Ask Lemmy

Define "better".

It's heat- when preheated properly- is much more even and it holds it quite a bit better. This of course, requires preheating (and that takes a long moment.)

when properly seasoned and oiled, the pan is genuinely nonstick to the same degree as most PTFE pan out there (without all the nasty plastics flaking off, and able to be get up to a proper temperature for searing in the first place...) But of course, this means keeping your pan properly seasoned.

I'm not a fan of lodge cast iron, though, IMO its too much work to develop and maintain that level of seasoning (because of it's surface. Victoria is a better inexpensive option if you're looking to buy new.) But I also rock a lodge when camping (Because I don't want to subject my really nice, inherited stuff to campfire cooking.) but cast iron can take the abuse of cooking right on coals and other campfire torture (like being cleaned with sand.)

Of course, you have to clean up/care for that camp pan after the fact.

The point being made is that everyone has a different understanding of what is "best", cast iron does require a significant investment in maintenance and care. For me, the effort is worth it. for many it's not.

for what cast iron does well, it's amazing. And really, the biggest problem is that it's not so good for acidic things (which eats away the seasoning, but that's more like 'don't try and make a pasta sauce' rather than "don't splash in some citrus."

what about enamaled pans?

i don’t like the thought that i will be spending more time with my pans outside of cooking then cleaning the regular ones. and i don’t want to manage my pans intake like its a diabetic that can’t handle tomato based foods.

They're all fine with some extendent. It really depends specifically what and how you're cooking. I like cast iron for steak because you can heat it up a helluva lot, even without fat, while trying that with non-stick pans can damage the coating and make some weird smells. Similarly, I prefer it for frying eggs because I like to use a metal slice to flip eggs, and worry about scarcjing my non-stick. But I have both and happily use both.

It fits the bill of cheap and reliable, but not "modern"*. The heat retention is very useful, and handling the surface of the pan itself is easy when you're using it to cook constantly.

Non-stick more often than not is going to be cheap and modern, but not reliable because high quality non stick pans are expensive (or people opt for enamel instead because of low quality PTFE/PFAS that both scrapes off easily and can't handle high heat which is dangerous, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-eBmPSqd4g)

I would argue the "upgrade" to cast iron is carbon steel, which is much more common as a wok material. You get a nice balance between affordable, reliable, and modern.

• *By modern, I just mean the underlying technology. Cast iron is pretty old and has its own flaws you have to deal with, and it lacks some of the nice features of newer materials.

gas vs. electric vs. induction vs infrared…

The tier list is:

• Induction (most responsive heat control)
• Gas (Slightly less responsive heat control
• Infrared (Electric, much slower)
• Electric (direct heating element, as slow as infrared but lacks the heat retention, have not seen these outside bargain basement cheapo units landlords like to put in apartments solely to screw with your ability to cook food normally)

Gas and Induction is always preferable because infrared is slow enough to be at the best annoying and at the worst less forgiving if you mess up the temperature. Induction comes with the great advantage that it doesn't require a special gas line, and you can actually buy single unit cooktops for pretty cheap, but do keep in mind that induction only works on magnetic metals (won't work with pure copper or aluminum).

Induction > glass ceramic (infrared) > gas > cast iron electric > fire

Why ceramic over gas? Because gas is a bit more responsive but

1. Needs extra infrastructure
2. Safety risk
3. Not sustainable and climate warming

And btw, why is induction still more expensive than ceramic? It's not that new a tech anymore.

I like it. I got rid of all my non stick pans. They eventually get scratched and at that point they leak toxins. I have two very old pans and a hundred year old lid that I got for nothing. They were being thrown away from a camper that was being scrapped. They work well and after I finally learned the ins and outs of seasoning them they dont stick, much.

Ceramic non-stick is pretty great. I've used cast-iron and it's fine, but it's kind of fussy when it comes to cleanup.

Cast iron flavors the dish some. A seasoned one adds the oils and other stuff used to season it as well.

No one with a cast iron pan would ask this question

I love my cast irons, I have a carbon steel one, that is even more work to care for, but gets really hot and is great for searing. I would like a stainless one for more of a nonstick option though.

I lack the subtlety to tell you if my cast iron pan cooks better or makes anything taste better, but I can assure you it regularly survives abuse that would ruin a Teflon pan in days.

No