Appreciation post: my $30 thrift store cast iron skillet outlasted my fancy nonstick pans

Last month I was camping up near Lake George and dropped my skillet off the picnic table onto a rock. It chipped the concrete but the skillet? Not a scratch. I just wiped it down, heated it up, and kept cooking bacon. Meanwhile my sister's expensive nonstick pan started peeling after 6 months of gentle use. Has anyone else had luck with old thrift store cookware beating out the new stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan9525d ago

Idk maybe it's just me but people get way too intense about cast iron vs nonstick. Like yeah thrift store pans can be good but dropping a skillet off a table and bragging about it isn't really a test of anything. That concrete probably had a crack already. Not saying your skillet is bad or anything but the whole "old stuff is always better" thing gets old. A lot of cheap cast irons from thrift stores have cracks or rust or uneven heating that nobody mentions. Plus nonstick pans have come a long way if you actually spend money on a good one. Your sister's pan peeling after 6 months sounds like she bought some cheap set from Target or something. I've had a decent ceramic nonstick last me years with wood utensils. Maybe it's just me but both types have their place and this whole competition thing seems silly.

kelly.parker4d ago

See this all the time with people acting like only one way to do anything is the right way. Like with coffee, you got the pour-over snobs and the Keurig people fighting like it matters.