Despite years of innovation in cookware technology, cast iron is still one of the most touted materials. Cast iron is strong and durable, holding up to anything cooks can throw at it. Cookware made of cast iron can go from the oven to the stovetop and straight to the table, all while retaining heat better than virtually all other cookware.

One of the main drawbacks of cast iron, however, is that food can be burned on, and washing cast iron cookware with soap and water isn’t an option. Enameled cast iron cookware has successfully solved this catch-22. Now you can have all of the unparalleled cooking qualities of cast iron cookware while enjoying the quick cleanup and easy maintenance of an enameled set.

One of the most important pieces of camping gear is your outdoor cookware. After many miles of uphill climbing and hard trekking, there’s nothing better than getting to your camp site and being able to enjoy a hot meal. The best way to achieve this kind of meal is with camping cooking gear such as butane stoves. These handy little devices are compact and collapsible, so they fit easily into your backpack, and they are high powered, so you can cook canned soup, dehydrated meals, or simply have hot water for tea or coffee.

One of the most interesting parts of camping is making yourself aware of all the creature comforts that you miss at home. But with the right camping cookware, you can bring some of that comfort into your campsite. Out in the wilderness, things become much more simplified. The only things that truly matter are food, water, and shelter. Help get the best out of the food aspect with the best in cooking gear.

Growing up, I always looked forward to family dinners. When my dad got off work early enough to cook, there was about a 50-50 chance that we would be treated to a real Italian feast. My personal favorite, spaghetti and meatballs, was reserved for special occasions. The sauce was memorable, certainly, but the meatballs were the real star of the show. Here’s one of the Italian meatball recipes I still follow to this day.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground beef, veal and pork mixture
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
salt, to taste
splash of milk

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except garlic in a large mixing bowl. Shape into meatballs.
2. Fry until browned in one of your skillets with olive oil and garlic. Add to tomato sauce, allow to simmer there for at least 3 hours.

Baking a cake can be a tremendously rewarding experience. Creating a delicious desert gives you a special sense of accomplishment, and you’ll also bask in the glow of compliments friends and family are sure to offer. But before you start taking victory laps, you’ll need to make sure that you select the proper baking pan for a given recipe. Remember the general rule that a “pan” refers to a metal receptacle and a “dish” is typically made of glass.

It’s also crucial that your baking pan is the right size for the recipe. Otherwise you might end up with an overflowing desert. If your dish is too small to accommodate a recipe, don’t despair. You can pare down the ingredients and the cooking time, ending up with fewer servings but just as fulfilling of an experience. Some recipes will call for greasing your pan, but this might not be necessary if you have cast iron baking pans.

The word “fritter” can mean many things to many people. For a New Englander, a delectable apple fritter might spring to mind. In Southeast Asia, on the other hand, a scrumptious yam prepared in a wok might be more typical. In any case, fritter is a blanket term for a food that’s dipped in batter and then deep-fat fried. It goes without saying that almost any foodstuff can be made delicious via this method, although it should be used in moderation. Try the following recipe for crab fritters - it should appeal to Pacific Northwest diners as well as those with a Southern sensibility.

Ingredients:
6 ounces crab meat
1 egg, whipped with water
2 Tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tsp. margarine
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup flour
½ cup skim milk
1 tsp. sherry
1 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
flour (additional)
bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Cook green pepper and garlic in margarine and EVOO in saucepan until tender. Add milk, stirring until thick.
2. Shred crab, adding sherry, cayenne pepper, and meat to pan. Allow 2 hours for chilling.
3. Form crab into small balls with a 1-Tsp. scoop. Roll them in flour and dip in mixture of egg and water. Roll in crumbs and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Fry 3 or 4 balls at a time in one of your cast iron deep fry pans until they are browned to satisfaction, and enjoy.

When people are cooking in the outdoors, they’re looking for recipes and cookware that are both effective and easy to use. That’s why cast iron is such a popular choice among avid campers. With a natural non-stick surface, it means that you won’t have to haul in additional butter, lard, fat, or oil.

Another reason people enjoy Lodge cast iron cookware on their various camping trips is because cast iron is so incredibly durable. While other pans run the risk of warping at high temperatures, this is not usually the case with cast iron. So you don’t have to worry about grilling those hot dogs over an intense campfire. Your cast iron pots and pans are sure to take it!

Here’s a delicious and simple recipe for a Southwest inspired egg omelet. In addition to the ingredients, you’ll need a hot surface, one of your cast iron pans, and a spatula.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 chopped jalapeno

Directions:

Crack your three eggs and place them in the nonstick cookware pan, then mix them around a bit.  Turn your hot surface to medium-high heat, and place the pan on top.  In about 2-3 minutes, the eggs should start to become hardened on the bottom.  This is when you will want to place the grated cheese and chopped jalapeno on one side of the egg.  Wait another minute, and then flip one half of the egg onto the other, creating the omelet.  Quick and easy, and a great way to kick off your day!

The best part of camping is when everyone gathers around the fire and eats whatever is served. Meals are usually made up of canned goods eaten straight from the can; not exactly a meal to look forward to. When my family goes into the wilderness for a few days, we always bring some cookware—especially some cast iron skillets—to prepare some quality meals.

With camping cookware, campers can enjoy a delicious meal outdoors. The cookware is made especially for the outdoors and is convenient and light enough to carry in a backpack. Camping cookware can make a meal cooked over a campfire taste like it was home made.

There have been huge advancements in the field of outdoor cooking. Camping cookware used to mean a small aluminum pot, a few plastic sporks, and maybe a tin cup for some black coffee. But now that campers expect a higher grade of food than hotdogs and S’mores, the camping cookware has received a similar boost. Now these cookware sets include more specialized tools such as spatulas, slotted spoons, and more.

The pots and pans, however, are where the real improvements have been made. The camping dishes available today are most often made of cast iron or some similar heavy duty material; you can even find enameled cast iron cookware. That means these dishes will not only last you for years of outdoor events, but it will also offer delicious meals. In fact, they’re such high quality that you can even take these dishes into the kitchen in your home!

With all the latest innovations in cooking gadgets that are out in the market today, it is amazing that the cast iron skillet has surpassed the test of time. Nothing seems to last as long in the kitchen as that old iron skillet. Cast iron cookware is a heat conductor, which means it heats consistently and evenly. Hence, it is the old fashioned way to cook fat-free food. In addition, investing in a complete set of cast iron cookware will not affect your budget because it is quite affordable and will last a lifetime.

A cast iron skillet can go from stove to oven, and you don’t need any special utensils to cook with it, compared to Teflon type cooking pans. They are easy to clean and don’t warp. No wonder most our grandmothers had cast iron skillets. They were usually passed down to the next generation. There are many dependable brands out there, but I prefer Old Mountain cookware.