Cooking with Cast Iron Skillet

flagrantavidity
flagrantavidity Posts: 218 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have a well seasoned cast iron skillet. For those that don't know, cast iron skillets are seasoned by outing a coat of cooking oil on the pan and baking it in a 350° F oven for an hour. It develops a shiny black patina, wipe clean with paper towel and you get a non-stick surface.

When I use my cast iron to cook an egg, I don't use added oil. I also cook my veges like onion and bell peppers and they brown nicely without adding in extra oil.

Now, I know there is indeed oil baked into the pan, my question is how much is transferred into the food.

Am I cheating my calorie log because I don't take into account the residual oils in my cast iron?

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I would think it would be negligible.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited October 2016
    I don't think so. I never have and it hasn't seemed to affect things. Never even thought about it, honestly. As queenliz said, I think it isn't enough to make a difference, really.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    The fats on the pan become polymerized during the seasoning process. It's an actual chemical change from the heat, but I cannot find much actual information on what this does to nutritional potentional. Most of the sources that I see deal with the foaming aspect that occurs in fry vats due to said reaction.

    Honestly, given the amount used, the amount destroyed by the heating process, the repeated use, and the change in bonds, I wouldn't be shocked if there was a near zero effect on the food's nutional content.
  • renae161
    renae161 Posts: 334 Member
    flagrantavidity wrote: »
    I have a well seasoned cast iron skillet. For those that don't know, cast iron skillets are seasoned by outing a coat of cooking oil on the pan and baking it in a 350° F oven for an hour. It develops a shiny black patina, wipe clean with paper towel and you get a non-stick surface.

    When I use my cast iron to cook an egg, I don't use added oil. I also cook my veges like onion and bell peppers and they brown nicely without adding in extra oil.

    Now, I know there is indeed oil baked into the pan, my question is how much is transferred into the food.

    Am I cheating my calorie log because I don't take into account the residual oils in my cast iron?

    I think it depends on what kind of oil you use. Some people use lard, most use vegetable oil, canola oil, or olive oil. But, that is just my opinion.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    The fats on the pan become polymerized during the seasoning process. It's an actual chemical change from the heat, ... I wouldn't be shocked if there was a near zero effect on the food's nutional content.

    ^^This.^^ From: http://www.scienceofcooking.com/cast_iron_cooking.htm

    "When an unsaturated fat is heated to high temperatures, especially in the presence of a good catalyst like iron, it is broken down and oxidized, after which it polymerizes –joins into larger mega molecules the same way plastics do – and mixes with bits of carbon and other impurities. This tough, impermeable surface adheres to the pores and crevices in the cast iron as it is forming. The surface is nonstick because it is hydrophobic – it hates water. A well seasoned cast iron pan will have a slick and glassy coating ..."
  • Duane2013
    Duane2013 Posts: 35 Member
    Caught a Dr. Oz show with a nutritionist (imagine that) and studies were done showing that those that cooked with a cast iron skillet had elevated iron readings, which was a good, and free thing...................
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Duane2013 wrote: »
    Caught a Dr. Oz show with a nutritionist (imagine that) and studies were done showing that those that cooked with a cast iron skillet had elevated iron readings, which was a good, and free thing...................

    uh yeah. at least that's why i've been using them for 20 or 30 years.

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Duane2013 wrote: »
    Caught a Dr. Oz show with a nutritionist (imagine that) and studies were done showing that those that cooked with a cast iron skillet had elevated iron readings, which was a good, and free thing...................

    Hold on a second - you mean there was actually something accurate on the Dr. Oz show? We may have a first here! :D

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