Lodge skillet

[String Tree]

So I have a 10.5 inch lodge skillet that's at least twenty years old and carefully maintained. Food just slides right out of it.

I just got a new 10.5 inch lodge skillet for a socially distanced meal we are cooking that will require two skillets. The new one is much rougher than the old one. But I seem to remember--it was a long time ago--the old one being rougher when it was new. I'm seasoning and re-seasoning the new one.

So the difference between the two--did the old one get more smooth with use? Or did Lodge start making rougher castings? I'm tempted to sand the new one down a bit. But I cooked an omelette in it this morning and it didn't stick at all, so don't fix it if it ain't broke

Keep Cooking and don't burn anything.
YEP!!!

 

[jhundt]

by coincidence, I was just reading about cast iron pans on the Serious Eats website. In the comments section, someone contributed this:

"Nearly all cast iron pans today are cast with a pebbly surface. Seasoning will not smooth out the pan. It is because of this pebbly surface that seasoning is more important than every to keep food from sticking. The reason the pans are pebbly, is because they are sand tumbled almost immediately after being cast, so the sand creates a pebbly impression in the soft metal. In the old days, pans were allowed to sit for days after casting, which allowed them to smooth out, before they were thrown into a sand tumblr."

I have no knowledge about the subject; it may be true, it may not be true.

 

[maxvintage]

by coincidence, I was just reading about cast iron pans on the Serious Eats website. In the comments section, someone contributed this:

"Nearly all cast iron pans today are cast with a pebbly surface. Seasoning will not smooth out the pan. It is because of this pebbly surface that seasoning is more important than every to keep food from sticking. The reason the pans are pebbly, is because they are sand tumbled almost immediately after being cast, so the sand creates a pebbly impression in the soft metal. In the old days, pans were allowed to sit for days after casting, which allowed them to smooth out, before they were thrown into a sand tumblr."

I have no knowledge about the subject; it may be true, it may not be true.

You can see a film of the Lodge casting process on you tube and they do tumble them with stainless steel beads, but I'm skeptical that letting a casting sit makes it "smooth out."

I wonder if the older ones really were more smooth when they were new? Or if they just get worn smooth in use?

We have one skillet at least twenty years old and possibly much older. We have a griddle bought about 10-12 years ago, and one I bought a few days ago. The oldest one is the smoothest, the middle one is smoother than the new one but rougher than the old one. To me that suggests that it could just be use.

They cast them in sand, and the textured surface is the texture of the sand in the mold. Possibly back in the day they used different sand. Or possibly they ground or polished the cook surface.

I read a lot of articles about cast iron pans and several reviews I found said that smoothness does not make it any more or less nonstick--in fact soother pans might stick more. Wirecutter compared the Lodge pans to a couple expensive hipster brand pans and found the lodge to be better. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cast-iron-skillet/

 

[jvin248]

.

The older cast iron pans from the 50s were smoother and lighter than modern castings .. because so many companies cast iron products the skill of process refinements were available all over. Most of those industries could not compete with faster and lighter sheet stampings. Knowledge was lost over time. Find images from old Sears Catalogs from 1900 and there is so much cast iron.

Thicker pans give higher casting yield (fewer short shots or sand entrapment) and are less likely to crack during casting and tumbling or in use than the wafer thin pans. If you are trying to produce high volume low priced products the factory needs to avoid problems.

The graininess of the 'sand' used in casting defines the surface finish, plus any sanding/grinding after casting.

...Cast iron is great and I'm not sure why people need non-stick cookware....

Because of Marketing. Weight is an issue too.
Similar reasons for guitar buying

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Lodge skillet from our local Crate & Barrel ... but question for the group ... after cooking, and cleaning it, do you season both the inside AND outside of your skillet? Or is only the inside (the cooking area) needed for seasoning? Thanks in advance.

