10 Reasons to Cook with a Cast Iron Skillet

Cast iron skillets have proven to be great utensils for cooking and baking many varieties of foods.

The cast iron skillet was the first original, non-stick cooking utensil, that was first used over hot coals in a fireplace and then later on was used in a cast iron stove. On their famous 1804 exploration of the great Pacific Northwest, Lewis and Clark had listed their Dutch oven as being one of the most important pieces of equipment that they had taken along with them. As history further shows, long before anyone had come up with the idea of a crock pot, people had always used the cast iron Dutch oven to prepare their meals in the exact same manner.

The reason's and benefit's of cooking with cast iron utensils are numerous.

(1) Once seasoned, food will slide out of the pan more easily than utensils made with Teflon.
(2) Stove top cooking can be easily transferred from the burner, directly to the oven without any other special cookware.
(3) When heated correctly, cast iron won't warp and cleaning up is a very easy process.
(4) Cast iron skillets and utensils are an economical and healthy way to cook. They are great for frying, simmering and making gravy.
(5) Cast iron skillets are great for broiling foods such as chicken, fish and other meats.
(6) They are also very good for adding iron into your meals. The majority of people are deficient in iron and as you cook in cast iron pans, a small amount of iron dissipates into the food. Iron is necessary in creating hemoglobin which carries oxygen in red blood cells.(http://www.dietitian.com/iron.html)
Some doctors even recommend cast iron cookware to their iron deficient patients.(http://www.frugalfun.com/castiron.html)
(7) When properly cared for, cast iron skillets will last for many years, even generations to come.
(8) Cast iron cookware is also excellent for camping, fishing and scouting adventures.
(9) Cast iron also works great on your outdoor grill when used for deep fat frying requiring high temperatures.
(10) It's uniform conductivity evenly distributes and retains a steady heat, therefore making it more economical than aluminum or other cooking utensils.