How To Restore A Cast Iron You Bought At Garage Sales

For a really stubborn pan sometimes a little spray oven cleaner can help also. 

Can someone tell me the benefits of cast iron? Especially in a bug out survival situation considering they are heavier.

I've picked up quite a bit of cast iron cookware in really good condition, apart from surface rust, from the tip. One piece was even still in its box ! Why it was thrown out I don't know, but a little elbow grease and steel wool soon had it shiny, then heated up and seasoned with some cooking oil finished it all off.




2 + 2 = 5 for sufficiently large values of 2.

The benefits of cast iron for preparing for a time when consumer goods are scarce would be
1) it can be used on stovetop and on open fire
2) you can’t ruin the surface easily - it will be something your children, grandchildren, and on down the line can use.

These features apply to other surfaces too, but not to the most easily available pans such as Teflon or other non-stick. I’ve bought various nonstick pans, including expensive ones that say you can’t scratch them, and have used them carefully and washed them carefully. They end up only staying nonstick for a short time. With cast iron if you do something to destroy the seasoning you can just clean it up and season it again.

For bugging out I’d be more inclined to use something like blue steel. I have a cheap blue steel pan from pyrolux and it is the favourite pan in this house because it’s lighter than the cast iron. It gets seasoned and treated just like cast iron in other ways. It’s such a great pan.

We also love the cast iron, and even without a big oven our ci pans fit in it so they are used for baking too. Also have a combo cooker - casserole with lid that can be used together or used as frypan and saucepan, which is excellent for baking bread along with other uses. Ci is also great for cooking pizza as you can get it really hot and it holds the heat.

So
- to just grab a pan and quickly fry something, (or for bugging out) - blue steel because it’s lighter.
- to cook just about anything, in the oven or out, but less portable - cast iron (with a bigger stove I’d leave it out and use it more)
- for anything acidic (eg tomato based) - stainless steel (also hard to ruin)

I do also have an enamelled cast iron pot but I just found it scratches more easily - I had 2 and one got scratched so I returned it - so I don’t use it much. It’s lovely to cook in though. I use metal spatulas with the cast iron, blue steel and stainless steel but would never use them with enamel.

ALSO some enamelled pots, including really expensive brands, have tested high for lead and cadmium. It isn’t possible to get results for all brands, so I figure that I won’t use my enamel pot as a main pot, just when I really need it’s properties. If I didn’t already own it before I found this out I prob wouldn’t buy it. But I do understand the pleasure in using these pots.