Ms P said:
"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Could make the difference. Some new cast iron is seasoned
at the factory.
But if the grit is from sandblasting, then the surface
is unseasoned.
But really, if you're a brand new cook, cast iron is out
of your league. Even seasoned it's tricky to use and its
value is subtle. Get a nonstick-coated pan.
How's it tricky to use? There's very little you can do to cast iron to hurt
it. You can even wash it and let it get rusty and that doesn't actually
hurt it.
I didn't say easy to break; I said tricky to use.
Seasoning, maintaining seasoning, rejeuvenating seasoning,
not screwing up your seasoning, knowing if the seasoning
is working or not, etc.
Tricky.
And the way it holds heat is actually a /bad/ thing for
new cooks. Sometimes you have to reduce the heat quickly
to stop a mistake. Heavy cast iron takes forever to cool
down, meaning if something starts to burn, it's going
to keep burning even if you take it off the burner.
And they're heavy, which makes taking it off the burner
harder to do. And then there's the issue if the searing
handle.
Nonstick is a much better thing for a new cook. And the
new nonstick materials are much tougher and nonstickier
than they were when we were kids.
--Blair
