Truly Vintage Cooking | Bread & Butter

These days, it seems like everything is better, faster, shinier, newer and – with the economic decline – no one can afford to buy any of it. But the good news is (!) - I, nor you, ever needed any of it to begin with.

It is time to switch off the endless infomercials yelling about how amazing the magic, who’s-it what’s-it cooking-implement-of-tomorrow is, as there is only one all-purpose cooking implement that anyone truly needs.

So much so, that perhaps President Obama should have provided for everyone to receive one in his stimulus bill. They do, after all, have a lot in common.

Strong, dark and handsome and don’t even get me started on how thrifty it is (too late). Not to mention, it’s the very definition of reliable. I give you, my friends, the bare essential: the cast iron skillet.

Oh how I love my cast iron pan.

My grandmother was right in placing her trust in this rustic pan, as was hers, as far back as the B.C. era. Cast iron cookware was first forged around 513 B.C. in China and 1100 A.D. in England, when furnaces that burned hot enough to melt and work the material were invented.

For the centuries since then, the versatile, cast iron cookware has been relied on for its ability to conduct heat well and incredibly evenly from nearly any heat source: from your burner, to your oven and even over a cozy campfire. So if facing an end-of-the-world type disaster and need to travel light - fear not - your iron pan is all you need. (Doubles as a deadly weapon to fend off: looters, wild dogs, aliens, zombies...)

But perhaps the best part about this dual purpose pan, is that when properly seasoned, the surface is virtually as non-stick as that (possibly carcinogenic) Teflon pan you’ve got there.

Teflon-schmeflon.

Lewis and Clark even considered their Dutch oven (a pot of cast iron, with a lid) one of the most essential pieces of equipment they carried on their expedition into the Louisiana Territory in 1804 and George Washington’s mother adored her cast iron cookware so much she dedicated a special section of her will to bequeath it.

But don’t get me wrong, while Mrs. Washington’s cookware held enough personal value to her to add it her will, perhaps one of the best parts about this truly vintage cooking implement is that it’s especially thrifty.

Like anything good, brought from the past back to the future, you can easily find a well-loved skillet for an exceptionally reasonable price ($10) at most yard sales, thrift stores, to an extra one laying around in your grandma’s cabinet or, if worse came to worse, any store that sells cookware.

(But buyer beware, some newer, cheaper skillets are not made with 100 percent pig-iron and are host to less even cooking and more “hot spots”. If buying new, Lodge is the only domestic manufacturer of cast iron cookware and is a safe bet as they guarantee the purity of their ironware.)

The reason, you may wonder, that it’s so easy to find old pieces of cast iron cookware laying around is because it may truly be...

the 8th Wonder of the World

...as it – like the pyramids – has stood the test of time. With the proper, easy maintenance your favorite cast iron piece of cookware could very well become a family heirloom for your future generations.

The maintenance that keeps your pan beautiful, is the same thing that preserves the pans natural, non-stick abilities and is called “seasoning.” To properly season your skillet you simply need to rub the pan down with a thin coating of a neutral oil – such as corn, vegetable or olive – then bake at 350 degrees for around an hour. The more you cook with your pan, the better seasoned it becomes, filling in the tiny crevices, making it darker and smoother.

Contrary to popular belief, you can and should wash your pan between uses with a little, light dish soap and a soft sponge (though some still disagree). Afterwards you should dry the pan by placing it on a burner until bone dry, then giving it light once over with a teaspoon of oil, wiping off the excess.

But don’t worry, while there is a little involved in maintaining your ironware, it’ll pay you back ten-fold as you can literally prepare nearly any food you desire in this single, miraculous pan. And to boot cooking any food in a cast iron pan automatically boosts it’s iron content; who needs supplements?

From the most delicious pancakes you’ve ever eaten, to other standard breakfast fare, from the grilling steaks indoors, to roasting and toasting vegetables, to even baking a mean pineapple upside cake or delectable fruit tart, you could prepare an entire three-course meal with an iron skillet. Truly a gift in a culinary world filled with a million overly specialized, cooking implements that just are eating up your cabinet space.