A Tale of Two Pans

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 04/12/2020 at 13:42 • Filed to: None

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If there’s one tradition in our family, it’s that I usually make Sunday breakfast. This week I decided to do a head-to-head test between our Lodge cast iron pan and our recently-acquired Connect non-stick pan.

I set the burners to the same temp and waited for them to heat up before throwing down some batter for pancakes. The Lodge pan received a light spray of cooking oil while the Connect pan was used as-is. The Connect pan, being a stainless sheath wrapped around an aluminum core, heated up more quickly. Once my hovering hand test deemed them close enough in temperature, it was time to start cooking.

I normally use one pan to cook three small cakes at a time. To keep things fair and give me time to take some pictures, I decided to cook one cake in each pan at a time. The same amount of batter was dropped into the center of each pan, Connect first, Lodge second. After the edges started drying and the bubbles rose to the top, it was time to flip.

Unfortunately, the Lodge wasn’t quite as hot as it needed it to be. The cake wasn’t as brown and it was still a bit runny when I flipped it. I compensated by leaving it a bit longer on the second side.

Overall, they cook pancakes about the same. I think the temperature on our stove needs to be a bit higher for the cast iron, but there wasn’t much difference between the two pans. I hear that there are lots of things I shouldn’t cook in cast iron, but for the few things I cook, it works fine.

By the way, while you can  fry an egg in a non-stick pan, I find that I like the results a lot better when they are fried in a cast iron pan with some oil. For eggs, cast iron wins. :)

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 13:56

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Hey, I made “Saturday Morning Pancake Breakfast” for the family for about 15 years...

And, in all that time, I could never figure out why the first couple of pancakes out of the batch never cooked correctly.  Why?  The 3rd through 800th pancake were always fine.  But the first one off the griddle/pan always sucked.  I still do not know why.  Surface too greasy?  Pan too cold?  Pan heated too irregularly? Planets not in alignment?

CaptDale - is secretly British > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 13:59

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I put oil in the non stick pans also, makes that crispy fried egg-ness just like the iron. That said I cook most of my stuff in cast iron, even stuff they deem “not suitable” it works great and I love the outcome. 

Kiltedpadre > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 14:00

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I have a tiny, ancient cast iron pan that is wonderful for when I want to fry two eggs for myself. It doesn’t have a maker’s mark on it, but I know it was originally owned by my great grandmother. My grandmother remembers her using it when she was a child, and my grandmother is now 91 to give an idea of how old it is.

Nom De Plume > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 14:01

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You recovered from the mistake of setting the burners identically instead of optimally. Where you went off the deep end was frying an egg in oil instead of in preferred order; Bacon grease, butter, anything else is inferior.

My enameled cast iron pan is used exclusively for cooking eggs. Pancakes and all other duties are handled by stainless steel. Nonstick coating flaking off onto food is not good stuff to ingest.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 04/12/2020 at 14:17

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That’s just one of those things. Every cooking show I’ve ever seen has said the same thing. No idea why it happens, but it does. Sacrifice to the pancake gods maybe?

For Sweden > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 14:24

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This is better than any car review I have seen

thatsmr > Kiltedpadre 04/12/2020 at 15:17

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Ive got a little one like that and a big 11"? that were my grandmother's. The 8" i had broke handle years ago and I unfortunately trashed it. The sides and bottoms of mine are way too "seasoned" to see a marking, the insides are wonderful

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 04/12/2020 at 15:23

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Must be... it’s just weird. Toss the first two, the rest are awesome. It can’t be the heat— gotta be something about the surface tension of the gooey batter or something.

Kiltedpadre > thatsmr 04/12/2020 at 15:32

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I have a 10” skillet and 10” griddle that my grandmother knew her mom originally received as wedding gifts. They’re both made by Wagner.

I’ve since added an 8” skillet, a 12” skillet, a 14” skillet, a 12” fryer with lid, and a couple of enameled Dutch ovens. All of them except the Dutch ovens are by lodge. I also have a reversible griddle/flattop piece that I use on my camp stove and grill.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Nom De Plume 04/12/2020 at 15:51

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Unfortunately, we don’t keep bacon grease and we don’t keep much butter around. My wife is leery of too many fats. :(

So, I have to fall back to vegetable oil.

