There is something about a cast iron skillet that tugs at the heart of any outdoorsman. It’s almost as if its burley black surface has retained a hint of every fire it has hovered over and every dish it has cooked. Holding one, you can feel its history coursing through it, almost like it has a story it wants to tell over a couple of beverages by the bonfire.
Well, it does have a story, one that is almost as old as recorded history. The cast iron manufacturing process originated in China around 2,700 years ago and has barely changed since. Today, just as they did then, manufacturers mix blocks of iron and steel together over a roaring forge to create a molten metal that is then poured into a mold, where it then cools into its desired shape.
From China, the popularity of cast iron cookware spread across Europe, where its durability and ability to retain heat evenly led to it becoming ubiquitous. Everyone from highborn kings to lowly serfs ate meals prepared in a cast iron pot or skillet over a hearth.
The cookware made its way to the New World and spread across the continent. At one time, there were dozens of American companies making cast iron cookware, but they slowly went out of business as people began to embrace new materials in the 1900s. Griswold, Warner Ware, and Blacklock Foundry were but a few of the legendary names that had to close. Nowadays, just one major company remains, Lodge, located in Tennessee.
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But like the old warhorse it is, the cast iron skillet remained in peoples’ kitchens. Its versatility was unsurpassed, and they often became family heirlooms, something whose history could be traced back to more difficult times. The dawning of the new millennium has seen a slight resurgence in the use of cast iron cookware. In their search for something different, cooks have started to reach for the battered skillets of their grandparents’ time.
Anyone who has ever cooked eggs and bacon over a campfire knows that it’s about time they got one. They are the best.
