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Most cooks who use cast iron pans prefer sunlight. After all, they’re indispensable for many one-skillet meals, and can be used for everything from breakfast to dessert (yes, these desserts made in cast iron desserts ). As useful as your skillet can be for preparing all these favorite dishes, it’s not a kitchen item that works well for every dish.
Find out what not to cook in your cast iron, then master cast iron cooking with our guide.
4 Things You Should Never Cook in Cast Iron:
Smelly foods
Some of the foods that leave an olfactory imprint on your cast-iron skillet are garlic, peppers, fish, smelly cheeses, and more. These foods will regenerate into the following foods you cook in them. Generally, the aroma will disappear after ten minutes at 400ºF, but it is preferable to save food that spoils such residual odors for later heat. (We have our attention, Chocolate Pecan Skillet Cookie.)
Eggs and other sticky things (for a while)
Not at all after your pan is well seasoned. However, even if your skillet is prepped, sticky ingredients like eggs can be a problem if they’re brand new. Brown eggs on a traditional non-stick pan until you enjoy gunky brown eggs.
Delicate fish
Retaining the heat in a cast-iron skillet that gives your steak a gorgeous brown crust is also likely the end of that gorgeous piece of tilapia or trout. Additionally, save delicate fish for nonstick pans. However, meaty and heat-tolerant seafood such as salmon is safe. For flaky fish with a deliciously crispy exterior, try our Cast Iron Salmon recipe.
Acidic things—maybe
There are different opinions on this. Some claim that the metal can react with tomatoes or lemons, causing the metal to seep into the dish and ruin the seasoning in the pan. Some people think this is a myth. Additionally, baking soda scraps can remove any stains left by acidic food on your pan. (See other cookware mistakes made with cast iron.)
Note that this is a list of traditional cast-iron pans. If you have a cast iron pan with an enamel coating, like this one, and don’t need to follow this list, you can start cooking right away!
Plus, if you mishandle your cast iron pan and it gets really dirty, we’ve got all the cleaning advice you could want, in addition to a detailed tutorial
There are different opinions on this. Some claim that the metal can react with tomatoes or lemons, causing the metal to seep into the dish and ruin the seasoning in the pan. Some people think this is a myth. Additionally, baking soda scraps can remove any stains left by acidic food on your pan. (See other cookware mistakes made with cast iron.)
Note that this is a list of traditional cast-iron pans. If you have a cast iron pan with an enamel coating, like this one, and don’t need to follow this list, you can start cooking right away!
Plus, if you mishandle your cast iron pan and it gets really dirty, we’ve got all the cleaning advice you could want, in addition to a detailed tutorial
There are different opinions on this. Some claim that the metal can react with tomatoes or lemons, causing the metal to seep into the dish and ruin the seasoning in the pan. Some people think this is a myth. Additionally, baking soda scraps can remove any stains left by acidic food on your pan. (See other cookware mistakes made with cast iron.)
Note that this is a list of traditional cast-iron pans. If you have a cast iron pan with an enamel coating, like this one, and don’t need to follow this list, you can start cooking right away!
Plus, if you mishandle your cast iron pan and it gets really dirty, we’ve got all the cleaning advice you could want, in addition to a detailed tutorial on how to re-season your pan. Cast iron is tough and can withstand a slip-up or two.