Before all the nay-sayers begin to nay, Lodge Cookware is excellent, family-owned, pre-seasoned, made in Tennessee, and VERY reasonably-priced. [www.lodgemfg.com]

Emeril's, Paula Deen's, and just about every other brand is made in China -- of God knows what junk. Impurities in the metal will make the cookware explode at high temperatures and is not something that you can predict by examining the surface. Paula, as a down-home Southern girl, should be ashamed of herself for not using a US company and putting profits before quality.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Again, older is not always better.

@pecan 3.14159265: My son works at a cooking supply store. LeCreuset is the top of the line in his opinin, and very high on my "I Want" list.

@BytheSea: He does, however, have a website, you can access it by going onto Food Network's site. Sells a lot of the cool stuff you see him using on his show, like that measuring cup with the plunger that I drool over every time I see it.

@HogwartsAlum: the method i've always used is to put about 1 cup of salt, 1/4 cup of dish soap and 3 cups of water into the pan. Boil it on the stovetop, and gently scrape the burned parts with a WOODEN spoon or spatula. It's worked for me 99 percent of the time.

@HogwartsAlum: Soak it in hot water with some dish soap. That's what I do.

@billy:

I just found your analogy to be poor, given the technological advances in car design and manufacture over the years. Quality automobiles require precision engineering and careful assembly of thousands of manufactured parts.

Cast iron pans, on the other hand, are produced by pouring molten iron into casts. The formula and the process have changed very little over the years.

Aaaand that's all I have for today's Pendantic Hour. Be sure to tune in next time.

@HogwartsAlum:

You've probably tried this then already. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing:

[www.amazon.com]

@yentaleh: if you haven't yet made his turkey recipe for thanksgiving, you must do so. it's involved, but it's the best turkey ever.

[www.wral.com]
was where i saw it and even without having kids, that just horrified me to think about.

[also thought i posted another comment on here earlier, my activity shows it but the page doesn't... site issues are seriously creepy when you are also dosed on painkillers in an already surreal day]

[www.wral.com]

@yentaleh:
HURRAH! HURRAH! HURRAH!

We used to live in Savannah, and vendors for his job would take him to Lady & sons once in a while, and he said the food was "lackluster", and he's a foodie. She's riding on her personality and drawl, which is like nails on a chalkboard.

Now Alton, he has expanded my cooking horizons ten-fold over just 5 years ago. I actually see and think of things differently, and everything works better. Some of his actual recipes are not my faves, though, but his techniques and explanations are gold.

@feralparakeet: I have had one of my 12 inch cast irons from a set crack down the side recently while cooking. Nice BANG. I think it might be due to a defect in the metal from when it was poured. I don't think they can SHATTER into little pieces, though, just crack.

I did take it to the local metal recycler, rather than throwing it away.

As for burning oneself, there are some nice leather handle covers that you can buy which help you to move the pan without potholders, and if it's still a bit toasty, gives a better grip UNDER an additional potholder.

Good times!

@pecan 3.14159265: "get it for me" as in get it out of the cabinet, not buy it for me.

@Kuchen: I think I'm going to splurge for a Le Creuset dutch oven this year, and my plan is to just have Mr. Pi get it for me.

It has nothing to do with moving parts. It has to do with the OP inferring that anyone making something for longer is inherently better. It's not always true.

>>>I think his point was that they've been successfully using the same formulation and founding techniques now for over a century.

Then he should have said that. On the other hand, are you actually arguing that any other company would be inferior to Lodge just b/c Lodge has been around longer?

@oneliketadow:

COTD.

@billy:

And how many moving parts does a cast iron pan have?

I think his point was that they've been successfully using the same formulation and founding techniques now for over a century.

@yentaleh: Like his Shun kitchen knives?

@yentaleh: AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN! Those dudes are trustworthy. They only work with equipment and food products that meet their nerdily scientific standards. Love them.

