Grandpa's pans

[Nichole M]

Greetings!
I recently received several cast iron pieces that my grandfather had from his mother. They are various Griswold items. Should these older pans be treated differently than the pans of today? I want to care for them properly.

 

[EricC]

Howdy.

By "the pans of today", do you mean modern cast iron, or modern non-stick ano aluminum pans?

If the former, the care and use is basically the same but you need to be more careful with uneven heating creating warping or rapid cooling / thermal shock creating cracking, as the older pans tend to be thinner and more sensitive to that sort of thing.

If the latter, yes they should be treated quite differently. The first couple sections of this page should be useful:
http://www.castironcollector.com/cooking.php

And all of this page is useful:
http://www.castironcollector.com/maintenance.php

Another question would be if you plan to use them as-is or strip and reseason them first. The "cast iron restoration" section of which that second link is part of has info on that.

 

[Nichole M]

Oh I am so sorry not to clarify properly, yes I meant modern cast iron. I had just started to use a set of new modern Lodge cast iron I received only a few weeks ago (so I am very new at using cast iron) when a family member heard and dropped of my grandfathers that had been floating around their detached garage/shed for 10 years. They are very rusted but I plan to restore and use them. I have an induction cooktop and my oven and I understand both are ok? I also occasionally use an electric range but very rarely. What I have been doing is using my modern pans on med to med high heat. It seems to be plenty sufficient. I just don't want to make any newbie mistakes with the vintage stuff I will regret.

 

[SteveT]

I collected these "Rules" from the Forum back in the summer:

Ten Rules for Cooking in Cast Iron
1. Preheat your iron slowly.
2. Know what temp range you want to cook in before starting. Low, moderate or hot.
3. Have patience.
4. Don’t skimp on the oil or butter.
5. If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’.
6. Once the food gets warm, you can turn the heat down a bit unless browning.
7. Above medium heat takes a special reason.
8. Do not fry bacon or eggs topless.
9. Don’t walk away unless you KNOW what the situation will look like upon your return.
10. Slide food sideways before turning.

I'll add +1 to the comments about preheating to avoid thermal shock with thin iron.

Enjoy!
Steve

 

[Nichole M]

I collected these "Rules" from the Forum back in the summer:

Ten Rules for Cooking in Cast Iron
1. Preheat your iron slowly.
2. Know what temp range you want to cook in before starting. Low, moderate or hot.
3. Have patience.
4. Don’t skimp on the oil or butter.
5. If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’.
6. Once the food gets warm, you can turn the heat down a bit unless browning.
7. Above medium heat takes a special reason.
8. Do not fry bacon or eggs topless.
9. Don’t walk away unless you KNOW what the situation will look like upon your return.
10. Slide food sideways before turning.

I'll add +1 to the comments about preheating to avoid thermal shock with thin iron.

Enjoy!
Steve

Good rules! Thanks!