attention chefs: cast iron is best for what while enameled cast iron for what...

[lurve]

okay, i am far from being a good cook. very far! but i am trying. i am about to go out and buy some new cookware since all i have is teflon. ick. so i wanted to hear from the chefs out there: what do you cook in your enameled cast iron stuff and what do you cook in your plain cast iron. in other words, what pieces of each would you recommend? thanks from a very burgeoning chef!

[Naturalyst]

I find enameled cast iron is best for things I want to cook on the stove top at a low temperature for a long time - like tomato sauce, stews and soups. In the oven, I use an enameled cast iron casserole and quiche pan.

I use a couple of plain cast iron pans for things I am cooking on the stove top on high heat - my frying pan and grill pans.

Hope that helps.

[Meiri]

What Naturalyst said, with the addition that you never cook acidic foods in the plain cast iron--at least not for very long.

I use my enamelled cast iron for rice and stews. I use my lovely old cast iron pan for anything I'm frying or sauteing. I also have some copper bottomed stainless steel frying pans that do well too--good ole' Revereware.

For popcorn, I use an 8 quart, tall, stew pot with a heavy bottom--Farberware if you're interested. Best popcorn pot I've even had!

For anything I do in the oven, I use clay-mostly Pampered Chef. Acquired slowly over time, they're worth the price IMO.