Leila wrote:
> In the NY Times today:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/dining/07mini.html
>
> Ever So Humble, Cast Iron Outshines the Fancy Pans
> By MARK BITTMAN - the New York Times
> December 7, 2005
>
> AS cookware becomes more expensive and the kinds available become more
> varied, it's increasingly clear to me that most "new" pots and pans are
> about marketing. For most tasks, old-style cookware is best. So these
> days when I'm asked for a recommendation, I reply with an old-fashioned
> answer: cast iron.

So, you're on a nostalgia trip... life is not how you imagined it would
be... so a return to bygone days that were cozier, or as you'd like to
remember they were.

> My personal return to cast iron began less than a year ago when I began
> to heed the warnings against preheating chemically treated pans and
> putting them in hot ovens, which could create potentially harmful
> fumes.

What makes you think non-stick coated cookware is a necessity or even
desirable, it is not

> As most experienced cooks know, you can't brown food unless you preheat
> your skillet, and I frequently transfer food from stove top to oven.

So what, any skillet can be preheatred, and all materials can be
purchased in oven proof mode.

> So cast iron is a logical choice, especially in skillets, unless you
> require gorgeous stainless to make a style point or you can afford
> copper - which is ideal for sautéing because its heat distribution is
> incomparable - and the time to care for it. The only disadvantages are
> that cast iron is heavy (look for skillets with handles on both sides)
> and it requires a bit of care to keep it seasoned and looking nice.

Quality stainless need not be expensive, only if you're buying
labels... quality aluminum is great too and not expensive either.

> But cast iron has so many benefits.

Yep, it is definitely reactive, what a great benefit! Yeah... and the
main benefit of cast iron is if you want arms like Popeye... don't even
think of sauteing... talk about carpal tunnel rehab.

> Cast iron is practically free compared with other high-quality pots and
> pans ($20, say, for a skillet). In addition, it lasts nearly forever:
> the huge skillet I bought around 1970 for $10 is still going strong.

It ain't free if you consider all the time/effort spent caring for
it... cast iron pans are without a doubt the most high maintenance/care
cookware. So if you're willing to invest all that same care (and don't
possess the cooking skills to cook with stainless/aluminum skillets)
then cast iron can't hold a candle, not in any respect whatsoever, to
carbon steel.

Sheldon