Hi Deanna, Good to "see" you again. :-)

I have 2 cast iron skillets, one I received from my grandma 27 years ago...I love it. I have a newer one...they don't make them like they used to. If you don't season the new ones, they get rusty on the inside.

Hi Dianne and Deana! It's so nice to have things that are well made, made to last and are also a joy to use.

As for cast iron, I have a beautiful Dutch oven, and also a nice little griddle (it's actually a fajita skillet). I'd love to have a big honking frying pan and i have my eyes open for one at garage sales and thrift stores.

Dianne, you are right, they do not make them the same way now - they used to grind a really good finish on the cast ironware, and now the stuff you buy is really unfinished. It takes a lot more use to get those to a fine finish.

Seasoning the pan and proper cleaning are the keys to creating the perfect iron pan.

Dianne, that is awesome that you have heirloom skillets! What a thing to prize. What brand are they? Griswold is considered the best. What do you cook in them? What are your use and seasoning tips?

HI Jilly,

The cast tiro skillet from my grandma is so old the name is buried under the "lovely" crust coating on the outside. It makes the best fried chicken and fried fish. I also use it to bake....LOL... Instead of using cake pans, I use it to make a nice one layer cake. It comes out shaped like the pan, but I don't even need to spray coat the pan. Any cake slides out real nice.

The new one says "cooktool" on the bottom. No matter what I do to this one, if I don't make sure to season it with a little oil, it gets rusty. It's really heavy - just can't get it to "act right"

I also have a beautiful La Creuset cast iron set (the orange ones) my grandpa gave to me before he passed away 19 years ago. A couple of the French ovens, some sauce pans and fry pans. I love that set as well. I don't use the frying pans much, but I do use the ovens and pots a lot.

I love the idea of using your skillet for baking. yes, with your pan's history and care, I imagine they do slide right out.

If you do have a Griswold, it's actually worth a lot. Just FYI.

I use my Dutch Oven for baking, and I actually use it in the fire pit. That is my kind of cooking - put stuff in the pan, put fire on top, and leave it for hours! You can't burn anything and don't have t hover around the kitchen. I also like that I can bake something if i have to in the summer and not add any heat to my house.

Your La Creuset set sounds gorgeous. You have actual heirloom cookware, stuff you can pass down! That's wonderful!

About your newer pan - use only a stainless steel spatula with it. It helps if the spatula has corners on it. The more you can grind down the iron, the better the pan will become. Adding extra iron to your food is also a good thing.