Why do you use a cast-iron skillet?

We adore a traditional cast-iron skillet for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to the following: burners, pizza, peach crisp, and giant biscuits. However, cast iron has benefits that go beyond cooking. Actually, using it during cooking might be beneficial to our health. This is why.

Cast iron isn't all about frying

It's true that a cast-iron pan makes a great frying vessel. But it also makes for healthy cooking because of its capacity to hold heat. That includes rapid broiling and grilling, which don't use much oil, as well as water-based techniques like braising and poaching. Put the entire pan on the grill, please. Just be sure to warm it thoroughly first, because failing to do so might result in hot areas.

It's basically nonstick

You use less oil when using a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet than when using a typical stainless-steel pan because cast-iron develops a natural nonstick coating. Cast iron is so simple to clean, and the more you use it, the more seasoned it gets. This is a strong reason to use cast iron frequently for practically any cuisine.

You can avoid nasty, hard-to-pronounce chemicals

Okay, so there are some situations in which a real nonstick pan is required. You don't want to use nonstick cookware since it contains some chemicals that can be hazardous and degrade at high temperatures. It may also be a problem if your nonstick cookware is older.

You get an iron boost

It's likely that you've heard at least once that cooking with cast iron releases iron into your food. It's not a myth, and it's not terrible, especially for vegetarians, women, and children who are more likely to be iron-deficient. The use of cast iron does, in fact, affect the amount of iron in food, according to research. It is debatable, though, how much iron is transported and how much is absorbed by your body.

According to a study, iron content increased greater when food was cooked in iron cookware and had higher moisture, acidity, and cooking times.

In a more recent experiment, America's Test Kitchen simmered tomato sauce in cast-iron pans that were both unseasoned and seasoned, as well as in a stainless steel pan.According to laboratory studies, the sauce prepared in the unseasoned pan—which isn't recommended for cooking—had ten times more iron than the sauce prepared in the seasoned pan, which had only a few grams more iron than the sauce prepared in stainless steel.

Therefore, it seems a bit inconsistent. A fresh and/or unseasoned cast-iron skillet may have more iron than one that has been used previously from a culinary perspective.

When you generally cook with cast iron, you'll end up ingesting more iron. Simply don't rely on your pan to provide for all of your dietary needs. You will still need to consume meat, legumes, and leafy vegetables.