Lodge LCS3 Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Chef's Skillet, 10-inch

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Lodge is my favorite cast iron label because it is well made and inexpensive. Now it even comes pre-seasoned, although it still requires some additional seasoning before it reaches top nonstick form. This can be done by baking it with oil or bacon/ham grease or just by using it to cook a few times. The more cast iron is used properly, the more nonstick it becomes. If one learns to change cooking habits, following usage and cleaning instructions, better results will be achieved in short order.



Unaware of the Teflon industry unethically hiding their toxicity reports from the public and the government for more than 20 years (not to mention the toxins they dumped into the environment), I raised my children on Teflon nonstick pans. None of my food ever turned out with the flavorful browned finish that cast iron provides, but I was lazy and I bought into the idea of the new conveniences. Now that I know Teflon is actually dangerous to not only our individual health but to the planet, I've replaced all of my Teflon with cast iron, bought cast iron for my young adult children, and I'm trying to help them learn to cook on it so they too will learn that it is not only better for their health, but it also produces superior texture and flavor.



I started by going back and remembering how my grandmother used hers. It is all she used until she died at 91-years-old. Her cookware is still entirely useable and has been divided up among relatives.



Grandmother cooked everything on cast iron, and she knew how to use pieces in multiple ways so that she required fewer of them. For example, she used her large fry pan to cook homemade pancakes by turning it upside down on the burner and using the bottom as a griddle! Because she kept an empty coffee can of recycled bacon and ham grease next to her stove (lard) and used it as her cooking oil, she never needed to re-season. Her pans were completely nonstick from all of the use. While most of us will not recycle meat grease and cook with it, we can do the same with the olive and vegetable oils we use.



A contemporary concern often expressed is that it must be unhealthy to clean pans without dishwashing detergent. I remind my children that their great-grandparents lived to just under and just over 90-years-old (neither died from a cancer) and never once washed their cookware with detergent. They used only hot water. Our entire family grew up eating Grandmother's cooking and none of us were sickened by it. Remembering that reminds me that much of our concern with hyper-cleanliness has been marketed to us so we will buy innumerable products we do not really need; products that actually have hurt overall health by inhibiting our opportunities to strengthen our immune systems, and now we have actually introduced too many antibacterial products into our environment as well. Grandmother did dry her pans by placing them over a hot burner and that will kill bacteria, but it is not necessary to dry cast iron that way. Because drying pans over a hot burner uses more energy, I towel dry mine and I've never been made sick by doing so.



Reasons to switch:

1. Food has better flavor and texture

2. No toxins in the air or in the food to worry about.

3. No dishwashing detergent used so it is better for the planet and for the wallet.

4. For good results, cooking with lower heat is required, which means less energy use and that also is better for the environment and the wallet.

5. Less expensive to purchase than nonstick considered "high quality" and much more durable so rarely does any of it need replacing. The same pans can be used by multiple generations. One more reason cast iron is better for the environment and our pocketbook.

6. Small amounts of healthy iron added to our diets without a mineral supplement in pill form.

7. Weight of pieces forces at least a little weight lifting every day which is better for our muscles, therefore our overall health, including contributing to staving off osteoporosis.

8. Because it is easier to wash right after use and needs to be dried right away, pans do not pile up cluttering the kitchen and hanging over our heads as a chore we are avoiding.

9. To stop rewarding the Teflon industry for lying to us with withheld toxicity reports as they sold us products that were actually slowly poisoning our children.

10. To stop rewarding the Teflon industry for dumping toxins into our waterways and releasing toxic gases into the air during the manufacturing process.

11. To hold cookware manufacturers, distributors, and retailers responsible and accountable for what they choose to market and sell to us.



Reasons to purchase Lodge brand:

1. Well made

2. Readily available

3. Inexpensive

4. For those who do not want to go to the store, it can be purchased from Amazon with free shipping.