Ever since blacksmiths of yore learned the skills necessary to shape iron into basic cookware, cast iron cookware has been useful to the homemaker and professional chef. The iron cookware that for years kept early pioneers well fed with hot, sturdy meals cooked in open fireplaces and wood-burning stoves can still be found in today’s modern kitchen bubbling happily over gas, electric, and even ceramic stovetops.

Everyone is familiar with the traditional cast iron skillet or skillet and in many kitchens these vintage designs can still be seen proudly hanging from a pot rack or on a hook above the stove. While many pressed or stamped pots that show dents and areas of missing Teflon coatings are hidden well out of sight until needed, those old pans are on display like trophies for all to see.

While the frying pan is widely known and appreciated, iron has added its many benefits to many other frequently used but barely remembered kitchen gadgets. While the wok, for example, has found its way into many American kitchens in its traditional stamped or spun metal variety, many cooks have found that iron models with the ability to transfer heat evenly and quickly offer many additional benefits. .

Cast iron griddles in the form of large flat rectangular shapes with short raised edges can be placed over two burners on the stove and quickly produce mounds of pancakes, eggs, and other breakfast favorites.

Is fondue on your dinner menu? If so, you can easily find a variety of iron fondue sets, from mini chocolate to 3-quart cheese fondue sets. These colorful enameled appliances are at home on open flame gas or electric cooktops and also work in the freezer, refrigerator, or conventional microwave and ovens.

If you enjoy cooking stews, soups, or casseroles, chances are you have a cast iron Dutch oven in your kitchen. A Cajun kitchen would not be complete without a well seasoned and aged large Dutch oven that enhances food with its own special seasoned flavor.

When freshly baked bread, cornbread, muffins or cookies are called for, nothing beats cast iron for its ability to quickly and efficiently brown these baked goods. No thin-coated, stamped-metal model can match its cast-iron cousin in efficiently transferring heat to all surfaces. There are many varieties available to produce cornbread in traditional shapes and sizes, from ears of corn to pie-shaped wedges.

While your kitchen may not yet have a poultry rotisserie, they are available. These appliances have a central cone or “volcano” in which you can place your favorite seasonings. He then places the bird on top of the tube and as the bird cooks from the inside out, the seasonings impart their special flavor throughout the bird.

A few minutes of searching through the cast iron cookware deals available at online stores like Amazon will quickly convince anyone that cast iron cookware in its many guises, from traditional black iron to elegant colored enamel designs are here to stay.