If you are interested in purchasing cast iron cookware, but can’t decide on enameled Cast Iron or Seasoned Cast Iron – and which should you buy, then you have come to the right place. Cast iron cookware has been around for thousands of years, and today there are basically three types of cast iron cookware – bare cast iron, seasoned cast iron or enameled cast iron. One of the biggest advantages of using cast iron cookware is the health advantage. With cast iron cookware, a small amount of iron is absorbed into the food, and iron is a vital trace metal for healthy blood.
This article will discuss the three types of cast iron cookware, so you can determine which one is best for you to buy.
Best Cast Iron Skillets?
Bare Cast Iron Cookware
Bare cast iron cookware is made from raw iron and a few other metals cast from a sand mold, and has not been seasoned. This type of cookware is popular for This type of cast iron cookware must be seasoned before use to prevent food from sticking to it. Seasoning cast iron is the process of baking a layer of vegetable oil or other fat onto the surface of the bare cast iron to create a natural non-stick coating. A seasoned cast iron skillet will have a non stick coating, similar to Teflon-costed non stick skillet. If you keep a kosher home and want to use a traditional cast iron skillet in your kitchen, you need to purchase a bare cast iron skillet and season it yourself using a Kosher certified oil or fat. This is the only way to own and use a kosher cast iron skillet.
Learn how to season a cast iron skillet here!
Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet
A Seasoned Cast iron skillet has the oil baked into the cast iron at the factory. This type of cast iron skillet is generally not kosher, since the oil used to season the cast iron is either non-kosher certified vegetable oil, or is animal based fat. When purchasing seasoned cast iron cookware, it can be used right out of the packaging and will have the non-stick properties. Over time with regular use and washing, the non-stick coating will wear off and you will have to periodically re-season the cast iron. You know it is time to re-season your cast iron skillet when food begins to stick to the surface. Click here to learn how to season cast iron cookware so your cast iron skillet will always have the non-stick surface.
If you do not want to bother with seasoning a cast iron skillet two or three times a year, your best option is enameled cast iron cookware. This type of cast iron cookware has a layer of enameled coating baked into the cast iron that creates a permanent and scratch-proof non-stick surface.
Enameled Cast Iron Cookware
If you like the cooking and heating capability of cast iron cookware, but don’t want to bother with seasoning your cast iron skillets or pans, you should buy enameled cast iron cookware. This type of cast iron cookware gives you the same heating and health benefits of bare cast iron, yet doesn’t need to be seasoned, and it can be used in a kosher kitchen.
Enameled cast iron cookware starts with bare cast iron cookware, then frit, which is a form of glass, is baked onto the surface and creates the white non-stick surface.
While bare cast iron cookware can put in an oven at high temperature or used on a grill or campfire, enameled cast iron cookware can be used on a stove top or in the oven up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Hi,
I am living in So Leyte, rural island here in the Philippines. I am trying to assist the Children’s Feeding Centers, here begining with the 15 in Padre Burgos, So Leyte. Since powdered milk is beyond the means of most young Filipino families, we have elected to go with a a “Mongo Bread” type pastry which we propose to bake in a “cast iron skillet” in a wood fire…which is all that is available to the feeding centers. The Mongo Bread Pastry will supply all the protein, vitamins and necessary nutrients required by pre-school children.
We are looking for expertise on preparing a 1.5 in bean paste cobbler, in a wood fire. Specifically, should we be ordering an enamel covered pot. Also, mos tof the dutch oven designs are quite deep. We are looking for a larger cooking surface, on which to bake the cobbler/pastry, as large diameter dutch ovens, are heavy and difficult for the Filipino women to handle.
I have attached an idea for the cobbler portions, using a preformed “muffin” design.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Appx one third of all Filipino children are malnourished.
Hello Clay,
Thank you for your comment. If you are planning to cook the Mongo Bread in a wood oven, I would use either a regular cast iron skillet (non-seasoned) and not an enameled cast iron pot. The pot is generally designed for stews or cooking meat, while a cast iron skillet is better suited for cooking bread or cobbler, and the heat could damage the enamel coating.
While the cast iron skillet is a bit heavy, it is much lighter than a cast iron pot. Another option is an anodized aluminum skillet. This is very sturdy and much lighter than cast iron, though I don’t know what is available to you in the Philippines.
Best Regards,
Ken
https://the-cookingpot.com