cast iron

knzn

knzn

Joined
Jul 20, 1999
Messages
683
I like cast iron cook ware. Up until now I have only ever had a couple of skillets. They are great. Years of seasoning have left their non-stick quality near that of teflon. One of them was my Grandmother's and was made by "Wagner Ware", and the other is a Lodge that I had purchased some time back.
My question is this. I have been out shopping for dutch ovens and griddles, and some of the local stores around here carry a brand called "Texsport." They cost half as much as the lodge brand. Is all cast iron created equal? I am one of these guys who believe that you get what you pay for, and am a little gun shy of buying this cheaper brand just for the fact that it is cheaper. Anyone here have any real life experience with Texsport cast iron cooking products, especially as compared to say Lodge?
Thanks.
 
While I haven't personally cooked with the Texsport brand, I wouldn't advise purchasing it unless you fit its intended market - the once in a lifetime camping trip to the lake where it gets used once and then sits in the garage rusting for the next 20/30/40 years until your heirs sell it off.

Texsport cast iron appears to be more porous (the models I have looked at) and, is thinner (less metal to retain heat and even out temperature fluctuations).

If you intend to make this piece a part of your normal kitchen rotation, step up to the Lodge brand. You get what you pay for and, in cast iron cookware, that is generally raw mass. Combine this with Lodge's long term reputation for quality and performance and, you still have a bargain.

For any product that lasts a lifetime or two, it seems foolish to buy a lesser quality products. Aren't you glad you still have your grandmothers skillet? If your children (or other heirs) like to cook and go camping, they will treasure the Lodge cookware as much as you will. It really isn't that expensive when you add a lifetime of usuage and memories is it?
 
Ok ok! You guys are absolutly correct and I probably knew that before I even asked. Every time I have ever tried to "save a buck," it ended up costing me in the long run. Thanks for the replys, and happy cooking!
And yes, I do love having my Grandmothers old skillet. I can still picture her in her kitchen frying chicken, bacon and eggs, and all kinds of good stuff in it.
 
I'm at the heart of the cast iron world here in Utah. Lodge, even though in TN does half their total sales in a 50 mile radius around Salt Lake City.

I have a Texsport and a Kelty by Ridgeway. These can be good, but you must inspect carefully before buying. YOu want a smooth even casting, a level lip and lid that mates well. If the casting is rough inside, it will stick and be problematic to clean and use.

Lodge and Wagner are the classics of the field. These are safe to buy sight unseen, but know your dealers return policy just in case. A new contender is Camp Chef. They have added good tweaks to the design IMHO. They have smooth castings, good accessories and an unbeatable seasoning oil for cast iron.

For their standard Dutch Oven line, the lid has more of a wall so when used inverted as a fry pan, it's more like a fry pan. Additionally, the lid has small legs on it for use inverted in coals, or as a sort of bread oven that's not so hard to get things out of.

They also have a line of "convection" dutch ovens called ultimate dutch ovens. I've dabbled with them. They cook very fast and are well made.

The "Conditioner" as they call it for seasoning and between uses is very good. It won't go rancid as other oils do and builds that patina very quickly.

www.campchef.com Very much worth searching out.
 
Lodge is excellent.

It's very inexpensive for the quality you get. You should even be able to find it in Walmart or other stores like it.

I don't think you can go wrong with it.
 
Camp Chef dutch oven
83-614.f.jpg


This model looks very promising. The one big drawback I see, is that unless you can find it locally, the shipping costs are significant at 33lbs.

I have had very good luck finding Lodge cookware at Wal-Mart. Some items, like Dutch Ovens, are seasonal so you either have to go to a Super Wal-Mart of wait until the spring hunting and camping season starts.
 
I've been using Lodge cast iron off and on since boy scout days (about 35 years ago). I think you get what you pay for with the cast iron. Most of what I have is Lodge, but I am lucky enough to have some Wagner cast iron that my wife's grandmother used. The bottom of one large fry pan looks like it was made with a coiled strand....pretty interesting effect. The 5-qt. and 6-qt. dutch ovens make great cobblers, stews, and chili, both in the kitchen and on the coals outside.
Jim
 
Just got a set of three skillets for Christmas from my brother. I'm very impressed with the quality so far, especially after reading this thread and looking at them again. What is the recommended oil for seasoning the first time? I just used vegatable oil, but is there a particular type/brand that does a better job?
 
