Hi Eric, 

I am actually joining the club!!  I ordered a cast iron skillet from a Pampered chef party last week. I should get it soon. I’m excited about it and can’t wait to use it. 

What do you love about yours?

Actually, I have two iron pans that belonged to my mother-in-law, which are at least 71 years old. They both work very well. I use one of them almost every day. You can't beat them.?

Stella

Yep the cast iron cookware goes on for ever. My aunt has a griddle which belonged to my grandma. It’s used for soda farls and pancakes. It’s a huge thing and hangs on the wall in her pantry. 

@john68

Hi John,

What are soda farls? That's one delicacy my father didn't tell me about!

Stella

Hi Stella, I knew you yankies wouldin get the farl thing? soda bread is an Ulster tradition, A simple bread made from flour and buttermilk. If it’s kept as a round loaf it’s called a scone of bread and if it’s cut pior to cooking into 4 it is soda farls. Tattie bread (potato) is gorgeous cooked on the griddle. If you can’t get soda bread flour baking soda can be used in regular flour and lemon juice in regular milk will do instead of buttermilk. To make it Vegan replace milk with almond milk again adding lemon juice. 

@john68

I actually looked up the recipe and the origins of this dish. I'll try it tomorrow and let you know how it came out. 

Stella

Such a cool topic! I was raised with cast iron frying pans. I have never had one myself, but I do know that they never die! Every Sunday my father would bake what I always thought was the biggest Egg omelet in the world. He threw in all the weeks left overs, added a lot of onion, heated them on the stove top, threw in the eggs then baked it up the rest of the way  in the oven. It was enough to feed 2 adults and 5 hungry kids & often 1 or 2 extras. 

Not long ago I watched Trisha Yearwood cooking show. On it, she demonstrated finding a big old rusty cast iron pan forxa friend and with a little elbow grease and patience  she brought it back to life! She said the instructions are on the website for the Cooking Chanel. The title of her show is "Trisha's Southern Kitchen". So if you have an old pan or can find one in a second hand store, look up those instructions. I'm sure her show was titled along the lines of Cast Iron something or another. She even tells how to successfully "Season" the pan for easy use! 

Cast iron is a proven work horse and continues to be over the years. Never throw them out...always pass them down! 

@john68

As promised, I tried the recipe for soda farls. They came out very well and were easy to make to boot. The recipe is easy:

1cup flour

1cup of buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2teaspoon salt

Grease iron pan and heat to medium then lower the heat slightly. Mix the above ingredients, and divide the dough into eight portions. Depending on the size of your pan, cook about four portions at a time - six minutes on each side. 

Stella

@sjlovestosing

I don’t know why, but I expected this to be baked in the oven. I read your recipe twice looking for oven temperature and baking time. Then I noticed the 6 minutes on each side instruction. ?

John- is there a traditional way these are eaten? With butter? Jam?  Is it more like a biscuit or a pancake?

Stella, how did you eat yours? Did you take a picture?

Stella glad you enjoyed, And Liza very good question. There is an old tradition of the family standing in a circle ⭕️. Each person has a farl in their right hand. As a bite is taken you have to raise your right leg and hold until you swallow. This is repeated next bite with the left leg. Many along winter night has been passed among friends and family!! Sorry Liza ? I couldn’t resist ? Many ways to enjoy. Hot cold cut and filled or toasted. But please try the traditional way. I bet Stella did??. 

Ps, Soda farls have to be cooked on an Norn Iron pan (NI)

@squeakyandliza

Sorry about the lack of instruction. I'd never make it as a cookbook author!?

I did some research on this and soda farls, which did indeed originate in Ulster, is also a favorite in our southern states since many from Ireland and Scotland came here in the 1700s. They passed down many traditions, and soda farls is one of them. In the South they enjoy them with red gravy (or better known as tomato gravy )or sausage gravy. Others who are more modern enjoy them with chocolate sauce.

Sorry, I didn't take pictures! But, you can find recipes on line. Just type in soda farls.?

Stella

Posted by: @squeakyandliza

What do you love about yours?

1. They are a "buy-it-for-life" product, which is great for the environment and my budget.
2. They are better than any chemical non-stick pan I've owned and will stay non-stick "forever" when cared for.
3. The flavor you get from cooking on cast iron is way, way better than anything else. Putting burgers or vegetables on the grilling pans gives you a very authentic BBQ flavor.
4. They stay heated longer than other pans, which means I can turn off the stovetop sooner than I would with other pans (i.e. saves electricity). 
5. They look great :) 
6. There's something about cooking with "old technology" that appeals to me. I've even been making pasta by hand these past few weeks and it's therapeutic. 

Yep the taste of food from cast iron is so different. I have always been told not to wash this type of cookware in detergent but simply wipe clean. Is that right?

Absolutely!  We have a small collection of everything from 5" skillets to a 12" square one and even a chicken frier.  We use these almost exclusively.

@veganostomy

If you really want a low tech meal, I have an old wood cook stove from 1905. It is  "Modern Glenwood E". I cook on it during the winter and use my iron pans on it as well. My great aunt kept her stove so immaculate that she could cook fish or toast right on the stove top. I also have used mine for baking. The food indeed comes out much tastier not only in iron pans, but on and in a woodstove, too!

Stella

Hi Stella, I googled your stove. Now I know what I want for Christmas. That’s so class to own, some history and memories 

@veganostomy So how do you keep them “non-stick”? I bought a cast iron frying pan a little while ago, but haven’t seasoned it yet. I am going to have to get with the program though, because I have a new induction stove, which will only work with ferrous metal cookware. So I have been using stainless steel, and a cast iron (ceramic glazed inside) Dutch oven, and I love the stove so far. My old glass cookware and my clay tagine ☹️have become collateral damage. This site is expanding my horizons! I have had to Google soda farls, and I will take up the challenge to make some, once I get my pan going. Is there any debate about pronunciation, like the scone/scon argument that I should know about before I proceed?

Laurie

Posted by: @john68

I have always been told not to wash this type of cookware in detergent but simply wipe clean. Is that right?

Technically, many people will say to just wipe it clean. I very rarely use dish soap, and when I do it's the more "natural" type. 

I've been using those chainmail cast iron cleaners (like these: https://amzn.to/3a0ELto ) and they work wonderfully well without ruining the seasoning or scratching.

Posted by: @tigerlily

So how do you keep them “non-stick”?

After I use them they get washed and dried. Then I'll pop it back on the stove at medium heat until they are a little more than warm and then I wipe oil on them (vegetable, canola, whatever) and then I store them in the oven. 

Most foods will not stick just by keeping them like that. Some foods will stick if you don't give them enough time to cook.

Tofu, for example, is notorious for sticking, so I leave them on the pan until they form a dry skin then they slide right off. Potatoes are usually the most problematic because as they fall apart, they stick. I'll use an air fryer with potatoes, but they do still go on the pan from time to time. 

I bought a cast iron frying pan a little while ago, but haven’t seasoned it yet.

Most new cast iron pans will come pre-seasoned, but it doesn't hurt to season them again. 

... because I have a new induction stove...

Sounds like fun! Induction stoves are pretty cool and they should work really well with all kinds of cast iron :)

Look what got delivered today!!