Walking With Grandmpa [my father and grand-daughter]

Walking With Grandmpa [my father and grand-daughter]
"I like walking with granpa his steps are short like mine." (dedicated to my dad who passed 4/1/10)

Saturday, February 11, 2012

My cast Iron skillets....

When pulling out two of my skillets to make biscuits and sausage gravy this morning I glanced into my cabinet and looking at all my cast iron skillets I thought again of our wedding. These were all given to me by my Mom and my hubby's Grandma Ernie there is also the hand grinder, box grater etc that they also gave us but the skillets have taken a licking over the years. The iron skillets are all I have ever used, Grandma Ernie gave me a set with lids (some were her mom's) and my mom gave me a #8 with lid, and a dutch oven all were given when hubby and I were married. They still look like they did when gifted to us 25 years ago, there is not many things that can be said for.
#8s are my favorite! Both #8s are used on a daily basis
Then only thing I have ever done to them (this is what Mom and Grandma Ernie told me to do) is daily when using soak in warm water, give a good scrub then rinse, pat dry and rub on a  light coat of oil. Then every 6 months (January and June) re-season by putting them in the oven for about an hour at 375 degrees then turn off the oven and let them cool down before removing them. The only thing I have changed vs Grandma Ernie and my Mom is they would re-season in their wood cook stoves, so they were both guessing about the temp in an electric oven. This method has worked fine in my electric oven and if all goes well, I should even 20 years from now be able to give my grand kids and great grand kids the cast iron skillets in the same shape they were given to me in. It seems to me that items made a long time ago were meant to last that family a lifetime and to be passed on to the next generation. I wonder when that changed and who came to realization there was not enough profit in making cooking items indestructible....







When used to make Biscuits and Gravy for Breakfast they are the best! :)





8 comments:

  1. Thank God for cast-iron and good cooks!

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  2. I love my cast iron skillets. Nothing like them.
    ~~Lori

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  3. There is nothing better to cook in than cast iron and those bisquits and gravy look mighty tasty.

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  4. I really enjoyed reading this post! I am sorry to say, when starting my adult life, the only time I used cast iron was when I went camping (I was raised that it was for camping only, basically). In later years, I learned that my iron level in my body was too high (yes, unusual for a woman, but it is that way often), so I rarely ever used cast iron for anything .... occasionally a Dutch oven in the campfire. I have been using non-stick skillets for decades, now. Then recently, I was enlightened as to just how bad the chemicals and off-gases in them are, especially in my castamel pots & pans (really, really bad), so I have dragged out my old iron skillet, purchased a few more cast iron pieces at the flea market, seasoned them all in my wood stove, and I am thoroughly enjoying cooking in them. I will watch my iron level closely, but I sure do wish I had switched a long time ago. Everything I have cooked so far is soooo much better!

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  5. Sorry to hear about your iron level, one of my friends is in your boat also, I on the other hand am always low on iron. Good luck with your cast iron I hope it works out for you! I love the fact that with cast iron (if seasoned well and taken care of) most of the time you can cook without oils and they become non-stick, more or less.
    Kim

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  6. I love my iron cookware too. I've collected quite a few pieces over the years and now have pots, pans of all sizes and even some big flat "grills" that take up two burners and are wonderful for pancakes. I also really appreciate things that are made to last and talk to my kids about this quite often as I hope they consider this when they choose to buy things.
    The biscuits and gravy sound delicious!

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    1. Oh, I would love to find a flat grill! Congrats to you!

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  7. I have never used cast iron much until the last couple of years. Once I got started, I can't put them down! Have collected a few new ones at the flea market, then took my skillets I was using out there and sold them. Cast iron is great! Have you cooked anything with tomatoes in them, much? I keep seeing that you should not do that, but I did a few times before I heard that. It seemed to work fine for me.

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