Cast Iron by Lodge

I give this cast iron supplier 10 out of 10 acorns.

Affordable, Solid, and Reliable.

What can be said? For a reasonable amount of cash you can get a pan that with a little care will outlast your bloodline. Pre-seasoned, a variety of cookery can be obtained from a number of vendors including online retailers. Depending on what you are looking for, you can get several different styles of similar sizes to appeal to personal aesthetics if that is something that is important to you. I give this company max acorns because they are a solid player in the cast iron game and continue to provide a product that easily competes with other style cook ware. Lodge is a always a reliable option.

I would recommend this company's products to everyone.

I like them too for the price. I sand them down however and season myself, I like cooking on it better this way.

I give this equipment 9 out of 10 acorns.

We have a lot of lodge iron, but my wife has been backing Kickstarters for more premium cast iron cookware for the last ten years or so and some of it is lighter, feels better in the hand, and is less sticky -- not sure if it's better season from the factory or some other manufacturing process difference or what. Lodge might still be the best equipment for the price as these better pans often cost three times as much.

We don't have much choice if we want cast iron pans around here. It is Lodge... or the town dump
I go dumpster diving faithfully every week and I found 2 Lodge cast iron pans at the dump. That's the best price of all, isn't it?
It had been severely mistreated and had food [a lot of it] still attached, along with the coating of rust you can expect!
I scraped and scraped, then treated with steel wool, finally put lard on it and seasoned it properly.
I much prefer it to my [still pretty expensive], [allegedly non-stick] pans. They work OK for a few uses, then it doesn't, and finally, you notice that the 'non-stick coating is peeling and you wonder:
"Hmm... Where did it go"?
For me, it is cast iron or stainless steel. Just don't walk too far when you are cooking.

During a remodel I did, about 12 years back, my wife opted for a glass top stove. That meant the cast iron pans were off the table, er, cook-top. Seemed a shame, so, because I could, I took them all out to the shop, then took my grinders and sanders to them.  I wanted them glass smooth inside and out.  

When done, rather than the usual methods, I used my propane torch to season the freshly exposed iron.  I was careful to roll the flame around, so the pans warmed evenly, in case the possibility of extreme heat on just one area could cause a fracture.  

Once up to temp, I applied lard, then went after the iron again. I was not bashful about carbonizing the lard.  Made for a LOT of smoke, but made quick work of seasoning all the surfaces.

We don't use the pans religiously, but we do use them. All these years in, there are a couple scratches on the stove, but, interestingly, they weren't made by the pans.

And those seasoned, previously mirror like interiors are as close to stick proof as you can get.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:We don't have much choice if we want cast iron pans around here. It is Lodge... or the town dump
I go dumpster diving faithfully every week and I found 2 Lodge cast iron pans at the dump. That's the best price of all, isn't it?

I had a lot of success in secondhand stores  like the Salvation Army stores.

I found the Lodge Skillet currently for sale in my booth at Salvation Army.

Jennie Little wrote:I found the Lodge Skillet currently for sale in my booth at Salvation Army.

I think a lot of people try to use cast iron and either they don't have all the information they need to become successful with using cast iron or they find that the pan or pot itself is just too heavy and weird for them to use successfully. So a lot of cast iron ends up at the second hand stores like the Salvation Army. And many other cases they're just the remnants of grandmother's kitchen that ends up being not suitable for whoever the grandkids are. In any case they almost always end up at the second hand stores. I like the Salvation Army I want to support them and that's actually where I go and look and I found quite a bit of cast iron cookware there.

I give Lodge Cast Iron ware 4 acorns out of 10.

As they come from the store, I question the safety of the factory preseasoning.  How do we know what the manufacturing industry has decided is appropriate and food safe as opposed to what supports their economic considerations of ease in industrial processes?  How is preseasoning different from all the other industrial nonstick coatings on so many modern pans? (teflon, silverstone etc)

The cast iron process of cookware manufacture  used to include milling after casting, to provide a very smooth surface.  I believe the reason Lodge “preseasons” is because that allows them to skip the much more expensive process of milling.  

If I have to use a new and modern preseasoned cast iron pan, I prefer to burn the pan in a fire, to remove the industrial “preseasoning”.  Then rust it, then sand it, then season it with something I consider food.

The preseasoning and its mystique gives rise to many folks’ dissatisfaction with cast iron itself.  Preseasoning over an unsmooth surface leads many people to believe there is something fragile and magical about using the pan.  When the preseasoning fails, the pan is deemed ruined.  Out come the specialized plastic utensils to protect the pan from metal utensils which may scratch the pan.  

Much better strategy is to buy a milled pan, or mill your Lodge pan, then learn the seasoning process.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:How do we know what the manufacturing industry has decided is appropriate and food safe as opposed to what supports their economic considerations of ease in industrial processes?  How is preseasoning different from all the other industrial nonstick coatings on so many modern pans? (teflon, silverstone etc)

They list on their website what they use: carbonized veg oil.  They seem pretty transparent about the process and ingredients.

Lodge's website wrote:There are no synthetic chemicals added. The oil is highly refined, and all proteins that cause soy-related allergies are eliminated. The oil is kosher and contains no animal fat, peanut oil, or paints.

Lodge website FAQ section on seasoning

Lodge is seasoned with 100% natural soybean oil. Some folks avoid soy due to an allergy or concerns around inflammation, but Lodge cookware is perfectly safe for these groups of people. That’s because the oil we use has been refined at very high temperatures to the point that the proteins that cause food allergies or inflammation are no longer detectable.

If you’d prefer not to use soy bean oil when cooking or seasoning at home, we simply recommend using an oil that has a high smoke point and fits your needs.

Edit to add: The site also addresses your concern about pre-seasoning coming off.