As much as my inner minimalist would love it to be the case, sometimes just having one of something doesn’t get the job done.
Yesterday I told you about my cast iron skillet and what a wonderful thing it is for most sorts of cooking that need a skillet. Here is different type and, just like the cast iron pan, this one comes off the wall most days but for different tasks. It is a 20 cm solid iron pan made by the de Buyer company in France and I have had it for about 10 years now. They are easy enough to get hold of and can be found on Amazon for about £40. Shop around. I think I got mine at TK Maxx or Homesense and didn’t pay that sort of money for it. I love a bargain, especially when I know I am going to use something and it is going to last.
These are a “buy me once” item as they do last forever – if looked after well. Those words again. Well, I ask you…why wouldn’t you want to take the trouble to look after the things that you own as well as possible?
We have been seduced. Here are just a few of those tag words they use to get you to part with your money:
- Non-stick
- Easy care
- Dishwasher safe
Some of those things are brilliant, don’t get me wrong, but they can come with their own price tag- often hidden.
My feeling is that we do not care, with either maintenance or emotions, for the things that we are “told” are not important at the point we buy them.
If the subliminal message is, “just fling me about and stick me in the dishwasher, it doesn’t matter”, then it may not have a long life and we will need to by another one…and another one…the hidden price tag.
This pan needs similar treatment as the cast iron pan in terms of how to season, wash and maintain it. It is smaller than the cast iron pan from yesterday and a lot lighter. It is brilliant to use for a 2 egg omelette, for roasting pumpkin seeds or as my go to pan for making a petite Tarte Tatin. Because of the cleaning and oiling routine, it is 95% non-stick. A five minute soak in very hot water and application of our stiff wooden pot brush sees off the other 5% of any reluctant stuckness. Because it is iron it works on the induction hob a treat. It is a joy to use on a daily basis.
It is skillet number two of three- the third will make an appearance in a future post.
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Quotidian 