I have seen a difference in the quality of cast iron. The other day I bought
a cheap cast iron grill (rectangular type for bacon) that fits over two
burners (or one long burner on the right side of a Jenair).
I tried to "clean it up," but for some reason there was no hardness to it
like the "wagner" or other brands I have, and the water just seemed to be
soaking into it. Then I got afraid to add any soap or use brillo-type pads
for fear of the soap getting into its pores. After about an hour of
cleaning, a cloth would still come back black after swiping it over the
grill.

I have done this before -- bought some asian export/import cast iron and
then just disgarded it, but I guess I was sucker again and must have
forgotten that I did it before.

I'll stick to the American brand cast iron and hope it is forged here and is
still as good as it once was.

Dee



"June Oshiro" > wrote in message
...
> PENMART01 wrote:
> > Depends what you perceive as "top of the line". If you mean most
> expensive and
> > most heavily advertized than you are deluding yourself and in doing
> so missing
> > out on the top of the line performance at affordable prices enjoyed by
> > professional cooks.
>
> Okay, then let me rephrase - is there an obvious difference (perceivable
> by lay folks such as myself) between top of the line performance
> restaurant supply pans and the most expensive heavily advertised
> boutiquey cookware?
>
> It's been a long time since I ventured into a restaurant supply shop
> (NYC, about 8 yrs ago, near Chinatown iirc?), but I think I saw mostly
> really thin aluminum pans that screamed "Disposable!" Maybe I was
> shopping in the wrong part of town. I also remember seeing cookpots
> that looked big enough to be an emergency substitute for a bathtub...
>
>
> -j.
>