Cast Iron Cookware

Cast-iron Dutch ovens and skillets are useful

If you're looking for a stick-resistant skillet but you want to avoid Teflon, experts say that cast iron is a great alternative. Uncoated cast-iron skillets are inexpensive, and durability is unsurpassed. Cast iron has been in continuous use for hundreds of years with no reported safety issues. Cast iron retains heat beautifully and is oven-safe, so you can pan-sear a steak before finishing it in the oven. Several prominent chefs, including Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, use cast iron to cook delicate fish fillets because it heats evenly, with fewer hot spots than other types of skillets.

Traditional cast-iron skillets must be "seasoned" -- heated and rubbed with a small amount of oil -- before being used for the first time. Each time a pan is seasoned, oil and carbon residues bond with the iron, creating a slick surface. These days, you don't have to season a cast-iron skillet yourself; you can buy a cast-iron Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned 12-Inch Skillet (*Est. $20) that has a coating equivalent to seasoning it yourself 20 times.

Although buying a pre-seasoned skillet will save you time, cast-iron skillets still require more maintenance than stainless steel or nonstick cookware. Experts say you should avoid washing cast-iron pans with soap or leaving them to soak in the sink. Simply wash with hot water and brush with a stiff brush. If there's residual fat in the pan, add flour or coarse salt and stir until it forms a paste that you can easily scrape out, then scrub the pan with a stiff brush to remove any food particles. If food remains stuck, add more coarse kosher salt and continue to scrub. Reheat the empty pan over a low flame, add a few drops of unflavored oil, and evenly distribute oil with paper towels. Remove any excess oil with a fresh paper towel. Cast-iron cookware improves over time, releasing foods more readily as the "seasoning" builds up.

Unlike uncoated cast-iron pans, enamel-coated cast-iron pans can be soaked in soap and water for easier cleanup, and they don't require seasoning. They are, however, much more expensive than uncoated cast iron. After testing coated and uncoated cast-iron skillets and Dutch ovens, editors at Cook's Illustrated found that the best skillets are made of uncoated cast iron, but the best Dutch ovens are enameled. The handles of cast-iron pots and pans get hot, so many companies sell silicone handle protectors. You're more likely to cook acidic foods, such as wine and tomatoes, in a pot made for braising, such as a Dutch oven. You can press a coated cast-iron Dutch oven into service as a pasta pot, but an uncoated pot can't do double duty.

We found good reviews for the inexpensive Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned 12-Inch Skillet (*Est. $20) and in some tests, it outperforms expensive brands like Le Creuset. Testers at Cook's Illustrated included the Lodge skillet in their eight-model roundup, preparing scrambled eggs, cornbread, steak, and fried chicken cutlets in each pan, specifically testing for nonstick ability.

With its array of brightly colored enamels,Le Creuset (*Est. $120 for an 11-inch skillet) has been a favorite of home cooks for decades. After testing eight types of skillets, Marian Burros of The New York Times selected Le Creuset as her favorite, citing its imperviousness to acidic foods and its ease of cleaning. Like all cast-iron cookware, Le Creuset skillets are very heavy, but experts say that they are well balanced, with long handles and sloping sides that make it easy to scrape out semisolid foods, such as scrambled eggs. Although Le Creuset has an excellent reputation, including dozens of positive owner-written reviews at Cooking.com and Amazon.com, we read some troubling reports about scratched and chipped enamel after routine use. Reviews at Epinions.com say that skillets are particularly vulnerable. At these prices, you want your cookware to last a lifetime. Experts say that you shouldn't use metal utensils in Le Creuset pans, and if you want to stack your cookware, you should cushion the blows from other pans with felt pads or paper plates.

A relative newcomer,Staub (*Est. $250 for an 8-quart Dutch oven), has made a splash with its colorful skillets, braisers, mussel pots and teapots. According to The New York Times, Staub cookware is popular among chefs, some of whom send it straight into the dining room from the kitchen. The company claims that two innovations give it the edge over Le Creuset: a double coating of enamel and tiny spikes on the undersides of the lids that help the juices condense and then drip back into the pot. Although we found only a handful of reviews for Staub cookware at Amazon.com and Cooking.com, no one reports chipping or scratching from regular use. We hope that professional testers will include Staub in their upcoming reviews.

But according to tests, you don't need to spend $250 on a decent enameled Dutch oven. In particular, the Tramontina 6.5 Quart Dutch Oven (*Est. $50), sold at Wal-Mart, performs very well in tests and costs a fraction as much. Another easy to find option is the Lodge 6-Quart Color Enamel Dutch Oven (*Est. $50), which also performs well in tests. Interestingly, a few criticisms of the Tramontina Dutch oven have surfaced on Cook's Illustrated's bulletin board. Some consumers find that the Tramontina's handles are too small, making it difficult to get a good grip on the pot -- a very relevant concern when a heavy pot is full of food. Comparing the Lodge to the Tramontina, several consumers feel that the Lodge is more finely finished and the lid fits better. Because the prices are the same and because of the potential finish concerns, the Lodge 6-Quart Color Enamel Dutch Oven edges out the Tramontina as our recommendation for the best budget Dutch oven. The Lodge Dutch oven is available in four colors.