Cooking evenly with cast iron?!


Question: I use cast iron frypans and love them for the most part. No sticking, no teflon, easy to clean, and the freedom to use metal.

However, they don't appear to cook evenly. I use an electric stove with burners large enough to heat the entire bottom of the frypan. However, the center of the frypan is still significantly hotter than the edges. This causes a problem with pancakes, omelettes, etc.., because parts of the item will burn while others are just barely solidifying. This effect continues regardless of how long I am cooking - just waiting for the pan to heat doesn't fix it.

I'm using the typical Lodge cast iron frypans that you find anywhere. To my knowledge, there are no other/better cast iron manufacturers out there.


Answers: I use cast iron frypans and love them for the most part. No sticking, no teflon, easy to clean, and the freedom to use metal.

However, they don't appear to cook evenly. I use an electric stove with burners large enough to heat the entire bottom of the frypan. However, the center of the frypan is still significantly hotter than the edges. This causes a problem with pancakes, omelettes, etc.., because parts of the item will burn while others are just barely solidifying. This effect continues regardless of how long I am cooking - just waiting for the pan to heat doesn't fix it.

I'm using the typical Lodge cast iron frypans that you find anywhere. To my knowledge, there are no other/better cast iron manufacturers out there.

One of the reasons we all love cast iron is the fact that it transfers heat evenly & quickly. It also holds heat longer than other metals. Cast iron lends itself to low & slow heat. Try using about 2/3 the cook temp that you would use on aluminum or copper pans.

Yes, cast iron fry pans are awesome.
Even the executive chef at the White House raves about her cast iron pan.

How is high is the heat of your burner? Maybe try lowering the heat, esp since it sound like the burners on your stove are large.
Put the burner lower, and just wait long enough for the pan to heat up throughout the whole pan (about 5 min) then try something like pancakes.

If those first two pancakes are still too undercooked in the center, you know the heat is too high. Fortunately, you can still adjust the heat and still have the rest of the batter to work with.

Good luck!!!





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