Having been used for hundreds of years, the first ones used were known as bare. They provide non-toxic cooking surfaces that heated evenly and quickly. Some were pots with handles that could be hung over an open flame. The pots were used to boil water and cook vegetables and soups. The skillets were designed to cook fish and meat. They were a favorite ware because they heated evenly and quickly over the flames. Cast iron cookware provides a high temperature surface for frying and searing foods.
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 3 PC Vintage CAST IRON SKILLET SET Century Cookware US $14.99 |
 Old Mountain Cast Iron Cookware 3 qt Skillet w Lid US $24.95 |
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The pots and pans need to be seasoned to prevent rusting and provide a quality cooking surface.
The seasoning process requires three steps. The first step is clean the skillet to the bare metal. Once this is complete add animal fat or vegetable oil to the surface. Then heat the surface to bond the fat to the pan surface. This process prevents rust build up and excess iron from being cooked into the foods. The cookware builds up non-stick cooking surface which made it an excellent choice to scramble eggs or cook sunny-side up eggs.
With the advent of enamel surfaces, cast iron cookware was coated with a vitreous enameled surface. The enameled surfaces prevented rusting of the surface, eliminated the need for seasoning, and made it easier to thoroughly clean. Today the enameled pots have given to more modern metal alloy pans. Some Dutch ovens are still made from cast iron. Many pieces are considered to be antiques. However, there are several companies that make cast iron cookware.
In the USA, there a several brands of these pots and pans. Lodge, Wagner, and Jon Wright are producers of bare and enameled pots. Outside of the USA, there are companies in different countries that manufacture this type of pots.