The egg that’s pictured is being fried without any oil or butter or grease. Non-stick really does work, but I’m not too fond of the results.

TheRealBicycleBuck > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 04/12/2020 at 15:53

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I don’t know what I do differently. The first pancake in both of those pans were fine. In fact, I never have to throw away the first cake.

Now I’m just confused.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Kiltedpadre 04/12/2020 at 15:54

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While I learned how to fry chicken and ocra from my grandmother, all of her pans went to my aunt. I really just want her chicken pan. It actually has a stamp on the bottom that reads “Chicken Pan.” 

Kiltedpadre > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 15:57

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Mine originally went to my aunt, but she didn’t like using them on her glass top stove so she offered them to me when I moved into my first home.

Nom De Plume > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 17:58

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I tried making a ‘dry’ egg in a nonstick pan once. It wasn’t very satisfying a meal as you say.  

DipodomysDeserti > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 18:26

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Curious what shouldn’t be cooked in cast iron.

TheRealBicycleBuck > DipodomysDeserti 04/12/2020 at 18:44

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I’ve read that acidic stuff (i.e. spaghetti sauce) is a bad idea. I’ve never had a reason to try, so I don’t know for sure.

DipodomysDeserti > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 19:58

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I’ve never made sauce in cast iron, but I have made Basque eggs which are traditionally cooked in cast iron and use a bunch of tomatoes .

TheRealBicycleBuck > DipodomysDeserti 04/12/2020 at 20:04

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I think I remember a conversation about those. My wife made something similar, but I don’t think she used cast iron. Anyway, there are lots of warnings on the web to avoid cooking  tomato sauces and other acidic stuff in cast iron. Go figure. 

DipodomysDeserti > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 20:36

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Yeah, you definitely want to make sure your skillet is well seasoned to avoid any metallic taste.

TheRealBicycleBuck > DipodomysDeserti 04/12/2020 at 21:20

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I used to work in a pizza place. I always knew when they were making a fresh sauce because they used a giant mixer and it left a metallic tang in the air. When I first smelled (and tasted!) it, I thought the mixing whisks must be hitting the bowl. I was wrong. It was the combination of canned tomatoes and the acids interacting with the metal bowl.

DipodomysDeserti > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/12/2020 at 22:13

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My grandma taught is all to add carrots to our sauces. Not sure if it helps with the pH but it does balance out the acidic taste without dumping in sugar.

TheRealBicycleBuck > DipodomysDeserti 04/12/2020 at 23:25

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Huh. Maybe I’ll add some carrot to my next spaghetti sauce!

Ash78, voting early and often > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 10:44

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I cook eggs in nonstick almost every single day and they turn out restaurant quality almost every time. Never had an issue.

Pan selection is huge, though — I cook on glass top electric, so it has to have a flat, clad bottom for heat retention and evenness.

I can’t believe how many years I cooked with simple, generic pans that ended up rounded and wobbling everywhere within a few weeks. Plus they’re so light, if you dump a bunch of cold stuff into it, you’re undoing all your preheating work.

I know cast iron is ideal for a lot of things, but I’m thankful for the reduced time and hassle of not using them.

I will put my seared pork chops up against any cast iron! :D

TheRealBicycleBuck > Ash78, voting early and often 04/13/2020 at 10:56

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Some people like “lace” or a browned bottom on their fried egg. I don’t care for either. Cooking in oil cooks the egg more evenly and doesn’t result in lace or a browned bottom unless the oil is too hot to start with. As they say, low and slow is the way to go.

Ash78, voting early and often > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 11:09

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Ahhh, I honestly wasn’t thinking of fried eggs — I’m doing mostly omelets these days. Fried eggs are like a special treat when I got to Waffle House once or twice a year. But I never really liked that crispy lace (thanks for the vocab word), I always felt it made the whites too stringy.  A nice, even, over-medium for me.

