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Comment by nrclark | Hacker News Reader

> I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you can, but it requires an absurd amount of oil).

FWIW it's pretty easy to fry eggs in a cast iron. You do have to oil the pan, but I wouldn't call it absurd. Just a dollop of oil in the pan. And the end result has a crispy, yummy texture that's hard to achieve with Teflon. It just takes a little practice and an open mind.

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Not only is it possible with a reasonable amount of oil in any cast iron pan, but with a very thin cast iron pan one can do it without oil even. Eggs start sticking with high heat and the thinner the metal the lower the heat needed to cook.

My experience with eggs is the opposite. Eggs stick when added to a cold pan. Letting the pan get really hot first has stopped eggs sticking for me.

The quality and state of the cast iron pan makes a big difference.

If you have a good seasoning then less oil while cooking is needed. If you have a new pan with a rougher surface then using a steel spatula will smooth out the surface texture and improve performance (without making it too smooth where seasoning won't stick).

There's a lot of varying advice on cast iron, but the prevailing wisdom seems to be that if you keep using it then the pan will improve.

I actually machined, de-oiled, and polished a cast iron skillet I bought in the the supermarket. After seasoning with flax oil it was effectively non-stick. I would use a single pat of butter for 3-4 eggs. Regular use with heat control and edged steel spatula are essential to maintain seasoning. Also make sure helpful people don’t try to wash it in the dishwasher. I would just wipe it out with a paper towel and soft salt, sometimes heating it the oven with a bit of oil to restore surface smoothness. I also have a ca 1875 Swedish manufacture cast iron skillet which didn’t seem to need any machining.

Cast iron doesn’t seem to work as well on electric stoves: Temperature control is problematic. Perhaps induction heating would be more effective?

I got mine working fine on my electric after some experimenting with what heat to use.

You probably want to use a wrought iron pan for that. They can be really cheap (starting from less than 10€), are indestructible (they don’t break if you drop them) and can be much thinner than cast iron. They are better for eggs, where you want to change the temperature during frying very quickly.

Yes, a good Matfer or Solidteknics carbon steel / wrought iron / blue iron pan is fantastic for eggs, omelettes, and crepes. Matfer as a French brand even has specific crepe and omelette pans made this way.

The only downside to a Matfer, or any other carbon steel pan, is that you need to be prepared to season it yourself. They do not come pre-seasoned like most cast iron pans and it is a good bit of work. Having said that, I absolutely love the one I have and plan on buying at least one more in the future.

Any reasonably well cured cast iron barely needs any oil

You can also poach eggs just fine in a cast iron pan.

Fried eggs are just aldehyde cancer hell. There's so much out there you can cook without any oil and it's handy to know for sure. Try cooking stuff in sauces instead for example.

how much is a "dollop"? Based on what I've seen[1][2], it requires significantly more oil than what I use with a non-stick. The first link definitely seems absurd to me.

[1] https://www.seriouseats.com/thmb/3KEyHXkLBbmzhHgp5P81odFcIR0...

[2] https://www.seriouseats.com/classic-over-easy-fried-eggs-rec...

I use butter. no more than a a couple millimeters slice from a stick for 2 eggs. no stick. warm the pan to a low heat. cook eggs on lower heat (should be doing that anyway regardless of pan)

I can normally fry eggs in a cast iron in about a tsp (5 ml) of oil.

I also make scrambled eggs, but tend to use a tbsp (15ml) butter, but that is more for flavor and texture than to keep from sticking

> crispy [...] texture

Of course it's crispy, you are deep-frying your eggs in oil, like McDonalds-style fries. It may feel delicious, like almost anything overcooked with high temperature, but it is not quite healthy.

Well you're not "deep frying" it you're pan frying it. The difference is the amount of food exposed to oil.

For eggs it is about the same, egg's white is thin enough on a skillet and its down side is fully immersed into oil.

This is just not true. Not even if you have a single egg on super large pan. And you can also use smaller pan or more eggs, that way it will be even higher.

Just because you have drowning eggs in oil does not mean everyone does it that way.

Mine take ~ 1 tsp for three eggs. I let the pan get hot enough that it slides around with water like viscosity, spread it evenly with a paper towel and throw the eggs on.

Comment I was replying to meant crispiness. That means frying in oil, in my experience. Do you know another way to get crispy texture on cast iron skillet?

You have a bit of oil under the egg.

I cook exclusively with cast iron pans (not because I’m some sort of purist, but because that’s what I happen to have), and you can absolutely fry an egg with just a bit of butter or oil and no crispiness.

If you are making eggs in a Teflon pan without butter, I don't want any.

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