I am now really wondering. People at Ace sent me to Target. And Target
has
lots of CI pots - although they are all 'unfinished' -- that is, the
inside has not been ground or milled. It is just raw cast iron - with
the
texture of the sand used in the mold, that is, the same as on the
outside.

I was not looking for enameled pots - they heat nice, but stuff burns on
to them. I was not looking for teflon coated pots - I dont wanna use a
wood or plastic scraper. I want to use a metal spatula to scrape pots
clean, and a greeney also. And there are 'anodized' aluminum pots, but
the
anodizing is on the outside, so the inside still leaches Al into yr
food.

But there were lots of 'unfinished' CI pots. Even in sets of three. So I
am wondering: Will those work? I picked up a 10" short rimmed tortilla
pan, just to try it. Claudia George tells me I need Crisco, solid
vegetable stuff - not lard, or olive oil, or butter - to season it.

What do you all use? All my other CI pots are 30 to 100 years old, and
have ground insides. I scrape the hell out of them with metal objects if
things burn. But most of the time they clean up after a few seconds of
hot
water and a wipe with a paper towel. And they are ready to use after 3
or
4 seconds on a burner, and a wipe with butter.

I have spent 4 afternoons over the last few weeks looking for the old
type
of pan. In Salvation Army stores, resale shops, department stores.

I will experiment with this new one. Is this the new style? Will it work
as well? I read some directions on the packaging of various pots. The
seasoning is still the same operation. But there are hints about the
pots
turning black after repeated use (and it being 'OK'). Mine are all
shiny.

So what is up with the 'new' unfinished pans?

/jno "a kitchen neophyte"