Is there anything more iconic in the kitchen than a colorful enameled cast iron? You&#;ll see the type of cookware in a range of sizes, pots, and styles, from saucepans to Dutch ovens. The material is so popular because it&#;s sturdy, long-lasting, and also performs incredibly well. Cast iron is renowned for its heat retention capabilities, providing the ideal cooking vessel for stews, soups, breads, braises, beans, and more. You can even deep fry in enameled cast iron pots, or shallow fry in skillets and braisers.
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Below, we&#;ll dive into the pros and cons of enameled cast iron so you&#;re fully briefed on what to expect before adding this material to your kitchen.
The defining trait of enameled cast iron is&#;as you may guess&#;the enamel coating. Enamel coating is made from glass melted under intense heat, creating a non stick cooking surface and also protecting the cast iron from reactive (aka acidic) ingredients that may cause rust or corrosion. This means you don&#;t need to season the pan before use, and you can also cook acidic ingredients without worry of deteriorating the seasoning.
Most importantly, though, enameled cast iron gives you the best qualities of cooking with unfinished cast iron: even heat distribution and retention. Enameled cast iron typically has a light-colored cooking surface, which makes it easier for you to track how much your food is browning.
Popular cookware pieces made with enameled cast iron include Dutch ovens, braisers, saucepans, and skillets. Our collection is made by multi-generational artisans in Northeast France, where they&#;ve been pouring cast iron since the s.
We are, as you may guess, huge fans of enameled cast iron. The pros of enameled cast iron include their durability, non-reactive cooking surface, and versatility.
Cast iron can withstand high temperatures and lots of use without wearing down. It will last generations if it&#;s correctly cared for. (There&#;s a reason you see so much cast iron in antique shops!) Enameled cast iron comes with its own guidelines for cleaning and care, which we&#;ve covered in detail.
The enamel coating, applied by hand to ensure even coverage, prevents the iron core from reacting with acidic foods like vinegar, wine, tomatoes, and citrus. That means you can cook a variety of sauces and soups in enameled cast iron without worrying about a metallic taste, discoloration, or eroding the cooking surface or hard-earned seasoning.
Unlike traditional (non coated) cast iron, the enamel coating means you don&#;t need to season your cookware. Since the enamel coating provides a non stick cooking surface, cleaning up is also easier. On the occasion that sticking, discoloration, or burning does happen, though, we've got you covered with how to fix it.
You can braise, bake, and slow cook in enameled cast iron, no matter your cooking surface. Cast iron is compatible with gas, electric, and induction. You can also transport it from stovetop to oven&#;our cast iron is oven safe up to 580F.
Perhaps the biggest perk&#;beyond their versatility, durability, and utility&#;is the color. Enameled cast iron features a variety of color finishes, making them quite the attractive addition to your kitchen. Their curb appeal means they also work well for serving tableside.
When choosing if enameled cast iron is right for you, take the following into account.
Cast iron is made from pouring molten iron into a mold. While our cast iron is made with compounds that reduce the finished weight of the cookware, it&#;s still heavier than other materials like carbon steel and stainless steel. Especially with larger pieces like Dutch ovens, this can make them difficult to handle if you struggle with heavy cookware.
Enameled cast iron will generally cost more than non-enameled and other types of cookware. But since it lasts for years, that investment may be worth it (and ultimately rounds out to being less expensive than buying cheaper pots and pans more often).
Enamel coating requires a bit more care than you may be used to. If the coating chips&#;from rough handling or abrasive cooking tools, for example&#;then the performance may be affected. Repairing enamel is doable, but it can be expensive.
Compared to the super heat conductivity of stainless steel, cast iron takes longer to heat up. (See this in action in our video on cooking eggs, where the enameled cast iron skillet takes 5 minutes versus stainless steel&#;s 2 ½.) While this may mean you don&#;t reach for enameled cast iron when you need to quickly cook something, it doesn&#;t ultimately detract from the cookware&#;s performance.
The best way to preserve the enamel is to heat your cookware with oil or liquid. Dry heat&#;like when making bread in a Dutch oven, or searing ingredients without oil&#;can damage the enamel over time. Excessive high heat can also cause damage.
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Before you decide if it&#;s right for you, it&#;s best to understand the pros and cons of enameled cast iron (or any cookware, for that matter). There are so many reasons to love it but there are definitely a few factors that might make you pause, depending on your cooking style. Take a look at our Enameled Cast Iron Collection to see which piece is the best fit for your kitchen.
While we think both pans are worthwhile, if you don't own either it's hard to beat the longevity and versatility of a traditional cast iron skillet like our favorite (after testing 11 pans!) from Lodge.
When you read the words &#;cast iron pan,&#; what&#;s the first image that comes to mind? A heavy black metal skillet with years of patina&#;a.k.a seasoning&#;built up into a glossy top coat? Or do you picture that pan with a smooth, naturally (somewhat) nonstick surface made from enamel? Maybe you imagine a 5-quart Dutch oven with a colorful exterior or a wide and shallow braising pan. All of these are made from cast iron (the exact composition of which varies with each manufacturer), and they are all excellent pans for a variety of cooking tasks.
