So today I receive my first non enamel coated cast iron skillet and grill. And truthfully it was not love at first sight.
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I bought the Rock Tawa Square Grill PAN 10.5 Inch Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet Price: ₹ 1,400.00 and the Rock Tawa Dutch Oven 3 Lits in Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet Price: ₹ 1,900.00
Now I can pretend to tell you that it was amazing but it was not. It looked like metal had just been moulded from the 'lohar' think Varun Dhawan in Kalank but not in a good way. It looked maroon and rustic (which is basically ugly with instagramable elements). I followed the instructions washed it dried it and seasoned it on the stove. I seasoned my wok and other steel pans i've bought in the past, so I thought I was doing it correctly. Once both pots were seasoned they got these flame marks which I hated. So I made dinner with them and I think it was the most delicious dinner I've ever had. My leg pain (which was bothering me for days, disappeared and it may have been because I'm chronically aenemic and that was too much of a coincidence so I ignored it). But when it came to washing up, I saw black scraps of the coating were coming off. Whether it was burnt food or coating coming off, I hated it. And immediately went to Amazon and scheduled a return (thank God for returns right). I presumed because I had opted for the more inexpensive cast iron pot, the metal must've been lower grade (I'm aware that 'Made in India' sometimes gives low grade products to Indians and sends the good products for export)
Once that was done, I thought let me research better cast iron pots. And I stumbled on YouTube videos about Lodge and articles on Pinterest on cast iron care. I began watching them and saw how much care the people in Pinterest and Youtube gave their pots. They didn't throw them because they got a stain, infact they would actually say a new pot was expected to be bad and that a cast iron pot improved over years and years of use because the grime and the oil which builds into the crevices of the pot and creates a natural coating making it much more nonstick than you could imagine. I looked at my rustic new pots and thought about giving them a chance. Also I found that no one has a 3 litre dutch oven style cast iron skillet. Lodge has a Cast Iron Covered Chicken Fryer, Pre-Seasoned, 3.2-Quart, Black ₹ 5,769.00 but I don't have the budgets to spend so much for a pot (yet). I may get the Lodge 10.5 Inch Square Cast Iron Grill Pan ₹ 3,359.00 when I can just to do a comparative look at India and USA products someday (sponsors anyone, lol) but till then, I'll be making the most of my Made in India products. So currently I'm re-seasoning the grill pan and the skillet in the oven (like I learnt in some videos) and I am going to treat my pans like they are a part of my family and take care of them that way (since most people treat these pots like they are their kids).
On another note, I thought of something interesting. Cast iron pots are a little like marriage. They look great from the outside and then you get married and your partner is not right, not pretty and not looking/behaving correct (thankfully you don't have a Amazon return policy on marriages, yet) they seem rusty and worn and flawed — but if you take the time to season your marriage properly with massaging and good quality oil and give your spouse time and patience and a lot of love. And they last you a life time...
...God willing.
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