TIL

[skywaterblue]

If you cook in a cast iron pan you can boost the iron content of your meal by a lot, which is good because women require SO MUCH MORE IRON than men on a daily basis. So much more that about 10% of the American female population is at risk for anemia. (I actually knew that from some evolutionary biology book. Humans evolved meat-eating to keep women fed, essentially.)

So I should try and cook in mine more often, but I find scouring it a pain-in-the-ass. I might try eating chicken livers more often? They're cheap and super traditional...

Comments

[devilc]

If your pan is well seasoned, it should work like it's non-stick, and after your rinse and wipe dry, put a nickle sized drop of olive oil in it and use a paper towel to rub it into the cooking surface.


I don't doubt a minute that we shifted to having a meat rich diet when we became a species that had no mating season. You've got to do something to get that iron.

Livers are one of those foods I can't abide. The chalky texture of them is a huge turn off. That said, I hope yours turn out to be very tasty!

[skywaterblue]

It actually has to do with development time, too. It cuts down on all that gestation and nursing time needed to make bebbies with big brains.

It is one of the ironies of Western culture that we're sociologically conditioned that men eat meat, and women eat veg - when evolution demands it be the opposite. (And that cultural programming is one of many reasons men statistically die at younger ages than women, who are better able to soak extra iron.)

Anyway. The skillet is maybe not well seasoned. I've never owned one before. It's also just a cheap fajita skillet I bought at the store, because it fits on a hot plate.

[melannen]

I haven't ever had trouble with scouring iron skillets, but that's probably because I a) never wash them with soap, and b) never cook anything in them that doesn't involve fat or oil. And I know that doesn't match everyone's cooking/cleaning style.

But yeah, if you rub a little oil on after every time you wash it, cleaning *should* be fairly easy.

How to season your skillet:

[devilc]

If you have an oven

If you don't have an oven, make something deep fried in it, and then clean and oil as above.

The oven link also talks about how to clean it.

Re: How to season your skillet:

[skywaterblue]

I don't. So. Deep fry it is.