Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

8

2

Cast-iron cookware seems to get a lot of paleo love. I have trouble understanding how it could really be healthy. But perhaps my concerns can be dismissed. (I would love to have a healthy non-stick option).

1) The seasoning process seems to involve oxidized, polymerized oils, unsaturated fats and high temps even preferred. Regardless of type of fat used, it seems to very much be a chemical breakdown-free radical sort of process. Exactly what we WOULDN'T want going on while cooking. So are we confident the resulting seasoning layer does not leech harmful bits into our food during normal cooking? Is anything 'bad' gone after the seasoning process or safely 'locked away' in some sense?

2) The typical process of using it seems to involve intentionally leaving oil on the pan in between uses. Won't this go bad, even saturated fats? And even what we think of as predominately saturated fats would probably be some % unsaturated, hence definitely go bad.

3) Similar to #2, wouldn't old food bits tend to be left, perhaps in very small quantities, due to limited cleaning methods. (Perhaps not an issue with thorough cleaning, but that tends to go against protecting the seasoning)

4) I've seen it mentioned that iron itself can act as a catalyst to increase fat oxidation.

5) Have also (once) seen the claim that the form of iron we would get is not the kind our body can use (and potentially harmful). No idea if there is any merit to this.

Any thoughts?

flag	asked Sep 20 2011 at 16:24 Noah Rosser 323●1●7

2

Don't you dare take away my Cast Iron pans... really what does that leave us with. Interesting question however. – Ryan H Sep 20 2011 at 16:39

Hmmm...I wonder if my Magnalite cookware is safe. – vdh1979 Sep 20 2011 at 16:44

2

Uh Oh is it bad to keep oil after it has been used once? Is it bad to leave food in the oil?! Is it bad to leave oil in the frying pan for another use the next day??!!! I'm in deep trouble if it is – Joy Sep 20 2011 at 18:02

Joy, everyone used to do this with lard/dripping before switching to unsaturated fats. There's a thread about it somewhere (on phone, sorry). – Efaitch Sep 20 2011 at 18:41

I'm interested in having the oxidation part of the question answered.. – jatx www.jasonmoore.me Feb 24 2012 at 15:14

Matt · Answer 1 · 2011-09-20 19:34:28Z UTC

In a properly seasoned pan, the oil shouldn't ever see the raw iron surface, only polymerized cooking oils from previous uses should come into contact with food. Minimal iron should leech and the catalytic effects (if any) should be minimal.

ChuckC · Answer 2 · 2011-09-20 16:39:53Z UTC

1

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/IronCastIron.htm

answered Sep 20 2011 at 16:39

ChuckC
301●1●4

nice article, very useful. – harms.20 Oct 11 2011 at 13:40

Ann · Answer 3 · 2011-09-20 16:54:05Z UTC

the production of a crosslinked polymerized surface (seasoning) on cast iron is well documented; but if it truly concerns you, consider purchasing a stainless steel All-Clad pan for your cooking; when new they are polished to an almost mirror finish, which helps the food slide right out. drawback is you must use nylon/silicone/bamboo/wood cooking implements, as metal spatulas and such will cause scratches, which will impair the 'non-stick' -ness by giving the food molecules something to catch on. hope that is some kind of helpful!

Andy · Answer 4 · 2011-09-20 18:03:47Z UTC

I think stainless steel is superior in most situations. Stainless steel is easy to keep clean and I don't need the extra iron in my food. It heats quickly and evenly especially if you get 18/10. Also, you can't do acidic sauces or reductions in cast iron.

I do like a searing a good steak on my cast iron, though.

Jack Kronk · Answer 5 · 2011-09-20 18:14:45Z UTC

1

Don't forget to check out Jae's cast iron thread with a lot of info on how to do it. I recently bought 4 unseasoned pans of all sizes and haven't started the process but I will be digging into this pretty soon...

http://paleohacks.com/questions/5031/how-to-season-maintain-a-cast-iron-skillet#axzz1YW9y4sNK

answered Sep 20 2011 at 18:14

Jack Kronk
19.9k●2●33●101

1

Thanks for linking this, Jack! I hadn't seen it before and there's a crap ton of good info in there. – kinetic Sep 21 2011 at 2:13

Kelly · Answer 6 · 2011-09-20 19:35:42Z UTC

0

I just bought two cast iron pans, yet to use or season them, but plan on using bacon!!! I remember an old boyfriends greek grandmother who cookesoakot and used her cast skillet but obviously not for everything. She also prided herself in her oil mix left sitting in the pan, French fries made in this pan were to die for.

I have mostly stainless pans now 18/10, eggs seem to be the only thing you you can't do in them. I'm hoping the tiny cast pan I bought will work well for eggs.....

answered Sep 20 2011 at 19:35

Kelly
9,055●5●19

1

Good luck with that. You can pull it off with a very well sesaoned skillet with a good amount of oil/fat. I consider it a true test of how well seasoned cast iron is, though. Let us know how it turns out. I always "mini-season" my pans after I use them. Scrub 'em out with a brush, rinse (no soap of course!), then apply a small coat of fat and let it sit on the stove on low for at least an hour. – Cody Sep 20 2011 at 19:39

I thought my mom was the only one that reuses the oils for days – Erin H Sep 20 2011 at 19:52

They do it in restaurants, too. Keep using it until it gets too brown. – Cody Sep 21 2011 at 0:20

3

my eggs slide right out of my great grandmas griswold cast iron pan. if i was evacuating, that would be the first thing i grabbed running out the door. it never sees any water, and was seasoned for the first 40 years of its life with bear grease. – being Sep 21 2011 at 1:18

1

My mom's egg skillet has about 1/4- to 1/2-inch of lard in it. Makes it easy to get the whites cooked and leave the yolks runny -- just swish some of the hot grease over the top of the eggs as they're firming up on the bottom. Now and then she cooks french fries in it, which she says cleans the oil, because the potatoes gather up all the tiny burned bits of meat and egg that have accumulated. – Aaron B. Sep 21 2011 at 11:57

Cast Iron -> Really Safe?

6 Answers