More than any other cooking surface, Jake loves cast iron. In fact, Silka wont even touch our cast iron pans because he's so fanatical about their treatment. No other surface gets as hot, gives as good a sear, and maintains consistent temperature. Added bonus: we love the way it looks so much we often serve food right out of the pan. Easy clean up! Our collection includes skillets, grill pans, griddles, baking molds and a beautiful dutch oven. Whether it's chops, steaks, roasts, ragus or even tart tatins- cast iron always steps up to the...plate.
Unfortunately it's very hard to find good- or affordable- cast iron. Most cast iron pots and pans produced today use an iron alloy that's not as good as pure iron and they can range in price from $30-$150. But most significantly, when you buy new cast iron it takes a long time for it to be seasoned properly. For those reasons, and the fact that we're hoarders, we're always on the look out for ‘new’ old cast iron pots and pans.
This last weekend we were in Wellsville helping Silka’s parents get ready for the reopening of their restaurant, The Little Gem. While driving around Amish country looking for restaurant decorations we passed an old man on the side of a deserted country road selling ‘junk’ out of a tractor trailer. Of course we stopped! We pulled over and found a wealth of goodies for the restaurant, but we also scored a ton of pre-war Griswold Cast Iron pots, pans, and baking molds made in Erie, PA - only 130 miles from Wellsville. We walked away with a 10 in. skillet, a 9 in. griddle, and a kitschy corn-cob muffin pan. 50 bucks for the whole set!
No comments:
Post a Comment