It does not matter if you are a seasoned cook or an amateur; the quality of kitchen equipment and gadgets greatly impacts how your dish turns out to be. If you browse the internet today for the best cooking or baking, you will notice a trend. People are going bonkers over the cast-iron skillets.
After years of trying out the non-stick ones and the usual ones, the world is finally coming to its senses are returning to the magic held by cast-iron pans. It is a one-pan-for-all kind of cooking utensil that you need in your kitchen. If you do not own one and the attraction of yummy baked or pan-seared items is not convincing enough for you, this article is for you.
Top 5 Reasons to Get a Cast-Iron Skillet
1. The Heat Spreads Evenly
As the name gives away, these skillets are made of iron – a dense metal when not mixed with other metals or alloys. This quality of the metal results in making cast-iron pans highly impervious to any form of damage and, thus, a champion of withstanding heat! This implies that a cast-iron skillet can be heated to very high temperatures without turning your food into ashes.
Its sturdy form spreads the heat evenly in your meals; therefore, your meat turns the perfect brown color that you desire, and your veggies do not need constant managing of heat. You do not have to worry about one side searing better than the other and rotate the items constantly.
This material is ideal for everything – be it frying, searing, sautéing, or even baking. You cannot burn your pasta in this skillet in an attempt to get that perfect crunch on the cheese.
2. Stovetop or Oven – It is a One-Pan-For-All
One-pan recipes have taken over the cooking world by storm. From one-pot pasta to curries, there is not enough time in anyone’s hectic daily schedule to stand in the kitchen for long hours and use a dozen of cookware for a dish.
Preparing one-pan pasta solely depends on stovetop heat. On the other hand, sheet-pan recipes require an oven only. Owning a cast-iron skillet simplifies everything for you. It can provide you with the best of both kinds of recipes as it can go directly from the stovetop top to the oven.
Cook your meat on the stove in the cast-iron skillet and add other ingredients for your pasta and place the pan directly into the oven to end up having a complete meal.
3. It is Naturally Non-stick
What sounds better than something that is naturally non-stick and does not have a harmful chemical coating to make it non-stick? All kitchen experts know how tricky it is to use a pan or skillet in which the food sticks. It is messy and ruins the whole dish. Also, in an attempt to scrape the food that is so in love with the pan, the pan ends up ruined.
On the other hand, cast-iron skillets are perfectly non-stick as they are – without any chemical coating. However, for it to remain the same, periodic seasoning is required. You can season your cast-iron skillet by using canola oil to wipe the pan and then baking it for 90 minutes at 250°. This is the best thing you can do to enjoy a naturally non-stick pan for a long time until the next seasoning is due.
4. Cleanup is Easy
The fact that cast-iron skillets need periodic seasoning kind of mislabels them as pans that are hard to clean. This is not true. Cast-iron pans might require seasoning but not every day. Once you have seasoned them, they are good to go like a normal pan several times.
Also, a rare but true quality of a cast-iron skillet is that such pans get better with use. Regularly using your pan and seasoning improves its quality and enhances its non-stick capabilities.
5. Economical
If you judge a book by its cover or a pan by its price, then you won’t ever buy a cast-iron skillet. Many people underestimate the qualities of a cast-iron skillet and ignore it when shopping for kitchen items as it is not very high-priced. For the surmounted qualities it possesses and the dozens of benefits it brings, the pan is not expensive.
It is fairly economical, and thus, everyone can easily get their hands on it. There is no excuse not to choose health and relief for yourself in the kitchen when these pans are so economical.
Choose Convenience
Choosing cookware is not just a part of kitchen esthetics. You do not buy a utensil just because it would look nice when hung with other pots and pans on the hook. You buy pans and skillets for their quality and convenience. A cast-iron skillet is easily the best choice for sustainability – you do not have to throw it out after a couple of years as it does not get old. It grows with you. If seasoned properly, it can last you up to a lifetime.
It reduces your kitchen work and elevates your baked dishes. It is the most oven-friendly cookware on earth, and the fact that it can go straight from the stovetop to the oven proves the point. So, whether you are a seasoned chef or a novice struggling to make your dishes better, a cast-iron skillet can be the ultimate item for your success.