Why cast iron?

[Prem]

I have 9 cast iron pieces, mostly skillets of various sizes including ribbed grill pans, a Le Creuset Dutch oven and a 12" camping Dutch oven. Lately, I've acquired an old Club, thick aluminum Dutch oven and an old Wagnerware Magnalite, thick aluminum Dutch oven and a new, hard anodized aluminum, GSI Dutch oven. (None have legs, so they can be used on the home stove top and on a Coleman stove.)

I like cooking in the GSI more than any other. It has even, fast heat and nothing sticks, even though there's no Teflon-like, non-stick surface. The three aluminum pieces are about one third the weight of their equivalents in cast iron and there is no rust or cured surface to avoid washing with detergent.

BTW, there's no medical-scientific link between Alzheimer's disease and using aluminum cookware. One get hundreds of times more aluminum in the body from taking a single Rolaid's tablet than from eating food cooked in aluminum, including cooking in aluminum foil.

[Ageless]

In 36 years of working with aluminum; I've likely inhaled enough dust to build half an airplane . . .and not a thing wrong with me

[nevadatear]

ok dean, though it will never look like yours, I REALLY want the Hawaiian bread recipe!

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

ok dean, though it will never look like yours, I REALLY want the Hawaiian bread recipe!

Go to Byron's Site and click on recipes... It's in his Breads, Biscuits & Rolls section.
Or you can miss his awesome website and just go Here.

[Prem]

I've developed a strong aversion to lard and chicken and beef fat---as well as industrial Bisquick and 1,200 mg of salt in canned food.

Anyone found a site with heart-healthy recipes for Dutch oven cooking?

[Prem]

Healthy = Thread Killer

[scaramoche]

The reason Ive used cast iron for camping is simple. When cooking anything, you want a skillet that has even heating. If you look at all good cooking ware you will notice they have a very thick bottom. This allows for even radiation of the heat and keeps from burning the food.

Keeping this in mind, those cheep walmart skillet sets are horrible at this.

example. have you ever cooked a piece of chicken breast, steak, and find part is almost black, while the ends are still raw? this is due to uneven heating.

solution? purchase a high dollar skillet(70.00+). Now cast iron is awesome for heat distrubution, and relatively cheap(at the fleemarket i can pick up a 12inch for 10.00. so basicaly you can pick up a 4-5piece set including dutch oven for 50-60.00. vs 200.00 for high end. Plus, cast iron doesnt really care if you beat it up, chuck it into a campfire etc.

[Cliffmeister2000]

Another reason, probably already posted and I just missed it, is food gets cold fast when camping. The Cast iron holds the heat well, so you can enjoy your food hot!

[Prem]

The Cast iron holds the heat well, so you can enjoy your food hot!

True. The thicker the iron and the more it weights, the more heat it holds longer. (And the longer it takes to get it hot.)

I've got a Wagnerware iron skillet that has a thinner bottom than the thin sides. (Probably eroded from use and washing.) Somebody made it into a clock. I was going to use cast iron welding rod and close up the small hole, but Kevin pointed out how thin the thing was, so it's staying a clock.

Side note: I dumped the bare aluminum dutch ovens. Acidic foods (tomatoes) dissolve the aluminum discoloring the food and giving it a bad taste. Keeping the hard anodized for sure! If you're into it, check out SCANPAN products.