Low and slow, for sure.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > DipodomysDeserti 04/13/2020 at 11:34

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As mentioned by the author below, anything acidic can remove the seasoning of your pan.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Ash78, voting early and often 04/13/2020 at 12:09

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My mom used to make ome lets. I never really got into them. Grandma would make fried eggs “blinded.” She cooked them in a shallow oil bath and used a spatula to flip hot oil on top of the cooking eggs. I like them either blinded or sunny-side up. My wife prefers hers with a semi-solid yolk, so it’s low, slow, and lidded. Putting a lid on the pan helps to steam the eggs from the top.

I’d like to try a nice creamy scramble, but my wife insists on firm scrambled eggs. I was reminded of how the pros do it when I watched Gordon Ramsey on The Hot Ones. Bear in mind, the language makes this NSFW. If it doesn’t embed at the right time, jump to 26:00.

DipodomysDeserti > For Sweden 04/13/2020 at 12:29

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He should get the decibel level of the pans.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 12:58

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My egg pan is this crazy thick stainless pan. I use butter and fry them (as one should) but the beau ty of this pan is because of its thickness and material I can hot quench it in water. That pretty much flash cleans the pan for me and all I have to do it whip it out with a rag. I use the Lodge for pancakes, The cast iron griddle for bacon and a cheapo ikea one for most other stuff.

HammerheadFistpunch > DipodomysDeserti 04/13/2020 at 13:02

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As was mentioned, acidic stuff strips seasoning pretty effectively. When I do dutch oven stuff I only go bare oven for non-acidic stuff. If its acidic I use an aluminum liner or parchment paper which works great...so long as you don’t burn it.

Too much time and way too much bottom heat.  

TheRealBicycleBuck > HammerheadFistpunch 04/13/2020 at 13:31

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We ha ve a not-so-thick stainless pan that I use for spaghetti sauce. It gets thoroughly abused and comes back for more. I have to re-peen the handle pins every once in a while since they aren’t that robust, but other than that, it just keeps cooking along.

We’ve gone through several griddles. It’s hard to evenly heat them on a glass stovetop and they keep getting warped. I’ve had good luck with cooking bacon in the oven on one of them, but someone forgot about the uneven heating issue and it ended up warped.

CalzoneGolem > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 15:25

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Cast iron all the things.

Stef Schrader > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 15:49

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I have become all about that cast iron life during this break. Scrape off bits, rinse, pat down dry, DONE. It’s become nonstick with butter, oil and pork roll fat. I love it.

Stef Schrader > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 15:52

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I burnt the heck out of my finger today making an omelette that just wouldn’t turn over, and I regret every life decision I’ve made that brought me here.

Good omelette , though.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stef Schrader 04/13/2020 at 15:58

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I came across a reddit group for cast iron. There seem to be a lot of people who forget that the handle gets seriously hot. The group has plenty of posts from people who’ve grabbed the handle and given themselves some very impressive burns. 

Stef Schrader > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 16:17

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YEESH. Yeah, that’ll do it.

The omelette was a non-stick pan. I’m probably being a weenie since it just got a finger when I went to flip it, but OOOOOF. It’s like a hair straightener-level burn.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stef Schrader 04/13/2020 at 16:25

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My wife has fingers of steel. She has been flipping tortillas with her bare fingers since she was a little girl. 

Stef Schrader > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 18:35

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Nice. Mine admittedly get a bit toughened up when I mess with my car. They’ve gone soft with poverty, I guess.

The comal’s a little easier to deal with. Nudge tortilla towards side or wait for bubbles to pop up an edge, flip.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stef Schrader 04/13/2020 at 18:52

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I’m a pansy. I’ll flip the tortillas with a spatula whether I’m cooking them in a pan or in a comal.

By the way, if you haven’t tried ready-to- cook tortillas, you’re really missing out on something special. They are sooooo much better than the off-the-shelf-already-cooked variety.

Stef Schrader > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2020 at 20:04

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Whoa. I try to pick up the fresh ones if I know they’re going to be used all in one go, but I NEED THOSE IMMEDIATELY.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Stef Schrader 04/13/2020 at 20:14

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You’ll love them. We keep a supply in the fridge and cook just what we need for a meal.

Look for them in the refrigerated section.