Old Cast Iron VS. New Cast Iron

Old Cast Iron VS. New Cast Iron

New Cast Iron

First things first. Let's talk about the new cast iron cookware you will come across in stores or on the internet today. The most common brand you'll find is Lodge© and the rest are usually signature collections endorsed by celebrity chefs(Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, etc.) which are usually produced in China. Lodge© cast iron is produced in the USA, so if that's important to you, you may want to steer in that direction. They've been around for quite some time and definitely make quality products. I've seen Lodge© "logic" cast iron cookware in many stores too, from Dick's Sporting Goods to Walmart to Amazon and so forth, so finding one to buy is not going to be hard. One of the things you'll notice about all the new cast iron being sold today is how porous their cooking surfaces are. Here is a 10" "Bobby Flay" skillet I bought from Kohl's about 6 months ago. 

      Notice how grainy the surface looks? This is after 6 months of continual use, nearly every day. I made it a point to cook really greasy foods in this skillet, and used strictly lard except for a few layers of seasoning with Crisco. After having used this skillet so many times, the cooking surface is actually really non-stick. I may have occasional stuck on foods but I can cook scrambled eggs in this skillet without anything ever sticking; a simple wipe with a paper towel usually does the trick. I have to say though, no matter how many layers of seasoning that gets put on this skillet, it'll never have a glassy surface, which is OK. I think the point I'm trying to make here is that it isn't necessarily that important to have a machined smooth surface as long as your cooking surface is still non-stick. I have so often read accounts of people taking sandpaper and grinding the surface down to acquire a smoother cooking surface like that of a Wagner Ware or a Griswold. I simply don't see the necessity of all the work you'd be doing. I even read a comment on another blog somewhere where a guy spent an entire day toiling away sanding out his skillet. A non-stick surface is what we all want regarding any kind of cast iron, so as long you have a good seasoning on there, I think you'll get by just fine. A few more things to consider with the new cast iron skillets you'll see today is that they're heavier than what used to be made in the early 20th century. (I'm still investigating whether that's an advantage for retaining heat or not) I must also say that they're easier to season. A great thing about these surfaces being so porous is that they'll season better. A simple explanation would be that their "pores" are larger therefore more oil/fat seeps into them than the older generation cast iron. With all that being said, I'd still rather use an old Griswold or Wapak any day.

Old Cast Iron

    Perhaps one of the first things you'll notice with older cast iron cookware that have a good seasoning on them is just how reflective and glassy their surfaces are. I relate how good my seasoning is with how shined military boots are. I remember shining my boots while I was in the Navy and how I just had to have them perfect in order to please myself. I am just as obsessive with the black patina of my skillets as well. It's not that important to the performance of cooking, however. After all, the black color you see is just carbon anyways, and has nothing to do with how non-stick your surface will be. Older cast iron will almost always be lighter in weight than new cast iron. They're thinner but retain their heat just as you would expect from cast iron. I think the attention to detail in regards to craftsmanship, and quality is what makes Griswold and Wagner Ware stand out from the competition of the new products available today. After the cookware was molded, the employees machined out their surfaces to make them very smooth which must have been a costly procedure. I think this may be the reason why the new manufacturers skip that last step. All of the companies that are around today do whatever is in their ability to cut corners to make higher profit margins, etc. I think if a company produced a quality product that was machined like the older cast iron, I wouldn't mind paying a premium price for it. Maybe there just isn't a big demand for it, or maybe there is a method to the madness that I'm missing. I do find it more difficult to season my Griswold, but it has a smoother, more non stick cooking surface than the Bobby Flay skillet I have. It is essentially a joy when cooking anything. Everything I cook glides around and I usually only need to quickly wipe the surface down with a paper towel before it goes to its home on the stove until it is used the next day. Finding your older cast iron cookware is where it becomes a problem; for your pocket. You can go on Ebay right now and buy a Griswold but you'll have to pay a high price for it usually. Your best bet is to be patient and scour flea markets, yard sales, coworkers who may have rusty cast iron in their attic, or sheer luck. Antique stores will probably have them too, but they know their worth so they charge quite a bit of money for them. I also like having a piece of history in my house too. My Griswold is probably 100 years old if I were to guess. I think it'll be cool when I have grandchildren one day and I can pass down a 160 year old skillet to them. 

Real World Differences

I use each for different tasks, and for various reasons.

NEW CAST IRON

•  Good for campfires (I don't care if they warp or break from the fire because they're cheap)
• Good for really high heat searing of meats (again, I won't care that much if they warp from the heat because they're cheap)
• Cooking with questionable sticky foods (If a food sticks and I have to really scrub it and accidentally take off the seasoning in the process, I'm okay with starting the seasoning process over with it)
• They're easier to season
• They're cheap! (Most skillets are only $30.00 brand new!)

OLD CAST IRON

• Good for baking (As long as you have it seasoned properly, your biscuits/cornbread come out perfectly, without sticking to the surfaces as easily as the newer cast iron cookware)
• Good for cooking eggs, pancakes, etc. (I prefer the older cast iron for delicate foods like these that tend to stick more on the newer cast iron cookware)
• Overall smoother cooking surface which makes for a more pleasant cooking experience (less scraping, less sticking, etc.)
• Better conductivity (I truly believe the older cast iron was made with higher quality iron which translates to a consistent heat throughout the piece of cookware. This leads to a better cooking experience with predictable results regarding temperatures. This comes into handy with tricky recipes where temperature is very important.)
• They're expensive! (Unless you get lucky, or you screw someone over)

Conclusion

   I am not an expert, I'm just some dude who likes cooking with cast iron. I have both old and new cast iron cookware at my disposal and each have their uses. If you don't have any cast iron skillets or dutch ovens and you are considering to purchase your first piece, I'd recommend that you ask within your network of friends and family. Most of the time you'll come across someone who just has some cast iron in their basement collecting dust that they'll give you. That would be the ideal outcome for you. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Either way, I personally think you should own a newer generation piece of cast iron AND  an older generation piece; that way you can experiment with the newer generation one and keep your older one pristine at all times!

Good luck,

Nick