do use ur cast iron dutch ovens at home

[santaman2000]

Sorry if my grammar and English isn't perfect but I wrote this half asleep and didn't read it back
Also thanks for the reply guys the reason I asked was I would use them myself but mum and dad
won't let me cos it stinks the house out supposedly

I haven't had that problem. Not from CI use anyway; sometimes whatever I'm cooking may stink the house but never the CI. On the other hand fumes from more modern products such as Teflon can be toxic if heated dry.

A side-note however is that CI will take so much heat that it is possible to get to confident and cook at a temp which will burn whatever you're cooking and achieve said stink indirectly. The great beauty though is that high temps aren't a requirement for CI cooking. In fact they do very well for low and slow unless frying; then of course the oil is going to smell no matter what the cooking vessel.

I was lucky about CI growing up in the South. Almost nobody here knows how to cook without it.

 

[JonathanD]

Sorry if my grammar and English isn't perfect but I wrote this half asleep and didn't read it back
Also thanks for the reply guys the reason I asked was I would use them myself but mum and dad
won't let me cos it stinks the house out supposedly

Don't worry about it Drew, it's 1 of the reasons u r so ausome.

 

[British Red]

It wasn't a dig drew - I genuinely didn't understand what you were asking (blush)

I don't text or the like and couldn't work out what "ur" meant

Tell your parents that cast iron only smokes when seasoning - its no different than any other pan after that

Red

 

[John Fenna]

Cast Iron frying pan at home, small one on camp ... cast iron girdle/bakestone at home and camp gfor Welsh Cakes and pancakes (on occassion) ...cast Iron Dutch oven on camp (for long stay only!) and once in a while at home on the livingroom fire (it makes the finest bread!)
I have the advantage of having the choice of an oilfired range, an almost antique electric cooker (3 ring Baby Belling of well over 30 years vintage) or an Inglenook fireplace to cook with....

Mind you I rarely cook at home as SWMBO is by far the better cook out of the 2 of us ...and she has yet to get to play with my Dutch Oven ...

 

[Toddy]

The lecreuset pots live in the shed beside the cast iron, they're too damned heavy. Draining potatoes left me with my wrist in a support for six weeks. I use Denby stoneware in the oven, it works every bit as well as the iron ware and it doesn't stain and it doesn't weigh a ton.
I have two cast iron pots, old ones, not dutch ovens, just sound with close fitting lids, two gypsy style frying pans and two girdles.....they already have lasted generations, but they'll need to go to someone else 'cos my sons look at them with disdain, and insist that there's no way they want them. When my camp cooking days are done I'll find them a new home.

Incidentally, Ikea sell metal rimmed glass lids, with folding handles, that make excellent covers for the frying pans, makes them even more useful on the fire since it keeps ash out and allows food to simmer or create jus for gravy.

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. Drew, those who have met you can hear you speak with every post you make
M

 

[Canadian Kodiak]

I always use cast iron at home. All my pans are CI and I use a CI Dutch oven all of the time. Great for making homemade soups and stews.

I always go backpacking, never truck camping so CI is way too heavy to lug around in the bush. For backpacking I always use stainless steel billy cans.

 

[FGYT]

Sorry if my grammar and English isn't perfect but I wrote this half asleep and didn't read it back
Also thanks for the reply guys the reason I asked was I would use them myself but mum and dad
won't let me cos it stinks the house out supposedly

yep my house stank of roasting lamb with Rosmary and garlic all day

 

[santaman2000]

yep my house stank of roasting lamb with Rosmary and garlic all day

That stink is welcome in my house any day!!!

 

[santaman2000]

The lecreuset pots live in the shed beside the cast iron, they're too damned heavy. Draining potatoes left me with my wrist in a support for six weeks...I have two cast iron pots, old ones, not dutch ovens...they already have lasted generations, but they'll need to go to someone else 'cos my sons look at them with disdain, and insist that there's no way they want them...cheers, Toddy...

I agree CI is a bit of overkill for boiling potatoes but it's hard to beat for serious stews and the like. You say your sons disdain them but what about theier wives/GFs? I only wish I had my Grandmother's old CI. Besides the sentimental value and several generations of seasoning, it was mostly Wagner brand and no longer being made. Current samples on ebay starts bidding cheaply but quickly run > $750.

 

[Toddy]

Most modern cookers around here have electric ceramic hobs, no one wants cast iron. I can't see girlfriends or wives wanting the old pots. I gave up on the lecreuset pans because their weight was a real issue. The stainless steel ones have laminated bases and are every bit as effective and a lot less bother. Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store.

My grandmother got rid of her cast iron pots when she got rid of the old range and bought a nice clean, easily kept and reliable temperature electric cooker There were no regrets about the lack of soot, coal dust, rust proofing with black lead, or the labour involved.

We kind of idealise the self sufficiency of some of the past, but too often we forget the constant labour involved in maintaining that lifestyle.
Personally I would like the option of a real fire, but I don't want to have to rely on it 24/7/365. Been there, done that, not doing it again if I can help it.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[WolfCub]

I've used mine at home a few times lately. However this has been outside over a chopped up gas bottle with a fire in the bottom.

