Why Go Old School With Cast Iron Cookware

Our great grandmothers and their mothers are surely smiling wherever they are as they look down on us. To them cast iron cookware was the way to cook and no one wanted something else. Then we went ‘modern’ and aluminum cookware became the rage. After that followed stainless steel and we were told loudly and clearly by the ‘experts’ to chuck out our old cookware.

Then Teflon made itself known and everyone jumped on the non-stick band wagon. Now we have come full circle and more and more people are going back to cast iron cookware. It is no wonder our ancestors are laughing at the silliness of it all. Modern day cooks are rediscovering the wonders of cast iron cookware and becoming quite addicted to this old school way of cooking. It is not difficult to understand why. All you have to do is ask anyone who regularly eats the delicious meals prepared in cast iron cookware.

On The Come-Back Trail

For a long time cast iron cookware was relegated to outdoor cooking, hikers and campers and some pulled their noses up, until they tasted the food. Cast iron cookware lovers swear blind that they can immediately taste whether the food was cooked in cast iron cookware or not. What is fact is that the food does taste incredibly when cooked in cast iron cookware. We have also added a modern twist and there is enamel cast iron cookware freely available on the market. This type of cast iron cookware has been coated with a glossy enamel layer. This makes it suitable to be used on and in any type of stove and oven. The popularity of cast iron cookware is due to the versatility of these pots and pans.

Cast iron retains heat much better and it heats the cookware evenly. It does not stick nearly as much as any stainless steel cookware and if the cast iron cookware is seasoned well, food really does not stick. Iron cookware is incredibly popular with many cultures in the Americas.

No other type of cookware can boast that it will last for generations if taken care of properly, only cast iron cookware can do that. Price wise it is relatively economic, especially when taken into consideration that you will not be replacing your cookware every few years. There are a large percentage of people who are extremely happy to have gone full circle and thoroughly enjoy cooking old school style again.

Buying Stainless Steel Cookware

Although there are some very expensive sets on the market today, such as the Cuisinart stainless steel cookware, there are also some other brands that are more reasonably priced for the less serious cook. The stainless steel cookware is nice because it allows the sets that are bought to last for long periods of time without having to be replaced. These sets often come with a lifetime guarantee so that if something goes wrong with the set because of faulty manufacturing the piece will be replaced with no charge to the consumer. These stainless steel cookware sets can range in pricing from under one hundred dollars to one thousand dollars depending on the brand and the quality of the materials that are used. It is also determined by the number of pieces that are in the set.

Options

One option in a stainless steel cookware set is to buy one from Wolfgang Puck. These sets are priced at just over one hundred dollars, which is about average. The pans are made with handles that will stay cool to the touch even when the pan itself is burning hot. It can be deceiving to the eye since the handles seem to blend into the metal of the pan, but they are made of a material that stays cool for easy gripping. The lids to these stainless steel cookware sets are made of glass so that the cook can see how the meal is progressing without loosing heat by taking off the lid to see how it is going.

Another option in stainless steel cookware is to use the Cuisinart brand. These sets are usually a little more expensive than the Wolfgang Puck sets, ranging right around the two hundred fifty dollar mark. These sets are more expensive because they use the aluminum in the core of the pots and pans. Aluminum is great in the core because it has the capacity to heat quickly and to distribute that heat evenly throughout the pan.

These stainless steel cookware sets usually come with ten to fifteen pieces in them. There are usually about three different sizes of saucepans so that the cook has options in what to use. There are also usually options in the different frying pans and stock pots that are in the set. Consumers need to remember that when a set says it has ten pieces, that means that there are five different pans with lids in the majority of cases.