Cast Iron

🍃💕​​ Learn more about how to get non-toxic, eco-friendly, safer, healthier, and approved cast iron cookware. 

Conventional Cast Iron Cookware

Avoid conventional cast-iron cookware with Enamel, which can pose a risk of lead contamination, especially if the enamel coating contains lead or cadmium, which may leach into food under certain conditions. It is used to eliminate the need for seasoning and provide a naturally slick surface. 

While many modern brands and manufacturers claim to adhere to strict safety standards and verify that their products are lead-free, independent testing of some enameled pieces has revealed detectable levels of lead in certain enamel surfaces. Vintage or brightly-colored enamel cookware (especially reds, oranges, or yellows) tends to have a higher risk of lead content, as lead was historically used to achieve vibrant colors in glazes.

Enameled cast iron skillets:  Enamel may test positive for lead even on the interior cooking surface, as reported in some independent tests.

​Greenwashing Cast Iron

Avoid Greenwashing cast iron cookware made by brands that pretend to be organic, eco-friendly, natural, or safe when it is not. They use misleading greenwashing techniques, tactics, and claims to convince you to buy their products! 

​Made by companies started by venture capitalists who then sold their brand to greedy multinational corporations and chose to manufacture in China. These companies focus more on profits, cutting quality and costs, and spending on marketing. Reducing safety and quality. These companies use greenwashing tactics on false advertising: “ Chemical-free Cookware ” is not regulated. Other issues are that their pans could not be leaching any toxic metals at the time of manufacture, not when they start to wear and the coating is damaged.

Made in China: Several factories aren’t registered with the FDA.

Approved Cookware

Cast iron is one of the best and safest cookware. It gets hot and stays hot, making it the best material for stovetop searing, oven-roasting vegetables, and sweet or savory baked goods. 

Uncoated cast iron is considered one of the best and safest cookware types because it is free from synthetic chemicals found in non-stick coatings like PFAS, PFOA, and PTFE, making it a natural and non-toxic cooking surface. 

Get cast iron that is:

  • Uncoated Cast Iron:  Unlike coated pans, uncoated cast iron does not deteriorate or release toxins when scratched or overheated, and it can last a lifetime with proper care through seasoning.

  • Made in the USA: made traditionally by the brands that take extra steps and effort to keep their business safer and local, where there are more controls ​

The Best Cast Iron Cookware Brands

Here are my number one cast-iron cookware brand recommendations: 

 

🌿 Field Company: 100% Made in the USA. Created by 2 brothers inspired by their grandmother’s 1930 cast-iron cookware. They went behind that and developed a new everyday cast iron skillet: lightweight, naturally non-stick, and made in the USA. They work with recycled iron sourced from American vendors and pour their cast iron cookware using green sand castings, just like the most celebrated vintage cast iron manufacturers, Griswold and Wagner. Field Company 10% off promo code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL

 

  • 100% Made in the USA
  •  Lightweight
  • ✅ Naturally non-stick

 

 

🌿 Lancaster Cast Iron is one of my favorite Cast Iron brands. They also offer approved Lancaster wooden spoons and cooking utensils hand-carved by local Amish craftsmen and artisans, made from sustainably harvested local hardwoods. My code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL will give a free tin of their cast iron seasoning oil ($16 value)

 

  • ✅ Hand Made in the USA: Every one of their pans is poured, finished, and seasoned by hand in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
  • ✅ Iconic Pour Spouts: Keeping the tradition alive, our large pour spouts make it simple to save rendered bacon grease, drain liquids, and plate tasty pan sauces.
  • ✅ Smooth Finish: Pre-seasoned and polished for a smooth finish on the interior, creating the best non-stick cooking surface possible.
  • ✅ Lightweight: The Lancaster No. 8 skillet’s thin walls and base allow it to respond to heat quickly, getting up to cooking temperature in seconds.

 

 

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