Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is actually now the only Lodge pan that I own anymore. I've gone to antique ones that are much smoother, lighter, and in my opinion, better made. After 25 years of cooking with iron, I've become fairly particular when it comes to my cookware. The reason that I've hung with this one over some of the antique griddles is simply that this one can't be beat. You don't move a griddle around when cooking with it so being heavier isn't a hindrance there. And because I'm often multitasking, I kind of like the idea that I don't have to hold the handle because it doesn't budge. It just sits there and does the things it's supposed to do. Lodge comes with a seasoning on it and it's not too bad, but I can't leave well enough alone and have to bump things to my standards. That's why I have added 3 very thin coats of flaxseed oil to it and cooked each one at 490 degrees F for an hour. They tell you to reseason or add seasoning using vegetable oil, but don't do it. Your experience with your pan will be far less than satisfactory. If you don't have flaxseed oil, a bit of lard is a reasonable alternative. Both oils will heat up and harden to create a better finish than comes on it from the factory. Maybe it's that or maybe just that I have learned how to cook with these things that allows me to avoid some of the other complaints that people have about things, that food can stick. I see people complain about pancakes, cheese, and particularly eggs, that these things become a bear. In my early days of cooking, I also encountered some of the same issues so I understand the frustration. But it just doesn't have to be, even with this rather rough surface Lodge pan. When I make eggs or pancakes, I literally just tilt the pan and slide them off onto the plate. In fact it is so slick that folding or turning eggs can be a little tricky because the surface is so slippery and they slide all around. If you want to know the secret, keep reading. First, understand that cooking is chemistry and physics at work. You don't have to understand the technical aspects of those principles to cook, but a few techniques based on those principles will come in handy. I won't go into the hows and whys, but try these ideas to get the best results: 1) Before you start, oil the surface of your pan with regular cooking oil (corn, veg, soy, canola, or whatever). Get it wet, but don't have puddles of oil to soak into your food. I put a few drops inside the pan, wipe it around with a paper towel, and remove all the excess oil. 2) Your pan needs to be hot before putting food on it. Not highest temperature red hot, but hot. Medium to medium high should be the proper setting. If the pan is too cold, food sticks. If the pan is too hot, it probably isn't even temperature all the way through and it will start to burn oil and food before stuff is cooked. This isn't your average teflon pan that you can heat up in 60-90 seconds. You should likely have 3-4 minutes before the pan is ready. If the pan is on medium and you start to see a whiff of smoke, your pan is hot enough. 3) Now pull out the butter - yes, butter! Your pan should be hot enough to make the butter melt and boil quickly, but not burn it. Apply butter quickly everywhere food will be cooking. By using two different oils, you get a separation that forms a barrier that stops food from sticking. When it comes to things like eggs, I also add a little sea salt to the pan at this time to season the bottom of the eggs. 4) Pour your batter or eggs onto the pan and LEAVE it alone. If you start stirring, you just stir your cooking oils up into the food instead of letting it stay on the pan where it belongs. You also prevent food from browning, which is a necessary step in the cooking process. Pancakes should be flipped just once, so wait until the edges are dry and the center is bubbly, then flip. Once eggs start to set, lift up the edges and allow the remaining liquid egg to drain down to the pan surface. Add any other ingredients you want to the eggs at this time, season, and then start folding the eggs as you would fold a blanket. As your food is finished, simply lift the pan and slide the food off onto the plate. Yes, it really is just that easy. Let the pan and the food do all the work, and save yourself a lot of clean up time. If you are doing a second batch, just add a bit more butter immediately and start the process all over. Cleaning your Lodge pan For the most part, you don't need to do much cleaning. After you get done cooking, run the pan under just a bit of hot water. That will steam it very quickly and if there is any food on the pan, most of it will come off simply with that. Just take a wet cloth and wipe the entire surface, and you are almost done. Don't use soap unless you have to. A bit of soap every once in awhile won't hurt your pan, but regularly using it can dry out the seasoning. Fears about using soaps or not using them are both very over rated. People that fear food borne illness if everything they touch isn't washed with soap have fallen victim to soap marketing propaganda. The fact is that soaps are really only effective at removing grease, not food. Even if a bit of food were to stay on your pan, it won't hurt. It is fully cooked food that has completely dried out before the pan is used again (thus any food bacteria that could have been a problem has died), and you are heating your pan up again which again insures no bacteria. You eat dried foods all the time and food particles are still on dishes that you eat off all the time, if not at home, then in any restaurant. Conversely, people who are terrified of ruining their pans if they come into contact with soapy water, just don't understand cast iron chemistry. Your pan can be quickly ruined if you use steel wool soap pads on them or if you constantly scrub them with degreasers, but these aren't generally the case. If you've fried up some particularly noxious foods such as something with a lot of food oil (fish for example), even a properly washed out pan can smell a bit. I happen to know that's not a problem for next time I cook with it, but it can put some people off. If using a few drops of soap makes your pan smell better or you feel better, by all means do it. It's not going to hurt a thing. What soaps will do is dry out the inside of the pan and require that you use more oil as a final finish. Be sure that you complete the next couple of steps to finalize the pan cleaning process. Wet pans rust, even if you dry them with a towel. I usually just toss them on the burner for a few minutes to dry out any non-visible water. Or if the oven is still hot, I may just toss them in there. Once warm, now take a paper towel and just wipe a few drops of oil on the surface. If you live in a dry climate, this may not be necessary. But for most of us, we don't want humidity doing a number on the pans, particularly if they won't be used for a couple of days. Some folks recommend putting a sheet of paper towel between stacked iron pans. I don't think it's necessary, but it won't hurt either. Most stacked pans could use a little protection from other pans rubbing up against the cooking surface. By using the flaxseed oil process, my pans have a hard enough finish that this isn't a problem.