Cast Iron Cookery - No-Stick at its Best!

I've recently converted to cast iron cookery for a number of reasons, and the no-stick properties of a well-maintained pan is just one of them. Check this out - I started making a double batch of pancakes with about 1/2 teaspoon of lard in the pan, and a good hour later at the end of the batch, the pan is dry but the no stick properties are still rocking my world! In the end I do not even have to wash the pan!

I am planning a whole article on caring for cast iron so I will not go into too much detail at the moment, other than to say that it is pretty easy once you know what to do. And I'll also just mention that some of the things you normally do with stainless steel pans will wreck your cast iron. I had this pan at Scout Camp a month or so ago, and one of the other adults was frying fish in it. When he was done he just did what most people do with frying pans - put an inch or so of water in the pan and put it back onto the hot stove that has been turned off. Fortunately I caught it right away and let him know that this will ruin a cast iron pan if left very long soaking in water. For the same reason I never put it into the dishwasher or soak it in the sink.

Though even a "ruined" cast iron pan can be revived with a bit of work.