Cast iron question page

[JoanieL]

Last night I made a sort of chicken-fruit stew/soup. Ingredients: chicken thighs, thawed frozen strawberries, an orange pureed in the food processor, jalapenos, some spices, filtered water.

It tasted great, but the fruits turned very dark.

The other night, I made a throw together curry: chicken, potato, spinach, onion, almond milk, spices, curry powder. It also turned dark. I've made this before in a non-stick pan, and it never got this dark before. The fruit meal was a first, so I don't know if that would have turned dark in a non-stick pan.

Is the cast iron doing this?

Thanx in advance for any info.

[Him]

Does the seasoning look thinner?

I've had so much advice to avoid acidic foods (and if tomatoes qualify so would something with OJ) in seasoned cast iron that I usually switch to enamelled or stainless for those types of dishes. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the carbon came off and wound up in your food.

Doubt it's harmful to you. If it thins the layer too much it may cut the nonstick-ness. Can't say on the second recipe.

ETA: I've seen factory season jobs that came off in little specks, darkening food. Eventually that stops with use and a good metal spatula.

[JoanieL]

Thank you. I didn't know about the acidic thing.

I am enjoying using cast iron over standard non-stick pans. I forgot how easy it was to just be able to stab something with a fork to turn it over, rather than having to use special non-metal tongs, spatulas, etc.

[14emom]

Pretty sure it's the OJ, can't put tomato sauce in them either.

[breadsauce]

I use cast iron ONLY for frying because of this. Acids rip the non stick coating ~(seasoning) off my pans and I have to re-season them. I use enamelled cast-iron for casseroles / stews etc which contain tomatoes, wine, lemon juice etc.

[GuitarGrok]

I have started using cast iron recently. I will have to watch out for the acids.

BTW ikea has a cast iron wok for $20...(It is cheaper than the aluminum version of the same pan) It has become my favorite pan in the two weeks I have had it!!!!

[Stratford_Man]

I love cast iron! Used to make a lot of corn bread in mine - no more!

I've been making biscuits with almond flour and ground flax. I think I'm going to have to try them in the cast iron pans.

Definitely the thing for doing steaks, chops and tenderloin. Heck, if you're using enough FOC, you can even do eggs!

[lyn c nito]

Iis definitely the cast iron. Cast iron is reactive cookware and will impact any acidic foods. (I do a lot of canning and preserving.) Use your other cookware an theproblem shouldn't reoccur. Save cast iron for non acidic foods.

[Him]

...Heck, if you're using enough FOC, you can even do eggs!

Once the pan is properly seasoned, it doesn't take much fat to fry eggs in cast iron. Not that there is anything wrong with having a bunch of fat in the pan, but it's amazing how little you need when the seasoning is good.

I've sometimes dropped eggs into a dry cast iron pan (no oil at all)...in a hurry and not paying attention. I just add a touch of oil (from a sprayer even), let the whites cook a bit, then pop the eggs loose and drag 'em with the spatula onto the oiled part of the pan (or just flip them onto that part of the pan since I like over-easy-ish). I actually think it's easier than dealing with the same type of think on a teflon pan in that you can use the really thin metal spatulas that work great, instead of those chunky plastic bulldozer spatulas that can't get under the food.