IronHearth
The Journal
What Skillet Size Do You Need? Matching Pan to Servings
How skillet diameter translates to realistic servings, why doubling the diameter quadruples capacity, and how to size a pan for a full meal versus a side dish.
How to Scale a Recipe for a Different Size Cast-Iron Pan
Why moving a recipe to a different pan diameter isn't the same math as feeding more people, and the exact factors and rounding that get both right.
Dutch Oven vs Skillet: Choosing and Sizing the Right Pan
Why a Dutch oven isn't just a bigger skillet, how much more seasoning surface its walls really add, and how to size and convert recipes between the two.
Identifying and Buying Vintage Cast Iron
What actually separates older cast iron from most new pans, how to evaluate a used pan at a sale, and a realistic restoration plan for a typical find.
Cast Iron Myths: Soap, Dishwashers, and Metal Utensils
Sorting fact from folklore on three of the most repeated cast-iron warnings, plus a worked recovery plan for the rare case seasoning actually strips.
Cooking Acidic Foods in Cast Iron
What tomato sauce, wine, and citrus actually do to a seasoning layer over time, why duration matters more than the ingredient, and how to build in a safety margin.
Baking in Cast Iron: Cornbread, Bread, and Pizza
How cast iron's slow-to-heat thermal mass becomes an asset once you're baking with it, and why cornbread, skillet bread, and pan pizza each demand a different preheat.
Deep Frying in Cast Iron: Oil Volume, Temperature Recovery, and Pan Size
How much oil a deep fry actually needs by pan size, why cast iron's thermal mass keeps oil temperature steadier than a thin pot, and how to pick a depth without a boil-over.
Cast Iron on Induction and Glass-Top Stoves
Why glass-ceramic and induction cooktops raise different problems than gas or coil burners, from scratching and cracking to uneven heat under a mismatched pan.
Campfire and Outdoor Cast Iron Cooking
How coal-bed heat, dutch-oven lid technique, safe transport, and post-trip cleanup differ from ordinary stovetop cast-iron use, and how to manage each one.
Restoring a Badly Damaged Cast-Iron Pan
How to tell ordinary rust apart from real structural damage — cracks, warping, and deep pitting — and an honest read on which of those a home cook can actually fix.
Caring for Enameled Cast Iron
The enamel-specific care rules that actually matter once you own the piece — chipping, thermal shock, staining, and why the bare-iron routine doesn't apply.