Reviews of Review of Download Lodge 5-Piece Cast Iron Cookware Set, Black

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To give a little background I had never cooked with cast iron prior to this set. I grew up with teflon, tried out the "titanium waterless cookware" (which was super expensive) and everything burned. I went back to teflon, but my last set was getting all scratched up and needed replacing so I was looking into other options. I had heard through my best friend who is a nutritionist that cast iron is the healthiest and best, but was intimidated by the maintenance. Long story short, after researching everything I decided for the price it was worth trying (half the cost of a Rachael Ray or Paula Deen teflon set). I'm so glad I did! This really is super easy to maintain, I just wipe with a towel after every use and grease slightly with crisco to restore the sheen and they look brand new! I didn't even have to wash or retreat, as they were non stick right out of the box. I liked that they cook evenly and the only other real "adjustment" I had to make to my cooking style is remembering to wear an oven mit when handling. I'm super pleased with this set and highly recommend it!

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I took other people's advice and seasoned it before I used it and it works wonderfully. I love how well it cooks my food and it is worth the extra TLC of seasoning it after I use it.

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This set is currently listed for $107. I just put all these items in my cart individually and it totals $68.32. I love my lodge cast iron, but for the life of me I can't figure out why the set costs more than the pieces purchased individually. If you're interested in this set (and it's a great combo) do the math first to find out which way is cheapest.

Also, season your pans a few times before using them. I rub on a thin coat of coconut oil, put them in a 350 degree oven for an hour, then let cool. A few times of this and they are amazing to use.

UPDATE: Instead of using coconut oil, I now use avocado oil. Both are healthy oils, but the avocado oil has a higher smoking point. Above that temperature the oil could possibly turn carcinogenic so I go with the oil with the higher smoking point. Massimo Gusto Extra Virgin Avocado Oil, 1 Liter Glass Bottles (Pack of 2)

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I rarely write reviews even though I buy so much stuff on amazon. This cast iron cook set is absolutely awesome. It is such a good value for the money (don't even talk to me about the $1400 All Clad set I just bought). I bought this for camping but have used it for regular cooking and it works so well. I researched seasoning the iron and decided that I would season with a thin coat of flax seed oil at 500 degrees for an hour. I did this 2 nights in a row and then cooked with them (turn your oven exhaust fan on when seasoning or your smoke detectors will blast awaydont ask me how I know this). One site said do 6 thin coats over 6 days which I may do eventually. Even after 2 thin coats, there was no sticking to chicken curry in the frying pan, and baked banana bread in the dutch oven. I coated a paper towel with oil and left it in the bottom (youtube dutch oven camping trick) and the bread just slid out when turned upside down. The part that did touch the side just wiped off with a paper towel. No washing, no soaking, no scouring needed. The key is keep the iron dry, don't soak it, keep it well oiled after use (I put a little flax seed oil on after each use). Iron is so much healthier than teflon. It's so much cheaper than aluminum/copper/steel. I want to send the All Clad back now..

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When I was young I remember mom always going to that big, square, heavy frying pan for breakfast. I couldn't understand why she was so upset about it when I lost it during a camping trip. Now I know. Real sorry mom.

This is an excellent starter set. So far I've used it for burgers, steaks, eggs, pancakes, pigs-in-a-blanket and now I'm hungry again. If you read a little about cast iron on the Internet you'll learn about all the virtues. This Lodge set has all those virtues and no flaws I can see IF you do a little more seasoning before using the pieces.

All of these pieces come pre-seasoned but don't let that stop you seasoning again. I've seen a couple of reviews that make mention the pieces don't have the non-stick features of cast iron. What I found is by going through the seasoning process before first use and then for the first couple of uses using a little more vegetable oil (I'm using Crisco) then you will have no problems. After each use I clean the pans with fresh water, no soap, put them on a medium burner to dry and add a little more oil. Once properly seasoned at home the cheese stays with the pigs instead of sticking to the pan.

The set is functional and I think beautiful. I would like to see a small sauce pan and a griddle added to the set as I think these are essential. Also, I purchased the cast-iron Dummies book and found it pretty helpful both in how to care for the cast iron as well as how to cook with it. There are plenty of fun recipes to try out. Another thing I did but not sure it was really necessary was, after reading some reviews of pot holders (these things get HOT and stay hot) there was a suggestion pointing me to gloves used by welders. I picked up a set of those (which I'll probably review) and they work fine but maybe they are a bit overkill. I don't know. There are other pot holders from Lodge and other places that might work fine. Just remember hot. Very hot. And they stay hot. That's actually one of their virtues but be careful.

NO MORE TEFLON! ;)