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TECHNO
THRILLS
Death of a skillet
This
skillet may have been one my granny brought over from England in
1914, or so. It was definitely the skillet my mom would have used
to
make my dad's last breakfast before he shipped off for France in Jan
1945. It is my absolute favorite, better than any of the
designer
pans I've collected over the years. Properly season it cleans up
like
Teflon, heats evenly and holds the heat. It takes a manly wrist
to
flip flap jacks, but you can. It took me, then, just 30 minutes to order this.
I
didn't think it was possible to abuse an iron skillet like this, but
... . I was making pancakes on the induction cooktop (discussed
here),
and heard a pop! Didn't notice anything,except every pancake was
burned on one particular area. When I look closely I could see a
red
hot spot moving across the pan as it continued cracking. Horry
Clap!
What evidently happened is we got a new stove top, which center burner
(22,000 BTU) carried a warning that it could melt porcelain. Blah-blah- blah.
One of the first things I noticed is that oil was collecting under that
burner, leaving nasty carbon spots that were the devil to clean.
I
took special care not spill oil, but the problem persisted. Where
was that oil coming from!!? I told MoSup that it had to be oil
soaked into the pan over those many years. The seasoning that me it so
easy to use and clean. I was right. So, when I put it on
the induction
cooktop, at a setting of "6" (highest), while I got my stuff together,
the last ounce of life was evidently drained from her.
I'm keeping the old one to use as a backstop, so I can target
practice
with my S&W .22 from my La-Z-Boy.
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Cast iron can be welded perfectly well using a stick welder and nickel rods, or with pre-heating by a gas welder using cast iron rod. :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mig-welding.co.uk/cast-iron.htm
I collect cast iron made by "Wagner Ware" of Sydney , Ohio . Nothing can compare ; ) > SMIBSYDNEY
ReplyDeleteBFH, I am sorry about Grandma's pan. I know you are joking about shooting it, and I pray that you keep the old thing as a piece of art. I liked the one at Crate and Barrel, I may order one myself!
ReplyDeleteBuzz D.
Yep, nearby hardware store sells Lodge™ and another brand of cast iron cookware I can't recall.
ReplyDeletePots, pans, Dutch ovens, right next to the oil lanterns.
Everything you need to set up an 1880's homestead (or live through a 2000's power blackout).
I, uhm, hope you're kiddin' about the .22. If y'ain't, think unjacketed lead bullets and good eye protection. Ask me how I know.
Pellets into a bullet trap, on the other hand … well, let's not bring up the holes in my couch due to ADs while cocking my air pistol.
(What? Well, Sherlock Holmes shot the initials "V.R." in his flat's wall, much to Mrs Hudson's chagrin. So don't give me any … What? The mic's on?)
Back in the '70s, my Mum was cooking breakfast in a cast-iron skillet she'd had forever on an electric stove. There was a bright flash and a boom like lightning had hit and when we'd picked ourselves up off the floor we discovered the stove element had shorted out, putting a 1/2" hole in the hefty skillet.
ReplyDelete...that'll really wake you up in the morning!
That electric shit will kill you. Gas baby, that's where it's at.
ReplyDeleteCasca
If its English then its made of Brittanium, twice the weight of lead with half the tensile strength. Also found in naval rivets.
ReplyDeleteI remember that somewhere around 65 years ago I had salvaged a broken discarded cast iron skillet and used a hammer to break it into small pieces. I tried to keep the pieces around 1/2" as they broke into irregular shapes which was remarkably easy to do. The pieces were used as ammo for my home made inner tube strip powered slingshot (not what we called them back then).
ReplyDeleteThat was the best ammo I ever used in a slingshot. I've saved many old cast iron utensils in the ensuing years and plan to use the ammo from them with the two modern surgical tube powered slingshots now stored in my deep freeze (keeps the latex from rotting).
I really am prepared for when the SHTF. Of course my close neighbor has many modern guns and plenty of ammo he will share with me if the S gets to be more than a sling shot can handle. ;-)
rw4site
Griswolds made in Erie, pa put wagners to shame.
ReplyDeleteHey Anon at 12:20 I actually married a girl from Sidney, Ohio and have a pan from Wagner Ware from her Grandma. Better than the teflon crap. Also, neat little town. I kid my wife by saying Sidney is an hour and a half away and thirty years behind.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks, but that's what you get when using electric; uneven heating. Gas baby, all the way. And while cast iron has it's uses, I think it's overrated. A well seasoned pan used at medium-low temperature is fine. But if you sear a steak at high temperature, goodbye seasoning.
ReplyDeleteHow many times must this be repeated? Never monkey with quantum mechanical phenomena without proper training.
ReplyDeleteYou probably came within seconds of cracking your cooktop. That would make you cry.