Most everybody who thinks of Cast Iron, thinks of cookware. Although cast iron cookware
is very popular and has stood the test of time for hundreds of years, there are many great
products made of cast iron. For example, the cast iron plant hanger above is one of my favorites.
We have several of these on our deck and hang plants on them from the spring to the fall. If you
look around, you can find coat hooks, door knockers, bells and even tractor sweat made of cast
iron. The nice thing about all this is that it looks much nicer than anything you can buy in most
of the big box stores.

I live in Colorado and I’m at 8,485 feet above sea level.
Winter has started early here this year, we are on our
second snow storm of the year. I just got done shoveling
18″ of snow and have a nice fire going in the fireplace.
Now it’s time to get out my cast iron pots and make some
nice soup to enjoy for dinner. I’m thinking maybe chili as
it seems to go best when its really cold outside. I would
like some new chili recipes so if anybody has any to share
send them along. Good cooking to all.

“Birds are susceptible to a respiratory condition called “teflon toxicity” or “PTFE poisoning/toxicosis.” Deaths can result from this condition, which is due to the noxious fumes emitted from overheated cookware coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). This chemical is found on most non-stick cookware and appliances, some stain repellant products, and other household items.”

Well if that doesn’t make a sound case for getting back to good old fashioned cast iron cookware I don’t know what will.  Convenient, cheap and easily replaced, non-stick cooking surfaces coated with a variety of toxic metals are killing birds all over the world.  Now we know that breathing in the Teflon kills birds.  I wonder what breathing in Teflon does to people?

A lot of people who think they can’t cook because they burn food or their food just doesn’t come out looking right.  What many of these people don’t realize is that the cookware they use could potentially be the cause of their kitchen conundrum.  Most pots and pans sold today in department stores and discount department stores don’t heat evenly, or anywhere near it.  As a result food cooked in these pots and pans comes out inconsistent.

With cast iron pots and pans that worry is erased.  Because of the way cast iron is made, and what it’s made of, cast iron is far and away one of the best heat condusctors you’ll ever find in cookware.  When it comes to even heating and consistent quality it’s tough to be cast iron.  Non-stick surfaces can be somewhat convenient but they yield unpredictable results.  Try cast iron cookware for yourself and see the difference!

It’s been known for some time that many non-stick cooking surfaces contain materials that have a proven record for causing serious illness and death in laboratory animals and human beings.  For example, DuPont has been sued for damages done to the environment as well as people with damages estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  Some say Teflon is more harmful to the environment than the well-known pesticide DDT.  Who knew Teflon could be so expensive?  Other non-stick materials, like those used in Calphalon and other “resilient” non-stick surfaces have been linked to breast cancer, tumors, nausea, vomiting and more.

The New England Journal of Medicine published an alert to the dangers of cooking with aluminum citing growing evidence that aluminum is directly linked to the occurence of Alzhemier’s diease.  Aluminum is found in almost all cookware, especially non-stick, with the exceptions of cast iron pots and pans or stainless steel.  The worst part is, these non-stick surfaces don’t need to be old, scratched or flaking to leech poisonous metals into food.  They do it from day one.

What is most important when shopping for cast iron cookware?