Cast Iron

I gave my sister a cast iron pan I have spent the past year seasoning and building up with a nice layer of fat. I'm going to pick up a new one and start the process over again later. Its really a fun process. I can't use a pan with a preseasoned coating since it is generally composed of lard or other animal fats. So I get a completely fresh piece of cast iron and scourer it clean. To prevent rusting you need to immediately dry and put on heat. Then I melt some Crisco down and apply to every surface of the pan. Once coated, I put into the oven and bake into the iron for an hour or two (until I get sick of the smell). I let it cool and level out the surface if there are any heavy deposits. For the first few months its important to use a fair amount of fat when cooking, and to avoid eggs or pancakes. Once the surface gets smooth and a little thicker, go crazy. Things I think that are good to cook on cast iron are: Any egg dish, any bread or dough based dish, vegi's without much water content, dumplings, latkas, crepes, nuts, tofu, meat ( in a meat pan), fish. Things not to cook are: anything with high water content when cooked (like Zuchini if over cooked), anything acidic (including tomatos), anything that is too saucy. When it comes to cleaning a cast iron I err on the side of not cleaning. I try not to (unless really necessary) use any water or soap. In fact, I generally just wipe clean and put a drop of oil on before storing. Its important to store in a dry place without anything on it. If you take care of the cast iron, its a completely joy to cook with.