On Aug 27, 9:03?am, "Dee Dee" > wrote:
> "Giusi" > wrote in message
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> > > ha scritto nel messaggio
> oups.com...
> >> In the past I have used cast iron skillets, however even with
> >> seasoning, they are still a chore to maintain. One alternative I would
> >> like to consider is a porcelain coated iron skillet.
> >> Are they just effective in transferring heat and searing meats?
> >> Thanks
>
> > You are doing something wrong. Maintaining a cast iron skillet is one of
> > the easiest kitchen chores. Immediately after searing meat in it, put a
> > little water in the skillet. When ready to clean it, use a soap free
> > metal scrubber to loosen any cooked on juices, rinse, dry, heat on a low
> > flame. Cool it and put it away. Are you sure yours is properly seasoned?
>
> > The enameled cast iron is much less stick-free. You can use soap on it,
> > but without some fat in the pan the meat will stick like crazy. You'll
> > leave the crust behind quite often. The big advantage is that you (must)
> > use a low flame but you get a regular and high heat all over the pan.
> > Quick sauces can often be made with residual heat after turning off the
> > flame.
>
> Another side to this cast-iron vs. coated that I notice is that all the
> cooks on the foodnetwork use coated. I know they are selling stuff, making
> things look pretty, but the only time I see them using cast iron is when
> there is a program featuring it, or maybe 1% of the time when they say it is
> best for a certain dish.
>
> I haven't seen them used in the chef's kitchen when go on-site either.

Professional cooks don't use any kind of cast iron cookware, except on
TV shows. When professional cooks want that kind of seasoned surface
they use carbon steel cookware, never ever cast iron. The only cast
iron cooking professional cooks do is on one of those large griddles
that short order cooks use, but those are never seasoned, in fact
they're scrubbed down to bare metal after each shift, usually with a
block of lava stone. Cast iron cookware is like a baby step above the
stone age, people who use cast iron are really not cooking food,
they're abusing food. Compared with modern cookware cast iron is like
going to war with a wooden club and a bag of rocks.

Sheldon