I saw something among the camping supplies of a sporting goods store that I thought could come in handy..It is a cast-iron griddle the shape of a cookstove, ie about 14 in by 30 in. You could also use this on top of your grill or over a fire (providing you have one of those stands to set things on over your fire). It was just under 30 bucks. I was wondering how I was going to use my normal cookware over coal or fire and this seems a great solution. It is flat on one side for cooking eggs, pancakes, etc and is ridged on the other side for cooking steaks, etc. Made by Coleman. Keep in mind that normal cookware may not fit in your fireplace and may warp. Don't ask me how we are going to get steak and eggs, but I'm sure I'll find plenty of other uses.

-- Amy Leone (aleone@amp.com), October 12, 1998

Answers

Do you know how to season cast iron cookware? If your interested, I will give you the details. I have many pieces and I wouldn't trade any of them for anything! I find cast iron cookware at garage sales and flea markets all the time.

-- Bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 12, 1998.

I'm going with cast iron too. Finding "previously owned" stuff. It is my understanding that food picks up some nutrient value from cooking on cast iron,..and in worst case scenario we wil all need to get iron in our systems any way we can. I love the way pancakes come out on cast iron.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), October 12, 1998.

You pick up iron from cooking in cast iron cookware. Never put them in the dishwasher. After cooking in them, wash out with a nondetergent scouring pad and rub down with lard only. Your cookware will remain sticky free.

-- Bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 12, 1998.

Amy,

With all this warning we have, if you have a real need to cook over an open fire it implies you did NOT prepare! A camp sove is not expensive and can be treated the same as a gas stove for cooking. You can use your normal cookware with ease, as we do on every camping trip we take. It IS true that the heavier ware will cook better on an open flame as it's less incline to burn the food.

It's a toss up. If you have to cook over an open fire it's usually because you are away from home, but then cast iron is too heavy to carry while camping. Sigh......

One thing we do...in our camper we keep an aluminum griddle made for pancakes, eggs, whatever. We use it for that, or we place it across both burners of a coleman stove and set the pots on top of the griddle. It serves to spread and mellow the heat so we can cook slower without burning.

I like cooking with cast iron. Especially dutch ovens which are far far more useful than griddles. With a good dutch oven you can cook roasts, soups, stews,just about anything. I have fried eggs in mine, sauted onions, made chili, cooked stews on our coal stove, cooked on our KERO heater(!). It will cook a roast with potatos and carrots in about 2 hours in the oven. The little nubs inside the lid act as self basters and it has never failed to make a poor cut of meat fork tender.

Cast iron care is a lifetime study. Bought new it must be seasoned before use. I do mine about every six months as well. If it is used for acidic soups/stews/chili it must be seasoned again. If it's left to soak with water/detergent it must be seasoned again. The best cleaning method is to cook with oil etc and just wipe it clean after use. Scrubbing with plain water rinse does well, and I like to give them a wipe with olive oil after cleaning. Frankly, if I had to live with one pot, and one pot only, it would be my dutch oven. With that and a good size cast iron frying pan, there is little you can't cook well.

On another note, don't plan on cooking over an open coal fire. The fumes will gag you and the food will taste lousy. A coal STOVE is another matter.

You mention cooking in your fireplace. I think you are missing a good bet if you don't install a wood stove insert into that fireplace. They are many times more efficient and many of them have top surfaces wide enough and hot enough to cook on. Nothing beats the beauty of an open fireplace, or the efficiency of a true cook stove. A wood stove bridges the gap nicely if it's a good one. Forget that pretty fire if it's a true coal stove you want.

-- Art Welling (artw@lancnews.infi.net), October 13, 1998.