Yes! Dig around the Kent Rowlings Cowboy Cooking channel for cast iron care and he'll show you how to season and clean. Cast iron is easy as long as you avoid a few things: don't cook acidic sauces in one, don't store food overnight in them, don't toss them in the sink 'to soak'. Some owners get overly agitated about the 'don't clean cast iron' myth. It's easy to get it back to a seasoned state if you have a problem.

... I guess it's clear that I seem to collect pots and pans like some folks collect Telecasters...

I like that collection because most of the pans have that extensive use patina on them. They are not for show but for use.


.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I like that collection because most of the pans have that extensive use patina on them. They are not for show but for use.

True dat! I cook M-Thu and Saturday in our home and have for years now, even before retirement. Friday night is take-out night this year to help support local restaurants and Professor Dr. SWMBO does Sunday nights. When I renovated our kitchen back in 2003 with a further refresh a few years ago, it was to create a very usable cooking environment. With all the money I saved doing all the work myself, except for drywall, soapstone counters and the gas line, there was money for a serious range, too.

There's a very large island just out of frame to the right that's wonderful for prepwork...a great "working triangle".

Cooking is a wonderful thing. My approach has always been to try something new as well as use the same mentality that's displayed on cooking programming like Chopped! and Master Chef..."what can I make with what I have on-hand". And there are three goals: 1) don't poison anyone 2) try to make it taste good and 3) if luck prevails, make it look nice, too. Number 1 and 2 are most important.

 

[RCinMempho]

.

The older cast iron pans from the 50s were smoother and lighter than modern castings .. because so many companies cast iron products the skill of process refinements were available all over. Most of those industries could not compete with faster and lighter sheet stampings. Knowledge was lost over time. Find images from old Sears Catalogs from 1900 and there is so much cast iron.

Thicker pans give higher casting yield (fewer short shots or sand entrapment) and are less likely to crack during casting and tumbling or in use than the wafer thin pans. If you are trying to produce high volume low priced products the factory needs to avoid problems.

The graininess of the 'sand' used in casting defines the surface finish, plus any sanding/grinding after casting.

.

Lodge's Blacklock line is a bit lighter weight, and I want to say the texture was smoother.

This is lighter, smoother cast iron meant to mimic those older style pans.

https://www.blacklockfoundry.com

and

https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blacklock

 

[jhundt]

I wonder if anyone else finds the idea of smooth-bottoms vs pebbled-bottoms counter-intuitive.

I don't know the science, so this is just my impression. But it seems to me that the pebbled surface would be much more anti-stick than the smooth surface, because the actual contact area of the food item is much smaller, and is broken up by tiny little pools of oil/fat.

I know in Spain they do some fine cooking on the flat grill. But if they are doing a slab of steak, or fish, etc they put down a whole lot of coarse salt to keep the meat from sticking.

I am interested in hearing others' experience, and explanations on which surface is better.

 

[scooteraz]

I wonder if anyone else finds the idea of smooth-bottoms vs pebbled-bottoms counter-intuitive.

I don't know the science, so this is just my impression. But it seems to me that the pebbled surface would be much more anti-stick than the smooth surface, because the actual contact area of the food item is much smaller, and is broken up by tiny little pools of oil/fat.

I know in Spain they do some fine cooking on the flat grill. But if they are doing a slab of steak, or fish, etc they put down a whole lot of coarse salt to keep the meat from sticking.

I am interested in hearing others' experience, and explanations on which surface is better.

Well, with something like eggs, the pebble bottom actually has more surface area; it depends on what you are cooking.

A rough surface will usually be a little to quite a bit more difficult to clean, so there is that. OTOH, how smooth is smooth?

 

[harlycarly]

View attachment 786881 [/QUOTE

So surprised nobody noticed my very cool cast iron spoon rest.[/QUOTE]

 

[Mr. Lumbergh]

So I have a 10.5 inch lodge skillet that's at least twenty years old and carefully maintained. Food just slides right out of it.

I just got a new 10.5 inch lodge skillet for a socially distanced meal we are cooking that will require two skillets. The new one is much rougher than the old one. But I seem to remember--it was a long time ago--the old one being rougher when it was new. I'm seasoning and re-seasoning the new one.

