Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Background you can skip We started on a journey of replacing the Calphalon / Cephalon / Tefal / and Stainless potts and pans that we accumulated over the years. The reason is that the non-stick stuff, over time, comes off and who knows what it really does to your body long term. The cast iron pan we received of my mother, already 35 yrs old when we received it, was an eye opener as nothing stuck in it and it was glorious to cook in. So we decided to go pan by pan and build up a full "site" of cast iron pots and pans. We've tried various brands, initially, thinking "cast iron is cast iron". WRONG. The smoothness of the surface, quality of the seasoning, fit of the lid, even thickness etc are all critical in making something GREAT cookware versus a horrible failure. Lodge has been a winner in every category of cast iron cookware for us. At this point we have a complete cookware collection and 90% is Lodge and we love it. The trick with cast iron? Read up on directions on how to cook with and hot to properly clean. Too many people ruin the seasoning by not understanding how to care for it. If the seasoning ever gets sub-par or you make a mistake: re-seasoning is very easy with any oven and some cooking oil. Here's the good: - perfect thickness of iron - deep even and eternal seasoning: we have yet to re-season any of the pans after several years of intense use - smooth cast iron surface. The combination of seasoning and smooth surface make for virtually non-stick cooking, be it crepes or sunny side up eggs. Works great! - lid of this item fits precisely - Handle on pot as well as lid: its heavy - can withstand very very high heat, unlike non-stick. Great for over use - Keeps heat very long so dinner doesn't go cold in seconds On the downside (we're nitpicking on the first): - heavy to handle, so not great for older people. You can get a serious wrist workout from handling these - Amazon seems to have a crazy price band for this. Bought mine in the low thirty bucks and today, when writing this review, its 88. Nutty. Watch and time your purchase as it goes up and down and thats just not cool.