Oct
31
Here is a little bit about the history of cast iron cookware… If you read the whole article, you will find an apple pecan cobbler recipe at the bottom. If you don’t know much about cooking with cast iron cookware, you also might want to have a look at Cooking in Cast Iron: Yesterday’s Flavors for Today’s Kitchen
Via: HoumaToday.com
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Cast iron is basically iron that is poured into a mold to create some useful implement. Cast-iron pots and pans are made in this way. Pots and cauldrons were originally made from brass because iron could not be worked, until furnaces creating heat enough to melt it were invented (about 513 B.C. in China and not until 1100 A.D. or so in England).
At this point, pots could be made by making molds out of sand and pouring molting metal into the mold.
The original cooking pots generally had three legs because they were designed to be used over an open fire. Cooking in the home was done in the hearth or fireplace. Stoves with tops for cooking did not come into common usage until the 1700s. This allowed tremendous advancement in cookware, especially cast-iron cooking when pots and pans began to be made in mass quantities.
By 1776, Adam Smith, in his book, “The Wealth of Nations”, could note that the actual wealth of the nation was not its gold, but in its manufacture of pots and pans. Cast-iron cookware was highly valued in the 18th century. George Washington’s mother thought so much of her cookware she made special note to bequeath her cast iron in her will. In their expedition to the Louisiana Territory in 1804, Lewis and Clark indicated that their cast-iron Dutch oven was one of their most important pieces of equipment.
In the 1800s, cast-iron cookware enjoyed tremendous popularity. Manufacturers that arose during that time include Wagner, Lodge, Griswold and John Wright. Some of these manufacturers are extinct today. In the late 1800s, enameled cast-iron cookware became popular and is still commonly used for Dutch ovens. In the 1900s, cookware made from other materials began to become popular, stainless steel, aluminum and pans with Teflon coatings. Today, cast-iron cookware, because of its many qualities and questions about the health effects of other metals, is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Cooking in cast iron is known to greatly increase the dietary source of iron.
This is especially true when cooking foods high in acid, such as tomato-based sauces. There is less of an effect for foods that are quickly fried in the skillet. As you might expect frequent stirring of food also will increase the amount of iron. Cooking in cast iron can often provide all of this element that a body needs.
HOW TO SEASON CAST-IRON COOKWARESeasoning is the process of allowing oil to be absorbed into the iron, creating a nonstick, rustproof finish.
* Wash with hot, soapy water and a stiff brush. Rinse and dry completely.
* Oil the cookware (inside and out) with melted solid vegetable shortening.
* Turn upside down on the top rack of a 350-degree pre-heated oven.
* Put aluminum foil on the bottom rack to catch any excess drippings.
* Bake the cookware for one hour at 350 degrees.
* Let the cookware cool slowly in the oven.
* Store, uncovered, in a dry place when cooled.
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