Can you cook Tomatoes in cast iron cookware?
Tomatoes can be cooked and added to a variety of dishes, however, due to their acidness, they aren’t recommended for cast iron cookware. Now you may be curious about the reason behind this, I mean what could be so harmful about tomatoes that you should avoid cooking them in your cast iron cookware.
Are tomatoes cooked in cast iron bad for You?
As mentioned, tomatoes are highly acidic. When cooking acidic ingredients in cast iron, there is a risk of trace amounts of iron molecules transferring into your food. Whilst this isn’t going to be hugely harmful to your health, it is likely that you will be able to taste metal when eating your food and this isn’t going to be particularly pleasant.
Why do tomatoes turn my cast iron pans black?
Aside from this, the acid in the tomatoes can cause the seasoning on the surface of your pans to break down. The majority of cast iron pans are seasoned through a process of polymerization. This gives them their black appearance and can also enhance their longevity by preventing them from rusting.
Can you use any utensils on cast iron?
Myth: You can't use metal utensils on cast iron cookware. Fact: Cast iron is the most durable metal you'll ever cook with. That means any utensil is welcome — silicone, wooden, and even metal. Myth: You can't use cast iron cookware on glass-top stoves.
The Myth: You should never wash cast iron with soap
THE TESTING: During our extensive recipe-testing process we generated hundreds of dirty skillets and thus had plenty of opportunities to test different cleaning methods. While developing our recommended procedure, we experimented with a variety of cleansers, including dish soap and scouring powders.
The Myth: When you cook in a cast-iron skillet, your food will absorb a lot of extra iron so you can effectively supplement your diet by using this type of pan
THE TESTING: We simmered tomato sauce in a stainless-steel pan and in seasoned and unseasoned cast-iron pans. We then sent samples of each sauce to an independent lab to test for the presence of iron. The unseasoned cast iron released the most molecules of metal.
