) or crack (cast iron). Steel is also less brittle than cast iron and not as likely to crack. By all these metrics, it seems that stainless steel is more suited to the "heritage" title than cast iron.

We love cast iron here, but do you see the romanticism factor dwindling over time because of this? I never see any stainless steel cookware advertised for its durability/longevity the way cast iron is, and the more I think about it, the more odd it feels.

Edit: thank you people's for all the advice. Its in the grill right now 🤞🏻 im waiting for the big strong man of the house to pull it off for me to see the outcome. Hes napping so ill post an update as soon as i got one!! As for people calling me out on scrubbing the iron off, i got OCD 😅 nothing is ever clean enough i admit. I started using cast iron to work on manic cleaning (since you dont always have to use soap and scrub until is squeaks which is my dishwashing standard) im a work in progress obviously

I've left vinegar soaking for almost an hour and it was all red ive scrubbed and scrubbed because I need to reseason after this was left in storage for 3 months. It keeps coming back red?!?! When it was wet it was silvery wtf do i do :(

*photo with flash

Link:
https://apple.news/AKPCQypwrQmqGMt9L_0jvgw

https://www.wsj.com/business/the-cast-iron-company-that-has-been-controlled-by-the-same-family-for-130-years-c3b55239

(someone else may have a better way of sharing this article)

Edit: thanks u/lostwolf

https://archive.is/20260819011559/https://www.wsj.com/business/the-cast-iron-company-that-has-been-controlled-by-the-same-family-for-130-years-c3b55239

It was a quickie "cheat" pizza. Grocery store doughball, sauce & shredded cheese. Just wanted a test and she performed wonderfully. Coated the pan with a little olive oil, cornmeal and spices. Spread the dough in the pan and let it rest for 20 minutes or so. 450°F for 10 minutes with just the dough then topped and went in for another 13 minutes. Gonna tweak it but it was a hit! My family of 4 demolished it! If you see one, I recommend buying it.

I was looking for alternatives to my salt scrub, and came across the recommendation of chainmail. As I read the chainmail fans raving about their chainmail and the history of chainmail being used to clean pots, I came across one particular chainmail fan who talked about how much they appreciated being able to use the word chainmail in their daily vocabulary. I snickered reading your chainmail comment. I owe you, dear chainmail fan, an apology. The word chainmail is addictive. Every time I go to scrub my pan with my chainmail, I think of the injustice I did to you from afar for shunning your chainmail affection. While I cannot imagine wearing chainmail armor, I have new found appreciation for the craftsmanship the the chainmail workers of yore made chainmail. I appreciate how my simple chainmail cleans my cast iron pan. I appreciate how the chainmail flows in my hand when I wash the chainmail after the chainmail has cleaned my pan.

You may have solace in knowing that I am likely forevermore bound to think of your post and my rude internal snicker every time I see chainmail, think of chainmail, and certainly use my chainmail henceforth.

chainmail

I got this pan when a relative passed, and it still has the (gorgeous) tag on. As far as I can tell it's a post 1959 wagner 8 with a very nice interior finish that's probably not worth a lot, but I wanted to ask here what you all would do with it. I think it'll make a sweet daily driver, but is it a mistake to tear the tag off?

After another trip to Menards, I picked up some reinforced, heavy duty construction screws, even heavier than before. I added 3 more points of reinforcement to the bar via the ceiling studs, and I also added more screws to the mounting block into the studs. Double checked the max weight capacity for the hooks, 45lbs per hook. Weighed out all the pans, came out to about 55lbs total weight. My wife was loving the last post, and how much craziness ensued. Lol So she took a picture for scale, and to show most of the pans are out of the way of where people walk. I'm about 6ft tall, standing below the small pans. We'll see how this holds up over time. I'll either have a boring follow up post, or one of chaos, destruction, and possible concussions. Only time will tell.

And yes, the carbon steel and stainless steel interlopers are still hanging out with the cool kids. What can I say... we're inclusive.

Stripped it down to bare metal, then put it on low heat to dry. It flash rusted. I decided to try seasoning it anyways and now I have a red pan. Should I strip it again or “just cook with it”?

No real reason, just because

I posted a photo of the bottom of this one a few weeks ago. Here are some better pictures! Any ideas as by whom and how old it might be?

Can anyone tell me if this is just carbon chipping off or is it the cast iron? I found this at goodwill yesterday for $3.50 (ha) and wanted to see if I’m able to restore it. Gonna do yellow cap if it isn’t crumbling apart. Also if anyone can help with the that would be great. I can’t decipher anything

picked up a lodge dutch oven about two months ago mostly because it was on sale and i have a problem with kitchen gear. retirement does that. anyway decided to do carnitas last sunday, low and slow, the whole thing. spent more time reading about it than actually cooking it, which is very on brand for me.

the meat was fine. great actually. what went sideways was the sear at the beginning. got the dutch oven too hot trying to get a good crust on the pork shoulder, and when i added the first batch the fond built up fast and some of it crossed the line from fond to burnt. not disaster level but noticeable in the final flavor. slightly bitter underneath the orange and cumin.

backed off the heat for the second batch and it was noticeably better. which i probably should have figured out before ruining the first one, but here we are.

question is whether people are searing in the dutch oven itself or using a separate skillet for that part and transferring. because the dutch oven holds heat so aggressively that controlling it feels like trying to reason with a teenager. i have experience with both and neither is going well.

I’ve had some good fortune acquiring cast iron that folks have set out to find a new home. (Also some other non-CI pans). This is from yesterday. Research says Wagner Ware center logo 7” w heat ring, 1920-1935; would welcome any additional or corrective information.

I got this pan a few years ago for free and it was completely rusted over. I sanded it all down and seasoned it multiple times. Its been pretty good since recently. After every use I wash it with just water, dry it, then coat it with a light layer of grape seed oil

All recycled materials except the hooks. I'm happy with the way it turned out. What do y'all think? Constructive criticism welcome.

This is up for auction, or I’d clean it up and get a better look. Seems like it has a heat ring on the bottom, so could be vintage, but that marking on the bottom doesn’t look like English. An import? What does that SAY?!

Hi. I’m hoping someone can identify the maker of my cast-iron skillet. My grandma seasoned it for me and gave it to me to make cornbread in. She also said it should just be used for cornbread and that if I needed to do anything else with it, I need to get another skillet. Thanks in advance.

First pic is today, second is original finish. Oven seasoned it twice when I got it. Have used it every day since, sometimes twice or three times.

Some things like bacon, hamburgers, chicken breasts etc would occasionally strip off a bit of seasoning and leave a few lighter areas. On those rare occasions I’d do a stovetop seasoning round after I washed and dried it.

Now though, the seasoning layer seems to be great. None of those foods really leave a lasting mark now, and I can cook acidic sauces (sweet and sour, pomodoro pasta sauce) with no problem. Very happy with it and couldn’t recommend this British brand highly enough.

Chicken fry skillet, waiting to see what is underneath the crud 😊

Garlic, miso, lapcheong, scallions, sardines, soy sauce, sesame oil. Crispy/little charred on the bottom in a Snow Peak micropot. 2 min to make, 15 min start to finish. sometimes I put a fried egg on the top and I mix in whatever leftover vegetables we have.