cast iron skillets

I cannot lift DD's!
In fact, it is sitting on the hob in front of me as I type; it produces a lovely breakfast as long as someone else is using it.

I think you can find one of these in just about every household in Canada! Nothing new about these, they are a staple, and I'm sure were used by pioneers.

They are indeed heavy, but have even heat, and are useful for any type of cooking, since they can be used on top of the stove or baked in the oven.

As for maintaining it, once they are seasoned the first time, you only need to give them a wipe with a bit of oil after washing. You don't need to do this regularly. I tend to fry with a bit of oil or butter anyway, so treat this like any other frying pan. I don't own a dishwasher so have no offers of advice if they can go in or not.

I always thought 'skillet' was American for 'frying pan'. Are they different?
My MiL had a cast iron f-pan and IMO it was a pain - had to be dried extremely thoroughly to avoid rust. Also very heavy, and the handle got very hot.

Give me a good quality, non stick, dishwasher proof FP any
day.

As for aluminium and dementia, I know it's supposed to have been disproved, but my granny's kitchen was full of aluminium saucepans, and there was always fruit of some sort from the garden stewing in summer. Inc. v acid fruit, such as rhubarb.
My mother had 4 siblings - they all grew up in that house, and only the youngest (by a long way) has not yet succumbed to dementia.
So I can't help wondering. .

Sorry, Esspee It was once thought that there might be a link between aluminium and dementia, but this has been disproved www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers/myths

Using a real iron pot ensures that you get the iron your body needs. The worst thing that happened to cook wear was the introduction of aluminium.
Nowadays we know aluminium is associated with dementia so hopefully none of us still use it.
You can buy iron "fish" designed to allow the iron to leach into your cooking but how much easier to simply return to cooking in a real iron pot.

I’ve never had a skillet but didn’t realise how useful a cast iron griddle is till our new cooker arrived with one. It’s the best way to cook a full English or mixed grill with hardly any oil. I guess a skillet is similar? I don’t do anything to maintain the griddle. It fits nicely along the back of the dishwasher and seems to be doing just fine.

Thanks - my reaction was that it's just a fad, not very practical.
I shouldn't read this cooking supplement but the photos are so yummy!

I use cast iron cookware often but am not fiddly with them, I wash them, dry them and apply a very light coat of oil - I use them for both wet and dry foods- They are heavy - I made very thick potholders for handling them-

I only use a cast iron skillet on top of a bbq.
A very good quality frying pan with a lid is a great investment, skillets are overrated in my opinion.

Presumably it is just used for dry cooking not wet so what is the difference from using a griddle on the hob, or even an ordinary heavy-bottomed frying pan?

Yes they are heavy I can't lift one easily.

I threw out my cast iron frying pan because it was so heavy. And it wasn't exactly non-stick either.