Tomatoes, rice and other foods that shouldn't be cooked in a cast iron skillet
Buying and using a cast iron frying pan in everyday life is a joy for many housewives.
And it seems that on such a vessel you can easily and freely cook almost anything you want.
However, there are foods that, when fried, will damage the pan itself and cause a lot of additional trouble. So, what dishes and products are better to cook in non-cast iron pans?
First of all, tomatoes. Whether they are whole or in the form of tomato paste or ketchup, it is not advisable to allow them to come into contact with the cast iron surface. Why?
The answer is simple: tomato pulp contains many natural acids that corrode the layer of oil and fat accumulated on the frying pan. And for cast iron products, it is precisely this that is "non-stick". Therefore, for heat treatment of tomatoes, it is better to use cookware made of another material.
Secondly, rice dishes do not cook well in cast iron pans, especially if the rice itself is quite sticky. Part of the dish will probably stick to the bottom and you will have to spend time scraping it off, also ruining that very "non-stick coating". A wok for cooking rice is something that will definitely come in handy. And leave cast iron pans for other products.
The third type of dishes that should not be cooked in cast iron pans are those where vinegar is added during the cooking process. The fact is that acetic and even tartaric acid corrode the metal, and it inevitably gets into what is fried or stewed in the pan.
The result is an unpleasant metallic taste in food and possible health problems in the future if you ignore this advice.
Cast iron pans are often used to fry fish. But not all fish are suitable for cooking in this way: while trout or tuna will fry normally and remain intact, more delicate types of fish (tilapia, cod) may fall apart and stick to the surface of the pan.
A new small cast iron frying pan - a reason to test it in action by frying an egg? Alas, the vessel will not pass the test.
In order to easily flip an omelet or fried eggs and spend less time cleaning the pan, you need products that are already covered with a protective layer of fat. Until a new pan has one, the eggs will stick to it with a very high probability.
And finally, you should be very careful when cooking food in cast iron pans that contains spices and herbs with a strong and persistent smell.
Cast iron is a porous material, and the aroma of garlic or curry seasoning will be absorbed into the walls and bottom of the pan for a long time, and because of this, you will not be able to make, for example, homemade caramel for desserts.
Therefore, it is better to have several frying pans in the kitchen made of different materials and for different dishes, rather than using the same cast iron one in all cases.