Solid crisco shortening is the most common recommendation for seasoning. If you use them a lot, this is adequate as it won't have time to go bad. I used peanut, corn or canola in between frequent uses as that's something I had immediately to hand. But now I am a convert of the conditioner oil I recommended a few posts above.

Phil
 
Now .... if you want some really nice cast iron, take a look at Le Creuset. You can usually find it on sale and from what I hear, it is very nice to cook with. However, it is a bit more pricey. I'm planning on getting some once I stop moving around.

http://www.lecreusetexport.com/
 
Personally, I consider Le Creuset in a different class to Lodge and other quality cookware. With it's enamel finish, I wouldn't expect to use in the same way I would use a good old piece of Lodge cast iron cookware.

I do have one of their smaller skillets and it does a very nice job cooking compared to most other cookware you find. Once you heat up that cast iron, dumping milk, eggs or, just about any other cold item it, will not cold shock the pan and cause uneven cooking. Typical cast iron qualities without seasoning and other minor maintanence issues to consider.

If shop at their discount outlets, you can get a pretty healthy discount certain times of the year. Some large department stores will also ocassionally offer them at a discount FWIW.
 
Oh it is in another class.

Just a nice comparison though.

I wouldn't be ashamed to have Lodge beside the fancier stuff though. No problem at all.

It was simply to show what can be done with cast iron.



Since this is Gadgets and Gear ... you always have to move up, don't you?
 
I don't know much about cast iron, but before you go out and buy the most expensive, as yourself if the pots and pans your grandmother used that are great today were made by the best company, or did she buy what was the most economical. If her cookware is still around after all that hard use, why would you expect any different from a less expensive product made of the same material? Sometimes you get what you pay for, others you get a good name stuck on the same product as something cheaper. JMHO

Mike
 
Mike your point is well taken but, in my personal experience, the cost differential between quality cast iron cookware and the cheaper products has been minimal.

Why spend $30 for a rough cast and thin dutch oven when you can get a quality piece such as lodge for $35, after all were not talking about disposable Bic lighters here. Sometimes it makes sense to economize and sometimes it doesn't. On a piece of cookware that will outlast me, saving $5 seems foolish. This is not meant to be offensive or derogatory in any way ;) , it's just based my personal experiences.

I myself have suffered from this same condition. I had an expensive custom folder that I never used for years while my kitchen knives were P.O.S. Sure, they got the job done and having never used a custom kitchen knife, I didn't really know what I was missing. The foolishness of this finally hit me one day when I finished admiring this custom folder and went to the kitchen. Now, I have good quality knives that I use everyday. I get daily enjoyment out of them too :) .
 
Like I said, I don't know much about cast iron (or their prices), so I was just assuming the higher quality fetched a far more premium price. If it is that minimal, then yes, by all means I would recommend spending the dough on the reputable company. I just imagine that the cast iron cookware back in the day was made with very minimal technology, and it still works excellent today.


Mike
 
Cast Iron cookware in my experience is significantly priced by weight unless there is some tricky casting involved to get the final products. Whether it is cast rough and porous and has a lid that seals poorly or it is a quality piece, weight is the price. Of course there are exceptions where two identical pieces are priced differently due to having a "name" on one and not the other.

The other thing I have noticed in cheaper brands, other then the weight difference, is the poor quality of the cast. Is the finish rough? Does the lid fit poorly? Does it seem lighter then it should be? These are all the typical experiences I have had with cast iron from various makers at the SHOT SHOW. At a trade show like that, you are probably seeing the best "cherry picked" pieces the company has to offer, not the worst or, even average pieces.

In general, if you can find a good cast iron skillet from a 100 plus years ago and compare it to the ones today, they share the common traits good cast iron cookware has. We are not talking rocket science and super steels here. A true artisan in steel (seen any tinsmiths or blacksmith lately) 100 years ago probably made cast iron cookware then that is better then most of what you find today. True hand crafts of times gone by are unfortunately disappearing in the modern manufacturing methods in use today and, they may not always be better.

Without the ABS, how many of us would have a real working knowledge of what an old time blacksmith was really capable of?
 
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