Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My grandmother's cast iron skillet was about 50 years old and still going strong when she passed away. I can remember her lugging it around with a thick towel as the pot holders were not thick enough. Sometimes my grandpa would have to hoist it from the stove to the table for her. Once in a while she would lay a towel out on the counter and oil it up then bake it in the oven upside down for what seemed like forever. Then she would let it cool and store it on top of the stove, as it didn't fit anywhere else and left black marks on everything. For these reasons I have never owned one. I mean, what a pain in the rear. Well I have become addicted to those YouTube cooking shows and Tasty and all of them use cast iron skillets for some foods. I finally realized my food was not looking like theirs because of that darn skillet! So I did my research and purchased this one. It says pre-seasoned, but comes with instructions on how you "should" season it before use. So it sat on the counter for 2 weeks before I finally did what it said. I followed the instructions, seasoned it and finally used it 2 days later. The food was amazing. It was a chicken dish I had made before, and some how that darn skillet made all the difference in flavor, cooked evenly and faster and is all it's hyped up to be. You are not supposed to use any harsh abrasive pads or cleansers as this ruins the seasoning. I actually purchased a product called "the ringer" used for cleaning iron skillets. It did the trick, no soap needed. I dried it immediately with a towel after washing as instructed. Then I very lightly oiled it and set it on the stove as my grandma used to do. It does leave black marks if you put it on the counter or in a cupboard. It is just as heavy as my grandmother's was, but hers didn't have the front lip to help hoist it around. The dual sided pour spouts are an added bonus. It's amazing how much I WANT to keep this pan in good shape so I can use it forever. Still a pain in the rear, but so worth it.