It's been fun and interesting for the kids, but I'm sure the novelty will ware off and it'l go back in storage for a while till next time I'm 'bored'

 

[santaman2000]

Most modern cookers around here have electric ceramic hobs...The stainless steel ones have laminated bases and are every bit as effective and a lot less bother. Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store...My grandmother got rid of her cast iron pots when she got rid of the old range and bought a nice clean, easily kept and reliable temperature electric cooker...no regrets about the lack of soot, coal dust, rust proofing with black lead, or the labour involved...We kind of idealise the self sufficiency of some of the past, but too often we forget the constant labour involved in maintaining that lifestyle...cheers, Toddy

Both my grandmother had electric stoves too. I still cain't see them ever having given up on CI. Partially because elec just ain't that great to cook on; it's uneven at best, especially when compared to the gas stoves they had before that. Nothing to do with nostalgia on my part or theirs. CI is just easy (except for the weight) to cook on and frankly fried chicken (or any fried food just doesn't taste the same from anything else) Neither does cornbread. Also as I said, here in the South probably close to 75% of the population doesn't know how to cook with anything else. It's as common as fish & chips is there. That's now! Not back in my grandmother's day when absolutely nobody could cook without it!

I've seen the ceramic topped stoves you're talking about and they are becoming reasonably popular here as well. Although the more modern gas stoves are fast catching up because of their versatility and more even heat. Even those with the ceramic tops still prefer baking in real CI and although I don't know anybody who has tried, the Le Cruset is advertised as safe on them.

 

[British Red]

I'm one of those weird people. There is no cookng in this house that needs electrickery

 

[santaman2000]

Plus 1 British Red. Electric stoves are just too uneven (hot and cold spots in the oven, slow heating and cooling on the range top with poor control) Besides storms don't blow down underground gas pipes and cold snaps don't ice them up until they fall from the weight and leave you without a stove like electric lines do

 

[British Red]

Pipes?


Esse & Pheasants by British Red, on Flickr

 

[Westnorfolk]

I have a few of the le cruset tri-vita steel pans and the large sauté pan as well, fantastic pots and much lighter. you can get copies that are a lot cheaper. It is so true that no one wants to be trapped into one cooking medium, I went out of my way to have electric, gas, a solid fuel stove as well as copies of Elizabethan charcoal grills and oriental stone pots and the charcoal grill the Japanese use as well as a beehive bread oven outside (but then I am a bit of a kitchen tart)

the past is great fun when you can pick and choose, not fun when you had to do hard manual and had no dentistry and died in child birth

 

[Toddy]

I've used it so long now I wouldn't have any other in the house. I have friends who swear by gas though, so I suspect that's just what someone's used to.

What do you mean about the electricity being 'uneven', santaman 2000 ? It's perfectly stable and adjustable for me No hot or cold spots in my oven and if I need a cold ring 'now' I just move a pot off, just like working on a range.

I admit I don't fry much, though stir fry is done in a good sauté pan, since the wok's don't work so well on electric cookers. The rings are too flat.
Meat, bacon, and the like, is either grilled or roasted, chops are braised, the meat is cooked au jus, makes it tasty, juicy and with good gravy. (I use those as British cooking terms, not American, we grill, you broil iimmc, we broil........and I don't know what you do ? it means to be cooked facing direct heat, like meat put in front of a fire of an old fashioned range, basted with the juices caught in an ashet underneath.) Kebab meat from the big roll of meatloaf is broiled but not basted if that's any clearer.

and me a good vegetarian too

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. and electricity doesn't blow up the house either or poison the air within.

 

[santaman2000]

I've used it so long now I wouldn't have any other in the house. I have friends who swear by gas though, so I suspect that's just what someone's used to.

What do you mean about the electricity being 'uneven', santaman 2000 ? It's perfectly stable and adjustable for me No hot or cold spots in my oven and if I need a cold ring 'now' I just move a pot off, just like working on a range.

I admit I don't fry much, though stir fry is done in a good sauté pan, since the wok's don't work so well on electric cookers. The rings are too flat.
Meat, bacon, and the like, is either grilled or roasted, chops are braised, the meat is cooked au jus, makes it tasty, juicy and with good gravy. (I use those as British cooking terms, not American, we grill, you broil iimmc, we broil........and I don't know what you do ? it means to be cooked facing direct heat, like meat put in front of a fire of an old fashioned range, basted with the juices caught in an ashet underneath.) Kebab meat from the big roll of meatloaf is broiled but not basted if that's any clearer.

and me a good vegetarian too

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. and electricity doesn't blow up the house either or poison the air within.

For grilling/broiling you're quite right, the heat is constant but baking is another story. The heat in an electric oven fluctuates far to much. On the range top the heating element takes a while to heat up and when you turn it off (or down) it takes a while to cool back down whereas gas is instantly at the heat appropriate to the flame level. You're right about moving the pan off the burner when turning it off but quite different when only wishing to reduce heat by turning it down. Also the electric range tops are limited (here at least) to 4 settings whereas gas is simply adjusted by turning the flame up or down in a more analog manner. These are the main reasons proffessional chefs and commercial kitchens use gas. With practice you become proficient with either so I agree that it's largely down to what you're used to; this is even important simply when using another oven of the same kind (my Aunt's gas oven is different from mine just as her BBQ grill is different from mine)

By the time I started cooking my family had switched to electric so I'm comfortable enough using electric but since I switched to gas I've been spoiled I'm afraid.

Ironicly one of the things CI excels at is even heat distribution even when the heat source is uneven.

 

[santaman2000]

Pipes?


Esse & Pheasants by British Red, on Flickr

Red I like it but my most practical complaint would be the heat thrown off into the house when cooking in Summer. In winter it would be fantastic.

 

[British Red]

In summer we use bottled propane I confess