@pecan 3.14159265: I wouldn't say I HATE Paula Deen, but I strongly dislike her. Her Southern accent does seem to be exaggerated, and she comes off phony in general. Of course, most TV chefs do. I know her persona pays the bills, so I can't judge her too harshly.

For the most part, it just stays in the bottom of my pots and pans drawer. Unless I need to make gigantic quesadillas or a huginormous omelette, its staying put.

@MikeHerbst:

I inherited my cast iron cookware from my grandparents. Perfect tools for many cooking tasks, and they last forever.

13 city/ 21 hwy

[cbs5.com]

I think my oven may in fact be a gateway to Hell.

From the article: The chair back supports can break, posing a fall hazard to consumers.

@GreatWhiteNorth: I wish I could actually lift a cast iron pan without hurting myself or risk hurling food across the kitchen.

But recalling a chair because a few people fell from it, just sounds silly. (maybe it should read: falls apart) Almost as bad as so many of the new safety warnings we've been forced to add because common sense is no longer easy to define in a courtroom. (Of course my client had no idea that Poptarts, when left unattended in a toaster, could burn a house down your honor!)

What's next:

Shun Knives (lacerations)
Stone Pavers (back injury)
etc.

(Yes, I know that if a knife were to break when used correctly, it may cause a lac, but how can a manufacturer tell when it isn't being used correctly. I had a baby safety gate that, when installed correctly, would fail if 10 lbs of pressure were applied to it..and it was marked as for top of stair use. I reported it and to my knowledge it was never recalled nor was I contacted)

Rachel Ray's cookware is terrible as well. Cooks Illustrated put different pans and pots through their test kitchen and compared them to other products and they rated her products at the bottom of the pile. And her pots and pans were sometimes more expensive than the top picks.

True to both!

@yentaleh: I also think that Alton Brown actually knows what products work. He even wrote a book specifically about kitchen products and appliances, and which ones to use for the best effect. He just plain rocks. I used this book as one of my guides as to what to put on my wedding registry.

Except for my George Foreman grill. That thing rocks.

QVC and Meyer Trading have received 79 reports of the cookware cracking or shattering while heated. One consumer reported a minor burn injury to an arm.

Truther!

@lordargent: Lodge is also a lot cheaper. Even at a place like Williams Sonoma, a cast iron pan is only $30.

@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: I hate, hate, hate Paula Deen with a passion. Her accent grates on my nerves. My deep South MIL tells me that Deen's accent is slightly exaggerated.

Seriously? Just buy lodge, they've been making cast iron since 1896. Paula Deen was born in 1947, do the math.

@MikeHerbst:

I got all of my cast iron pans for free when I used to do construction/demolition/renovation jobs when I was younger.

Nobody wanted to pay to move cast iron across the country.

@MikeHerbst: Yeah, they don't seem to be very good quality. The Emeril pans are very heavy duty, though - they're so heavy that I had to give mine away because I can't even lift it very high when there isn't food in it!

I'm about to buy a Lodge pan with two handles, so I won't have to play that wobbly pan game when I lift it.

KitchenAid makes ceramic pans that are amazing to use and very pretty. I have a red one.

Lodge cast iron 4-eva.

But really, shattering? That's just ridiculous.

Oohh no.. Not Paula Deen! I love her because she reminds me of one of my great aunts.

I guess it's much like anything with a celeb endorsement, her name is on it but I doubt she has anything to do with the manufacturing process.

@MikeHerbst:
Yeah, I think I paid $30 for my cast iron pan.

According to the recall notice: Sold through: QVC's televised shopping programs, its Web site www.qvc.com, and QVC retail and employee stores from October 2007 through July 2009 for between $35 and $55.

Wow, my giant-sized American made Lodge Cast Iron pan was less than $30 at the local hardware store... The grill pan was about the same price.

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: The pans didn't explode, they cracked and shattered.

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: Maybe it reacts badly to large quantities of butter?

@Oranges w/ Cheese wants it to be winter already: Metal items can crack or shatter if poorly made. See, e.g., the Liberty Bell.