Lodge Cast Iron Cornbread Pan

The Cook’s Tour

There is something a bit nicer about the finish that a wedge pan brings to individual servings of things like cornbread, Johnnycakes, cool cookies, brownies,  an omelette, a Spanish tortilla, or some really awesome latkes, or samosas,  all of the edges are sealed in. No crumbly mess that bleeds into other dishes. For a breakfast, or brunch treat, it makes for a nice grab-n-go, or buffet pick up item that’s a bit more stable.

CAST IRON MAGIC

There’s the joy of a Lodge cast iron pan.

Cast iron heats evenly, and produces superior results, without being as fussy as most modern pans.

Pre-seasoned, which means that someone scrubbed them out, after forging, and then did the hour or so of layering on vegetable oil at high temp to condition them to non-stick grade,  they’re kind of the ultimate non-stick.

Great in the oven, or on the cooktop, they do better with gas and electric cooktops, and all ovens. They’re particularly hearty with wood burning stoves, and, yes, if you don’t mind the added weight, you can take them camping.

CARE

Keep them well-greased with GOOD shortenings, that have a solid smoke point, and hand-wash without steel wool or other harsh abrasives, and immediately dry them, and you’ll get a couple of lifetimes of good use out of them.

When you take them off of the heat, or out of the oven, they do not cool down rapidly. Do not toss them in cold water. Just set aside, and let them come back to room temp.

If there is something crusty/stuck on? Soak the pan for about 20-30 minutes, until the material softens. Use a non-stick pan scrubbing pad, and gently clean, as you would a non-stick. Rinse and dry.

UPSIDES/DOWNSIDE

Upside is that the pan cooks super-evenly, and is great for oven use, as you can count on the fact that its sturdy construction will not warp at residential oven temps. The downsides? Weight, and cool down. They are heavier than alloy pans.

MY TAKE

If you have limited kitchen space, then, sure, this may not be the pan for you. If you have a little room to keep a couple of “fun” pans, then this is a highly versatile one that, in spite of your significant other, who doesn’t cook, and who is probably rolling their eyes, saying:

“What are you going to use THAT for?”

You will create delightful dishes that silence the cynics.

As cast iron goes, nobody does it better than Lodge. I have 30+ year old Lodge pans that have been heatin’, beaten, but never are defeat-en. (Poetic license.)  I give Lodge’s fun cornbread pan a solid five diamonds.