Do you remember your mother or grandmother cooking or baking using cast iron pans?
After I grew up, I never thought I would want to do any cooking or baking using heavy cast iron pans, but now I’m having second thoughts.
Did you see the new cast iron pans on DealDash.com? I was so surprised to see cast iron pans now making a comeback in beautiful colors like blue and green instead of just the standard black. I was also surprised to see that some of them also come with lids. I don’t think my mother ever had any lids for her cast iron pans.
After using some light-weight, flimsy pans that don’t last, I’m beginning to think the cast iron pans my mother and grandmother used were not so bad. I have to admit that at least cast iron pans are very sturdy and can last long enough to be passed down from generation to generation.
Nonetheless, cast iron skillets can break or go bad, too. If we place our pans on a flat surface and they can rock from side to side, it means the bottoms are not even. If our cast iron pans are not even, they will not heat the food evenly either, so it’s time to throw them away and get some new ones.
Let’s take a look at some of the cast iron auctions:
- The 6.5 inch enameled green cast iron saucepan (with a BIN of $240) closed for as little as 19 cents. Out of the last 10 winners, 6 of them paid less than $50 for this pan.
- The 8-quart blue cast iron casserole dish with a cover (with a BIN of $160) is enameled inside and out, and can be used with gas or electric heat. This pan is ideal for slow cooking stews and baking. One previous winner saved about $50 from the BIN price in the blue color, but one shopper who got this pan in the white color won it for only $12.22 (including the cost of the 30 bids used).
- The 10-inch green enameled cast iron casserole pot (with a BIN of $360) sold for as little as 46 cents (counting the 2 bids used). Of the last 10 winners, 4 of them got a bargain price of less than $100 (counting the cost of bids used).
- The 10-inch enameled cast iron grill pan (with a BIN of $220) sold for as little as 26 cents (counting the cost of the 1 bid used). Of the last 10 winners, 5 of them got a bargain price of less than $50 (counting the cost of bids used).
We can see from the bargains listed above many DealDash customers won some awesome deals.
The history of cast iron
Cast iron was invented in China in the 5th Century BC, but an Englishman Abraham Darby is credited with revolutionizing cast iron cookware. In 1707, he patented a method for casting iron into relatively thin pots and kettles, process that made them cheaper to produce.
According to my research, in the 1960s and 1970s, Teflon-coated aluminum non-stick cookware was introduced and quickly became the item of choice in many kitchens. Therefore, the decline in daily use of cast-iron cookware contributed to the closure of nearly all the iron cookware manufacturers in the United States. Two of the major companies were sold in 1969 and the new corporation stopped production of cast iron in 1994. To see how old a cast iron pan is, check to see if it has a stamp on the bottom, “Made in the USA.”
The most desirable and valuable antique cast iron pan is No. 1. They are super rare and are now worth $1,000 each, despite their small size.
Bottom line
Now cast iron cookware with enameled lining is making a comeback.
In spite of all of the modern-day cookware, perhaps the taste of food cooked in some updated cast iron pans just does not get any better than it was in our grandparent’s day. However, it’s important to learn the proper care of cast iron cookware, too.
Perhaps the next winners of these new, updated, cast iron pans will be you or me.
Happy shopping everyone!
This sponsored blog post was submitted by: Barbara L. Sellers. Barbara was compensated by DealDash for this blog post. Blog posts are written by real DealDash customers. The opinions and advice here represent our customers’ views and not those of the company.