Compared with stainless steel or nonstick, cast iron pans are heavy, durable, and great at heat retention. To evaluate the pros and cons of bare versus enameled cast iron (and help you decide which one is right for you), we&#;ll look at skillets. Although you can find uncoated Dutch ovens and braisers, these shapes are most often coated in enamel&#;meaning the qualities inherent in enameled cast iron skillets apply to them, too.
The Best Cast Iron and Enameled Skillets
Heat Conduction and Retention
Heat conduction (how efficient and quick a pan is at transferring heat from the cooking unit) and heat retention (how consistently the pan holds its desired temperature throughout the cooking process) are two different concepts. Because most cast iron pans are large and heavy, they are slower to heat and are inferior conductors of heat. But they shine at heat retention, maintaining a consistent temperature even when food is added.
The company is the world’s best 26cm Enameled Cast Iron Frying Pan supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
It's a myth that cast iron pans are superior at conducting heat. Instead, they're actually excellent at heat retention.
Serious Eats / Taylor Murray
The presence or absence of an enamel coating won&#;t affect either of these qualities. What does determine a pan&#;s efficiency in both categories is the type of metal used, as well as its thickness. As we've found in our reviews and use of both of these pan types, thinner, lighter-weight pans are faster to heat, and more prone to temperature fluctuations. Heavy pans with thick bottoms will excel in heat retention.
Performance
Serious Eats / Russell Kilgore
When we talk about a cast iron pan&#;s performance, we&#;re discussing its ability to sear as well as its potential for sticking. A high-performing pan with good heat retention will sear well, creating a strong Maillard reaction that produces a golden-brown crust. The pan should also easily release the food from its surface, which happens once the reaction has been completed. So a pan with poor ability to sear will cause food to stick or flake to its surface.
When we tested enameled cast iron skillets, we seared a whole bunch of pork chops. You can see how the browned differently per pan here.
Serious Eats / Taylor Murray
Both enameled and bare pans are great at searing. The presence of an enamel coating may slightly hinder browning, though. As for the stick factor? When a bare cast iron pan is well-seasoned&#;meaning it&#;s coated in even, consistent layers of fat built up over time&#;it has natural nonstick capabilities. Note here we didn&#;t say it&#;s entirely nonstick. For delicate tasks, like cooking an omelet, we still recommend forgoing cast iron entirely and going with nonstick.
Versatility
Serious Eats / Taylor Murray
Kitchen folklore warns that it&#;s bad to cook acidic ingredients like tomatoes in a bare cast iron pan, because those foods may strip the iron from its surface, causing the pan to degrade. So you may think it would follow naturally that enameled pans are a better choice, due to their &#;all foods welcome&#; abilities. However, it&#;s debatable how much iron leaching actually happens with uncoated pans; a study showed the heat needs to be very high for this to occur. Stripping and corrosion also happen primarily when a pan is used without a layer of proper seasoning. And you wouldn&#;t use your bare cast iron pan without seasoning it, would you?
We think both traditional and enameled cast iron pans are exceptionally versatile.
Serious Eats / Russell Kilgore
Our conclusion: With ample seasoning and an adequately hot temperature, uncoated pans are more versatile and nonstick than their enameled brethren. It's worth noting, too, that while traditional cast iron can be used at any temperature (literally, throw it over a fire!), enameled cast iron is more sensitive. One of our favorite enameled cast iron skillets, from Le Creuset, has a max temp of just 500°F&#;limiting some of its versatility.
Longevity
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Here&#;s where bare cast iron absolutely takes the cake: These pans are built to last for generations. They&#;re incredibly durable, practically impossible to crack or break, and can even be brought back from the dead. It&#;s totally possible to revive a rusted cast iron pan at home, and if things get really bad, you can sand them back to a base layer, from where you&#;ll rebuild the seasoning over time.
Enameled cast iron pans are prone to chipping, cracking, and scratching over time, or with misuse. Metal utensils cannot be used on the enamel surface, so you&#;ll need to invest in silicone-tipped tongs and food turners if you plan on cooking with enameled pans. That said, high-end enameled pans like Le Creuset and Staub have excellent quality control to ensure proper construction. You&#;ll take your chances with cheaper coated pans.
Care and Maintenance
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
There&#;s no denying bare cast iron requires more meticulous care and maintenance than enameled cast iron. We don&#;t believe in babying cast iron&#;we&#;re fine with a little sudsy water&#;but it should not be left to soak or drip dry. Water is the enemy of exposed iron, so to properly maintain a bare pan, it should be washed, rinsed, dried, and then heated with a thin layer of neutral oil to seal and protect the seasoning.
If that sounds too fussy, you&#;ll be happy to know you can soak, wash, and dry an enameled pan with almost as much cavalier abandon as you do other cookware. Just remember that it should not be introduced to metal, so use a bristle brush rather than steel wool for stuck-on food. Although some enameled cast iron pan manufacturers give the green light for dishwasher use, we still recommend washing it by hand to preserve the coating.
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