How to Identify Cast Iron Cookware

Cast iron cookware has been has been around for centuries. It is easily molded into frying pans, dutch ovens, skillets and sauce pans. It heats up quickly and diffuses heat evenly, creating an excellent cooking surface. Cast iron cookware is also very durable, and can last for generations. The cookware becomes seasoned over time as oils and fats bond to the metal, creating a non-stick surface and protecting the pan from rust. Properly caring for a cast iron pan is important, but first you must know how to identify it as cast iron.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Piece of cast iron cookware

Identifying Cast Iron

1. Lift the cookware to feel its weight. Cast iron cookware is heavy, weighing anywhere from four to 15 pounds, depending on the size.

2. Examine its color. Unused cast iron is dark gray, while older cast iron cookware has a black, grainy appearance. Look for a shiny, greasy coating on the interior of new cast iron cookware.

3. Examine its shape. The majority of cast iron cookware is molded from a single piece of cast iron and will not have attached handles or Teflon coatings. Enameled cast iron will have a shiny, sometimes colorful, coating of hard enamel on the outside of the pan, which helps to prevent rust.

4. Look for rust spots and any flaky materials on the piece of cookware. When cast iron has not been seasoned correctly, large flakes or rust spots may appear. These are signs that the cookware is cast iron.

References

• Using Cast Iron Cookware

Resources

• Caring for Cast Iron Cookware