Such a dilemma, right? What to use when you cook your food. I've used a few different pieces of cookware, starting my married life with all clad and now ending up with an assortment of cookware pieces. I sold my all clad a few years ago and now use vintage cast iron, vintage corning ware glass pots, and Le Creuset dutch ovens. I converted over to these pieces after reading that scratched stainless steel can be leaching aluminum. And whose pots stay scratch free?
The cast iron and corning ware I have purchased on ebay and are inexpensive as far as cookware goes. I always look for vintage, as those do not carry the "seasoning" that comes on the modern pieces, many of which are made in China. I check with the person that I buy them from to be sure that they did not use chemicals if they have seasoned the pieces themselves. Wagner ware and Griswold are the two brands that I stick with.
I use my glass corning ware pots for cooking pasta, rice, and boiling water for teas.
I have two sizes of Le Creuset dutch ovens. My 5 1/2 quart oven is used for pastas, risottos, soups and cooking beans. My 13 quart oven is used for stocks and cooking whole chickens with vegies. I love that these can go from stove to oven to fridge. The 13 quart one is quite expensive, but I found mine at about a third of the normal price on clearance at a Le Creuest outlet shop.
I love my cookware and don't miss the non-stick "stainless" steel that I used to have. I like being confident that I am cooking on safe surfaces, especially now that I have a toddler.
If readers are interested, I will do a post about how I clean and care for my cast iron.
(Featured on GNOWFGLINS, The Nourishing Gourmet, Real Food Freaks, Real Foods Whole Health, Real Food Renegade, Butter Believer, Natural Mother's Network)
I'm interested! I have a cast iron skillet I received as a gift last year. I have yet to use it but REALLY want to!
ReplyDeleteI would love to here more info about cast iron pots and pans. I'm looking for a large (large) pot for stock and roasting but all I can find is stainless steel or have a nonstick coating. I'm thinking I'll be paying through the nose for a cast iron pot. On the bright side, in 80 years, my great granddaughters could still be using it!
ReplyDeleteAnita,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! My stockpot that I use for stocks is 13 quarts and can fit a small turkey carcass. It's a Le Creuset dutch oven that sells for $500, but I found a discontinued color at the outlets for only $165! Keep your eyes open for deals like that. Also, ebay is a great place to find cast iron pieces. I buy the old pieces and season them every few months and put palm shortening or coconut oil on them after each use. Don't use soap to clean them. Just scrap them clean (I use the brown scrapper that comes from Pampered Chef) and then wipe dry, place on your burner on low and put on some shortening and turn off the heat when melted. I will try to do a post in the upcoming weeks about how I care for my cast iron.
Yes please, I'd like to know how you keep them looking so good! Thank you so much for sharing this with us on Natural Mothers Network!
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to hosting the Seasonal Celebration Linky Party #7 going live tomorrow and hope you'll pop over sometime-you're always welcome!
http://naturalmothersnetwork.com/category/seasonal-celebration-sunday/ Have a great weekend!
Rebecca x
I have cooked on Stainless Steel, and Cast Iron for the same reasons you stated, to cook on a clean and safe surface. I all the research I have done over the last year or so, I have chosen to use Saladmaster 316 Titanium cookware... is it expensive, yes, but it is worth every penny. My wife an I have 7 children, and I am a Real Food Foodie. The Cast Iron is good, but the 316 Titanium, is made out of the same metal that surgeons use for replacing body parts like knees and hips, because it doesn't react with the sodiums and acids in our muscles and tissue, so it will not react with the sodiums and acids in our food. Cast Iron is very porous, thus leaching rancid fats into our food, Vision Ware from corning is tempered glass and the glass is tempered with Boron (used to be tempered with Lead, before they made it illegal). Aluminum is dangerous, possibly even deadly, as is Teflon, Anodized Aluminum and Enameling of any kind, like LaCreuset.
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