Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you!
I’m just wondering if you have any opinions of cast iron. I know you advocate heirloom pieces and I’m looking to build a repertoire of life-long cook ware and I’m wondering if you think that’s the way to go for most everyday cooking? I have my grandmothers cast iron skillet and I’m hoping to use it but I haven’t used it yet.
-Charmaine
I do indeed use some cast iron pans. I’ve got a 12-inch cast iron skillet and a fairly small cast iron skillet, and then I also have an enameled cast iron Dutch oven.
I got the 12-inch cast iron skillet when I was trying to get rid of nonstick cookware in my kitchen, and I’m pleased to say now that it’s seasoned, it’s pretty much eliminated the need for nonstick. I can even make things like crepes in it without them sticking, and I frequently make eggs in my small cast iron skillet without any sticking problems.
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The problem with cast iron is that it’s really, really heavy (which I’m sure you know if you’ve lifted your grandmother’s skillet!), so it’s no good for recipes that call for shaking the pan around…lifting those pans is a two-handed endeavor.
Oh, and you should know that I’ve (carefully) used my cast iron pans on my ceramic-top stove with no problems.
Anyway, I use my cast-iron skillet a lot, but I also have an All Clad Stainless-Steel 12-Inch skillet
, which I use really frequently.
I think both of those pans will last a lifetime, and I’d be hard-pressed to give either of them up!
Cast iron pans need a bit of special care, and here’s a good article about how to do that. There are also plenty of YouTube videos about cast iron care.
I’ve just started bread baking and am trying to figure out a frugal and non disposable way to store the baked bread. For this first batch we put our baked bread into gallon sized Ziploc bags-but that’s expensive and not very earth friendly.
We thought about saving our commercially bought bread bags.
What do you do?
-Darla
Yep, that’s exactly what I do, in part because it’s tough to find plastic bags that will fit a loaf of bread.
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Commercial bread bags can be reused many times before they wear out, and since they’re generally not housing anything sticky, I don’t even wash them between uses. I just shake the crumbs out, make sure the bag is totally dry, and put it in the drawer.
Commercial bread bags are especially great for things like freezing homemade French bread loaves, which are way too long for any plastic bag on the market.
(For those wondering, though I do bake lots of bread from scratch, we end up needing to buy commercial loaves here and there, and that’s how I end up with a small supply of bread bags.)
I need a new pot, 6-8 qt size, for things like, making pudding and heating milk for yogurt. I was wondering if you had an recommendations.
-Dede
If you want something that’s not cast-iron, Cook’s Illustrated highly recommends this All-Clad Stainless 8-Quart Stockpot
, but the price is pretty steep (over $250). I don’t own one, but I really love the All-Clad skillet I do own, and I hear really, really excellent things about All-Clad pans.
For less than $50, you can get a Lodge color enameled Dutch oven
, but honestly, I’m a little iffy on enameled cast iron. I don’t like how careful you have to be with the enamel coating, and I find the coating to be pretty sticky. I do use mine regularly, but I’m not super happy with how the coating has held up.
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A plain cast iron Dutch oven wouldn’t be terribly appealing to me either. The main appeal it holds in the 12-inch skillet size is the non-stick factor, but I generally don’t need a nonstick surface when I’m using a Dutch oven.
So, I’d be inclined to save my money and get the All-Clad Dutch oven. I think it would last the rest of your life, so your cost per year would be pretty darn reasonable.
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Readers, what stockpot/Dutch oven would you recommend? And do share your bread storage and cast iron opinions as well.
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Beth
Saturday 6th of July 2013
Since my bread loaves tend to be larger than regular bread bags, I bought one box of 2-gallon size ziplock bags, and I reuse them until the zipper no longer holds. Usually they just need the crumbs shook out, but they can be washed as well. That one box of 10 bags has lasted a long, long time. For some reason, one loaf of my bread does not fit in a 1-gallon bag, but 2 will fit in a 2-gallon bag!
S
Tuesday 2nd of July 2013
I have a Le Cruset enameled dutch oven, and have no problems with the enamel. Yes, it was pricey, but I bought it at tjmaxx so I paid 1/2 price. I haven't had any problems with it being sticky, either. In fact, any dried up stuff on it wipes out pretty easily once it's been soaked in plain hot water.
When I got married, I never gave any thought to what I used for cooking. Now that I'm older, I see the importance of lifelong cooking tools, and so I've slowly replaced a lot of my cookware and felt very good about my choices. I expect that most of my cookware now will outlive me and be passed down to my kids and grandkids.
The Norwegian Girl
Tuesday 2nd of July 2013
I always use commercial bread bags for freezing bread and other freezable products.
Battra92
Monday 1st of July 2013
Ahh Cast Iron! I have fond memories of my grandmother cooking everything with cast iron and when I started to cook and buy my own pans, I wanted to learn to cook with cast iron. I have a bunch of cast iron but the only ones I use are a generic 9" pan I got at Macy's (first pan I ever got - it came in a three pack on sale for $10!!) and a Lodge 12" pan. The 9" is best for making cornbread and the 12" is better for most everything else. That said, I use both regularly.
I also own (via marriage) a couple of Le Creuset dutch (French?) ovens and one Tramontina one. All three are excellent pans and yes, we really use two big ones at a time when making chicken stock! While the French made Le Creuset is fantastic, the Chinese made Tramontina does work just as good for a fraction of the price.
Speaking of Tramontina, a while back when I wanted a 12" stainless skillet I really wanted an All-Clad and was checking Marshall's/TJMaxx/Home Goods regularly for one to come in. In the meantime Cooks Illustrated highly recommended one by Tramontina that was sold exclusively at Walmart for around $40. I bought it and LOVE it! Sadly, Tramontina saw dollar signs with this recommendation and replaced it with a slightly smaller skillet that's not as good. If I had to buy a new one, I'd get the All-Clad.
We also have a Revereware stockpot that was given to my wife as a gift. It works fine for boiling pasta and such but I don't know that I'd simmer stock in it for hours.
Battra92
Monday 1st of July 2013
And I totally forgot about bread bags! I too save commercial bread bags (life is too short to make hamburger buns when Aldi sells a fantastic potato roll that is perfect for pulled pork or hamburgers.)
I also found some bags at Stop & Shop that my bread just fits in. I think after these all fall apart and are recycled (yes, you can recycle bread bags!) I'll just ask my relatives to save a bunch of commercial bags for me.
Sarah B
Monday 1st of July 2013
When I was making bread for myself, I happened to have a rectangular, plastic container that was almost exactly the size of a loaf (it was a hand-me-down). I actually used it upside-down, setting the bread on the lid and covering it with the dish. That way I could just lift off the dish and (carefully) cut my bread without gettin crumbs all over or dirtying a board.