Lodge Manufacturing Logic 10.2 Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet

Pros: cheap, lasts forever, food tastes better, naturally non-stick, easy clean-up
Cons: Heavy

I recently decided to expand my cast iron fry pan collection and bought a Lodge 10 1/4 inch cast iron skillet from Amazon.com. When I was a youngster we often traveled from the flat prairies of North Central Indiana to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky ...

Pros: cheap; food really tastes better
Cons: extra steps of care; caused me to eat more greasy food for some reason

Cast Iron Memories? I don't have any fond memories of cast iron pots. My only direct experience with them is probably when I eat out at Korean BBQ restaurants where you cook your own meat. There's usually a griddle in the middle of the table, ...

Pros: Cooks great, non-stick, inexpensive, lasts forever, use metal utensils, no teflon...
Cons: Doesn't take abuse (no detergent or soaking in water).

I wasn't familiar with cast iron cookware until I saw it on Amazon. I didn't inherit one like some people, or even saw one until recently. My last skillet was highly priced modern looking Calphalon which is retired now after only 1 year of use (teflon ...

Pros: works on range and in oven, durable, distributes heat well
Cons: heavy, not as seasoned as I'd like

I didn't grow up in a household that used iron skillets. Teflon was the newest greatest thing in the '70s and everything we used was covered in it. As a result, cast iron ware has always been something of a voodoo mystery to me. How does one season it? ...

Pros: Cheaper than many cast iron pans.
Cons: Food sticks to rough surface; short handle is useless.

I read a lot of good reviews about Lodge Logic skillets so I sought one out and bought it. I've had it for several months and am now contemplating how many of the reviews around the internet were perhaps planted by Lodge's marketing team. I have used ...

Pros: No pan works better. Lie to grandma and say you seasoned it yourself.
Cons: you'll kick yourself for not having one of these sitting on your stove now.

I wish I could have the money back for all those non-stick, teflon wonders that are probably shaming dozens of tag sales as we speak. On all the cook shows and the tv cable sales channels that pushed the stainless steel wonders that I rarely use now. You should cook chicken, bake cornbread or make flapjacks in any thing else. I keep both my pans on the top of the stove. Hot water and a brush is all you need to keep these pans clean. I have a photo of someone using one of my cast iron pans around the time of World War I. This was my only pan through college and when I was a bachelor. I still use it to make breakfast for my wife and kids. Lodge's new pre-seasoned pans if like cheating! It used to take many a greasy meal to "season" a pan well. Now it ready to go, right from the store.

Try making "Blackened Catfish" in one of those exspensive stainless steel pans. You might as well varnish the result and hang it on the wall as a piece of art.