So the difference between the two--did the old one get more smooth with use? Or did Lodge start making rougher castings? I'm tempted to sand the new one down a bit. But I cooked an omelette in it this morning and it didn't stick at all, so don't fix it if it ain't broke

I have a few pieces of recent Lodge CI and some Griswold from the 40's and 50's. The Griswold is ground to a flat surface from the factory, the Lodge has the texture from a rough sand casting. I take care of them all about the same and don't have real issue with sticking.

 

[Mr. Lumbergh]

View attachment 786881 [/QUOTE

So surprised nobody noticed my very cool cast iron spoon rest.

[/QUOTE]
That is pretty cool. Haven't read the whole thread yet.

 

[jhundt]

Well, with something like eggs, the pebble bottom actually has more surface area; it depends on what you are cooking.

A rough surface will usually be a little to quite a bit more difficult to clean, so there is that. OTOH, how smooth is smooth?

good point about the eggs.

 

[jhundt]

View attachment 786881 [/QUOTE

So surprised nobody noticed my very cool cast iron spoon rest.

[/QUOTE]
ha ha - I see it now!

I DID notice that your screen name may (or may not) reference a certain type of USA motorcylce, whereas your photo appears to be a certain type of UK bike.

 

[fjblair]

My great grandmother’s cast skillet iron that has only had cornbread made in it is at least 125 years old. Allegedly it has never been washed. I know since I’ve owned it and now that my sister has it it’s never been washed. It’s as smooth as a babies butt and the only time I’ve known anything to stick was a cornbread I screwed up and let burn. Scraped it out as best I could and put the skillet in a 500* oven for 15-20 minutes and wiped it clean. No harm, no foul.

I don't really wash my cast iron either. Paper towels and salt, maybe a little water when I have to. The pans that get used most often are the smoothest, the ones that are used the least aren't as smooth. All bought in the last 20-25 years.

 

[Gevalt]

You know those wire scrubbing pads? I worked a steel scrubber in my newish Lodge pan, and it was smooth in no time.

 

[rghill]

You can find used cast iron cookware in antique shops and online. They aren't much more than a new Lodge pan. I can't recall the brands to look out for, but there are a few.

EDIT: Wagner and Griswold are two brands, even old Lodge pans as well.

 

[smoothrecluse]

I sanded mine smooth and reseasoned it, and I like it much better than the factory finish. I made sure to smooth the handle a bit with a flap wheel, and it really does feel more like a nicer, vintage pan, like my smaller Griswold.

I wouldn’t mess with it if it were an expensive pan, but it’s just a $20 Lodge skillet from Target, so what’s to lose?

 

[jayhawknavy02]

Homework project while I was at home on leave. Wife had some cast iron that she wanted "re-surfaced". The old lodge was much smoother so after finding some brushes, mechanical sanding devices and a good mask/goggle set I went to work. The old lodge pans are smoother, but far from perfect, but good enough. Not a lot of improvement after a significant investment in labor on my part. The new stuff benefited much more. My wife tried a couple of seasoning methods to the letter flax, lard, oil, etc. And we found lard to be the most effective. If you have some very rough new lodge pans, sanding them and re-seasoning was beneficial in my opinion. A lot of very dirty work, but my wife is happier and so am I. Moving forward I'll look at other brands or vintage as the labor isn't worth it and they're heavier/thicker than I think they need to be. Of note, I didn't sand them to a "mirror polish" just smooth/very smooth and it worked like a charm. We kept one "stock" vs the sanded/seasoned version we did ourselves and the new pan was a better performer and increasingly so.

 

[harlycarly]

ha ha - I see it now!

I DID notice that your screen name may (or may not) reference a certain type of USA motorcylce, whereas your photo appears to be a certain type of UK bike.[/QUOTE]


You got it! Kind of like owning both a Fender and a Gibson.

 

[maxvintage]

Update: after three months of use the new Lodge pan is looking noticeably smoother. The combination of seasoning and scraping/scrubbing seems to be working