I finally restored a 50 year old cast iron skillet and now I'm wondering if new ones are even worth buying

My grandma's 1974 Lodge skillet went from crusty black to glass-smooth after 4 rounds of oven seasoning, but my buddy swears the new lightweight preseasoned pans are better for everyday cooking because they heat up faster - which side are you on after seeing the difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren2172d agoMost Upvoted

My uncle bought one of those new preseasoned pans last year and he says it works fine but he's also the guy who puts his cast iron in the dishwasher so I take his opinion with a grain of salt. The old ones have that layer of history baked into them, like every meal your grandma ever cooked is still in there adding flavor. New pans feel like they're trying too hard to be nonstick without earning it. Why rush a good thing when you can spend a weekend coaxing a skillet back to life, you know?

mark6112d ago

Does your uncle also think aluminum foil works as a lid when he forgets to put a real one on? lol. Are the preseasoned ones even any better than just buying a bare one and doing it yourself, or is it all just marketing hype?