Walk into any kitchen shop and you’ll be told you need twelve pans. You don’t. If we could only keep one, it would be the 10-inch cast iron skillet — and it’s not close.
What it does
Sears steaks with a crust no nonstick can match. Fries chicken shatteringly crisp. Goes from stovetop to a screaming-hot oven for skillet cornbread or deep-dish pizza. With basic care, it improves for decades — try saying that about a coated pan.
The care is simpler than you think
Forget the mythology. Wash it (yes, with a little soap), dry it on heat so it never rusts, and wipe in a thin coat of oil while it’s warm. That’s it. The black, glassy seasoning builds itself through cooking.
What it can’t do
Honesty matters: it’s heavy, it hates long-simmered tomato sauces (acid strips young seasoning), and it needs two hands. For everything else — eggs sliding on a well-seasoned surface included — one good skillet genuinely covers 90% of stovetop cooking.