[鍋具] 鑄鐵鍋 Lodge厚平底鍋

Lodge MFG

 


Very few things cook better than cast iron.  So I really wanted a cast iron skillet.  I so regretted not bring my old one with me from America when I came to Taiwan.  I had no idea I couldn't buy one here in Taiwan, and so I had to "settle" for just looking at pictures of cast iron skillets.  Mail ordering from America wasn't reasonable, as the skillet was 4.53KG and shipping alone would have been over $120USD!  And then I found out, they aren't even willing to ship to Taiwan!  What to do...



Atlanta to Taipei = 8989 Miles (14466 Km!!!)  Did someone say frequent flyer miles??!?

So along came two nice people from Atlanta Georgia, who told us they were coming to Taiwan and asked if they could bring anything for us.  Well...  If you don't mind hauling around a few pounds of cast iron.. then sure!  Bring me a skillet!



Thank you David for hauling around this skillet for me all day in Taipei!  I am thankful that you didn't get taken away by customs agents  :-)  Well, here it is, this is how it looked when it arrived.  There is a vegetable wax coating on it, so you have to scrub it all off with some hot water.  This is cast iron, and it will rust, and so the first thing you have to do is cure/season the skillet.



I went to the traditional Taiwanese wet market and asked "How much for a piece or pork fat?"  I don't think the guy every "only" sold pork fat in his life, so he stared at me blankly.  "Here, I'll give it to you for free."  He then pulled out a 20KG bag of pork fat, and asked "how much do you want??"  I ended up taking a little piece, and that was plenty.  So in goes the pork fat, and I swish it around, making sure it touched everything and that the entire inside and outside was covered.



Put it on low heat, and watch it burn!  It will get darker and darker.  This __WILL__ smoke up your house, so make sure you turn the fan on high!!  The "oven" method is much easier IMHO, but I don't have an oven so I had to use the stove top method...



Final result?  A well cured cast iron skillet. It will get darker and darker as you use it more and more.   With proper care, it will last a lifetime!  I will be introducing some recipes later that just aren't doable without using a cast iron skillet.  Just remember, that if you put something acidic in it, you will have to recure it, as the acid will eat the curing.  Also, after use, wash it right away (Don't use dish washing detergent!!!!) and put a thin layer of oil on it after scrubbing so it doesn't rust.  Never soak it in water for prolonged periods of time.  Most people complain about the weight.  That's about the only complaint I can really find.  Janie is not able to lift the skillet!  But the advantages of cast iron greatly outweigh (pun intended) its shortcomings.

Cast Iron Advantages:

• Fast heating
• Even heating
• Great heat retention
• Naturally non-stick (More non-stick than teflon!!)
• Easy cleaning
• Lasts a lifetime
• Sears meat to lock in the flavors

I love my cast iron skillet.  It's the quickest way to produce better tasting food (especially meats!).  I know there are the colorful ones from "Le Creuset", but I really prefer the traditional ones, as they are much easier to clean in the long run.  Also, the traditional ones are about 1/3rd to 1/5th the price compared to the Le Creuset. 

Thanks Sylvia and David!  You have no idea how much I appreciate it!


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今早起床還睡眼惺忪，頭腦還沒清醒時，Albert已經準備好要出門了。他告訴我說，他在我Blog上寫了一篇鑄鐵鍋的文章，叫我要把它打開來。本來我也沒當一回事，結果登入的時候發現，哇～他竟然把相片弄得這麼可愛完整，呵呵！

謝謝Sylvia和David長途跋涉，從美國千里迢迢的把這只超重的鑄鐵鍋扛來給我們。我和Albert心裡真的萬分感謝，很可惜妳們在台灣的時間，因為工作關係我沒有時間和妳們見面，親口說聲謝謝，真的很謝謝你們唷:-)。

祝你們結婚籌備一切順利，幸福快樂唷。記得要和我們分享相片，還有我超想看你們的喜帖的啦～

延伸閱讀：[鍋具] 鑄鐵鍋 鍋子和煎盤蓋&鑄鐵鍋保養方式

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