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Comment by nemo44x | Hacker News Reader

You can't, or rather shouldn't generally, cook acidic foods in cast iron pans. Plus cast iron is really poor to use for many types of cooking since they don't react to changes in heat. Saying that it's good to have one around for occasional things. I like enameled cast iron dutch ovens, etc.

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Carbon steel pans / stainless steel pans are also an option. Switched to carbon steel a couple years ago and haven’t looked back. Sometimes it’s a little more difficult, but once you get the technique down it’s as easy as non stick.

It’s also cool to know the pan will work for decades to come. Non stick pans inevitable start breaking down and just become toxic trash.

If you're not averse to high prices, copper pans are available too. Though a full set seems like it'd set you back $5000 or more. I've got a few from estate sales and other places for just a couple bucks, but there's only like 3 or 4 places in the United States to get them retinned, and they all want $120+ per pan (and that's with shipping it twice where they could get stolen, lost, or crushed).

Half-tempted to try to do it myself. What's a few ounces of tin cost? The fiberglass glove's not that expensive. Afraid of screwing it up somehow though.

This is a disaster in the making. Expect copper toxicity if cooking in copper. It happens more often than you think.

I can't tell if you're ignorant or trolling. They're not commonly sold, because poor people have to make due with $10 teflon pans (you know, the "forever chemicals") at Dollar General.

https://mauviel-usa.com/collections/copper-sets

The 12 piece set is $4200. You were probably too poor growing up to ever learn anything about this is my guess. But to reduce your anxiety, I'll point out that the cooking surface is tinned.

I can't tell if you're ignorant or trolling. You have evidently not read the case reports of copper toxicity from cooking utensils resulting in irreversible organ damage.

Even if the internal surface is tin, it will easily thin out when on the stovetop, resulting in the food coming in contact with copper, leaking much copper into the food. Tin is also not okay with acidic foods either, again thinning out and bringing the copper into contact with food. I guess money doesn't teach even an iota of common sense.

In short, it is not worth even $42. If you're making a museum at home with your utensils, you're solving no one's problem, not even your own.

Again this was solved a long time ago. And even with tinned pans you’d have them relined. But with stainless steal linings that’s not needed. It has been this way for decades. Get with the program.

Ilove this Platform it's time fellas

Modern copper pans are lined with stainless steal. Falk in Belgium pretty much makes all the copper material for cookware by using high pressure to fuse a thin layer of steal to a thick layer of copper. This makes the pans safe for any acidity and still benefits from coppers amazing conductivity.

You know nothing about this obviously.

But..GP was talking about old copper pans from estate sales that have lost their tin (not steel) coating.

Yeah in that case then I’d get them re-tinned. Might not be the easiest service to find today. I’d still prefer the modern ones though. They’re so good. By far the best cooking pots/pans for many use cases.

We use our cast iron pans for close to 100% of our ("frying pan") cooking, I'd say it works great.

It’s great if you’re not precise and just want big sears or w/e. That’s fine for certain things. And anything acidic leeches so it tastes metallic.

I think once you learn to cook the limits of cast iron become clear. Great for certain things but impossible for many others. Compare to say a thick copper sauté pan and it’s a world of difference in temperature control. The pan changes temp as soon as you turn the gas up or down, etc.

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