Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet Frying Pan. Made in The USA. 26 cm/10.25 inch, Multi-Coloured, 10.25-Inch

I bought this cast iron skillet as I was fed up of replacing non-stick pans and thought that it would be much harder for the family to destroy this one. This is the first cast iron pan I have owned and was a little wary at first so I did a bit of research on YouTube. I did not pre-season the pan as it looked fine with the Lodge pre-seasoning so I just gave it a thorough scrub before the first use. The first thing I cooked was bacon as I had heard that that was a good thing to cook in a new cast iron pan. The bacon cooked wonderfully, so full of flavour. It is simple to wash out. Just a rinse and scrub with plain hot water (no washing up liquid) using a grill pan brush, a warm on the stove to get rid of any moisture and then a quick wipe over with a tiny bit of oil with kitchen paper and it is ready for the next use.I have cooked all sorts in it, even eggs. It is great for cooking things on the stove and then putting in the oven or under the grill to finish off and meat always seems to taste better than the equivalent cooked in teflon. The handle does get hot as it is made of cast iron too but a Le Creuset handle glove fits very well and takes care of accidentally grabbing the hot handle. Cast iron does take a different sort of care than non-stick pans but one soon gets into a routine. It needs preheating to bring it up to the correct temperature before use which can take a little time and after use it needs to be well dried and rubbed with oil before putting away.I am delighted with this pan and love cooking in it. The more I use it the better it seems to be. I am looking forward to expanding my cast iron collection in the future. Lodge seem to have a good reputation for their cast iron and this seems to bear out with my experience of this one.By the way, as these pans are solid cast iron, they are quite heavy. The helper handle helps when moving the pan around. However, make sure to wear an oven glove if using the helper handle as that will be hot too.

These pre-seasoned Lodge cast iron pans - if cared for properly - are a life-long purchase, or possibly longer, if you decide to hand them down to the next generation!They are beautifully made, with a clean, consistent cast, and a considerable heft, even in the smaller sizes. The iron has a tight, fine grain which produces smooth curves and crisp details on the pan, and provides a visible sense of quality. Equipping your kitchen with a set of these would be ideal if you appreciate traditional, quality items that can be passed down from generation to generation - they are genuinely 'Modern Retro'. Unchanged in design over hundreds of years, there is a sense when cooking with these that a great-great-grandmother has done the same somewhere back in the distant past. In this manner, they are eminently suitable for cooking traditional and slow-cooked dishes.Pros: Solid, long-lasting, high quality construction that saves on energy (as less heat is needed) and may improve the taste of your foods.A slower approach on a lower setting will infuse the pan with an even heat all over. The cast iron may not actually add anything taste-wise to the food being cooked, but - possibly by not taking anything away either - it definitely does help food taste better! Meats sear really well, sealing in more flavour. There is absolutely no chance of any contamination from non-stick chemicals or coatings as the pans are entirely naturally coated (cooking oil).Cons: Need slightly more maintenance than a modern non-stick pan, and the considerable weight can make them a bit of a handful!Pre-seasoning (cooked-on oil) ensures less hassle when the pan is new, and as you add to the seasoning through time, the non-stick qualities of the pan increase.Unlike normal non-stick pans, you can use metal kitchen implements with impunity, as the surface is practically bulletproof. However, you must wash the pan in a gentle soap solution after each use, and re-coat the pan with oil before storing it away. In practice, this only takes a couple of minutes and leaves the pan with a satisfying black lustre. Not doing it, or leaving the pan damp, can result in rust quickly forming on the raw iron. However, even this is not a disaster as a gentle scrub and re-oiling will get rid of the rust (although leaving rust on for longer could result in physical damage to the surface of the pan).Due to their robust construction and the nature of cast iron, these pans tend to weigh heavily, even in the smaller sizes. This helps the pan spread and retain heat evenly, but can make them a bit of a handful when moving them around the stove. As an integral part of the pan, the handles heat up at the same rate, so be careful with them! The positive side of this is that the pan can go from stove top to oven to table top (and even BBQ!) without alteration, or risk of a plastic handle melting. Buy a pair of good quality silicone mitts or oven gloves and always lift them using both handles. Lodge do silicone covers for the handles and tempered, oven-proof glass lids in sizes to fit the main pans.For general use, the 8" and 10" sizes should be adequate, with 12" for larger meals or extended family cooking. They are also available in deep versions that can be used as a casserole. We store ours on the gas stove top as we like the look of them so much!

Pan arrived in perfect condition, after reading the reviews I expected it to be a bit rough inside but it was well conditioned and smooth . I decided to pay the higher price for this in the hope I got one in better condition than some of the reviews £45 from Amazon EU or £35 from Amazon next day delivery, you just wait a bit longer from the EU. When it arrived I was glad I paid the extra it was very well seasoned no chips or knocks and the inside was really smooth , I just seasoned it three times in the oven and now it Cookes every thing without any sticking at all even fried eggs , I may have paid ten pound more than I needed to but it was worth it to get one in this condition. I don't no why Amazon repack things as it turned up in a flimsy cardboard box a small piece of bubble wrap around it and the handle was sticking out of the box luckily there was no damage one chip and it would have gone back so you need to sought this out amazon.