Your best non-bling purchases?

[MMtwo]

Cast iron is the devil. I've seasoned my cast iron pan a bajillion times it seems. It still doesn't seem to be working like it's supposed to. Wah

These have a hard interior coating, although you have to make sure the rim of the pot has a thin coat of oil after washing. While I won't quite call it non-stick, it cleans up very well.

I love/hate my cast iron unfinished pans. Indoors, my steaks like a good sear on cast iron. Clean up and reseasoning the skillet is a bear. I can't bring myself to not wash the pan in soapy water. Living here in Appalachia, the cast iron skillet is something passed down from generation to generation. I'm a Yankee though.

 

[FL_runner]

O wow! Didn't know dutch ovens made such a difference with stews and stuff! Adding that to my wish list (along with a Kitchenaid mixer!).

They’re really wonderful! I have a larger, deep one that’s great for stews and chilis, and a whole chicken or large cut of meat can go in; a small one that’s great for sides or baking bread; and a large shallow one that’s great for sauces or things where you want lots of the moisture to cook off to thicken. And if you take good care of them they last forever!

 

[bludiva]

These have a hard interior coating, although you have to make sure the rim of the pot has a thin coat of oil after washing. While I won't quite call it non-stick, it cleans up very well.

I love/hate my cast iron unfinished pans. Indoors, my steaks like a good sear on cast iron. Clean up and reseasoning the skillet is a bear. I can't bring myself to not wash the pan in soapy water. Living here in Appalachia, the cast iron skillet is something passed down from generation to generation. I'm a Yankee though.

i read this a couple of months ago and have been less shy about using soap when needed on our cast iron pans. we use them a lot for meat and veggies but have non-stick for things like cooking eggs. a chainmail scrubber also helps a lot for cleanup

The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away

Are cast iron skillets nonstick? Can you wash cast iron with soap? Should you use metal utensils on cast iron? And more quandaries, explained.

www.seriouseats.com

The Reality: Seasoning is actually not a thin layer of oil, it's a thin layer of polymerized oil, a key distinction. In a properly seasoned cast iron pan, one that has been rubbed with oil and heated repeatedly, the oil has already broken down into a plastic-like substance that has bonded to the surface of the metal. This is what gives well-seasoned cast iron its non-stick properties, and as the material is no longer actually an oil, the surfactants in dish soap should not affect it. Go ahead and soap it up and scrub it out.


The one thing you shouldn't do? Let it soak in the sink. Try to minimize the time it takes from when you start cleaning to when you dry and re-season your pan. If that means letting it sit on the stovetop until dinner is done, so be it.

 

[LilAlex]

The Reality: Seasoning is actually not a thin layer of oil, it's a thin layer of polymerized oil, a key distinction. In a properly seasoned cast iron pan, one that has been rubbed with oil and heated repeatedly, the oil has already broken down into a plastic-like substance that has bonded to the surface of the metal. This is what gives well-seasoned cast iron its non-stick properties, and as the material is no longer actually an oil, the surfactants in dish soap should not affect it. Go ahead and soap it up and scrub it out.

That explains it! We have one that we use for everything so we could not subscribe to the "no soap or water ever" thing. But if you wash it quick and dry it right away with a towel (or on the burner if it's thin like a wok), it seems fine. Ours is 30+ years old -- took a lot of years to get "good." It's not non-stick like Teflon; I would never use it to fry an egg, for example. But it is indestructible.

We use Le Creuset (enameled cast iron) for almost everything else -- except one (disposable) non-stick for eggs and such. As one poster said above, Dutch oven is amazing -- chili, sloppy Joes, roast chicken. Great way to cook for a family. Unlike my talented spouse, I can only cook one thing at a time -- and I really need to focus -- so it had better be big .

 

[Austina]

I put my Le Creuset in the dishwasher and never had any issues with them, my oldest pans are from 1992 and still look like new.

 

[LilAlex]

I put my Le Creuset in the dishwasher and never had any issues with them, my oldest pans are from 1992 and still look like new.

Yes -- that's not "cast iron." I mean it is cast iron but it's enameled so there is no seasoning or issue ever -- unless you chip it or heat it too hot when empty and the enamel pops or crazes.

Untreated cast iron (it's black) is very different. Of course Le Creuset also has black enamel, too, that looks like cast iron but is still enamel.

 

[bludiva]

That explains it! We have one that we use for everything so we could not subscribe to the "no soap or water ever" thing. But if you wash it quick and dry it right away with a towel (or on the burner if it's thin like a wok), it seems fine. Ours is 30+ years old -- took a lot of years to get "good." It's not non-stick like Teflon; I would never use it to fry an egg, for example. But it is indestructible.

We use Le Creuset (enameled cast iron) for almost everything else -- except one (disposable) non-stick for eggs and such. As one poster said above, Dutch oven is amazing -- chili, sloppy Joes, roast chicken. Great way to cook for a family. Unlike my talented spouse, I can only cook one thing at a time -- and I really need to focus -- so it had better be big .

that's what we do also, wash it quickly and dry on the burner for 5 min. if it is looking dry i wipe it with olive oil. i have reseasoned them once i think in 5 years.

 

[MMtwo]

that's what we do also, wash it quickly and dry on the burner for 5 min. if it is looking dry i wipe it with olive oil. i have reseasoned them once i think in 5 years.

I do a full-on bake at 350 for an hour in the oven with a thin coating of oil when the fry pan loses its black sheen.

 

[GreenPapaya]

My latest best purchase would have to be a monitor for work. I was working off an 11 inch laptop screen and a track pad for almost a year. I think I've permanently hurt my fingers pressing on that track pad. Last week i finally broke down and bought a 34 inch ultra wide curve screen and a mouse. Wow, i can finally see more than half a document at a time. So hopefully I should get more work done.

 

[Begonia]

My heating pad. I have chronically cold feet and there is no way I can fall asleep with cold tootsies. I have insomnia too, sadly. Make a lot of bling wish lists.

 

[DanerBananer]

So disgusting but the kids nasal sucker that attaches to the vacuum. Sounds nuts but with snotty young kids it's a lifesaver.

 

[Mermaid Princess Kokomi]

I think the best non bling item I bought was books that I read through out my childhood and I still have those books till this day

 

[lavenderdragonfly23]

Also my doggies, Luna and Leo. As far as material things, I just got a new bed in May and its wonderful! Its a tempurpedic hybrid with an adjustable base. Also my George Foreman smokeless grill.

I know this is like 4 years old… I’m curious if you would still recommend this. I’m having terrible back pain from sleeping on a 20 year old Setra pillow top mattress. We tried out the tempurpedic medium hybrid lux with the adjustable bed, but didn’t pull the trigger cause it’s so expensive. Did you do the split king?