- Cast-iron pans are great for high-heat cooking like searing, roasting, and baking—but not for every type of dish.
- Acidic foods, delicate fish, and dairy-based sauces can damage a pan’s seasoning or develop off flavors if cooked too long.
- Use stainless steel or enameled cookware for long-simmered sauces, soups, and sticky desserts to protect your cast iron.
Cast-iron pans are one of the most beloved tools in the kitchen, and for good reason. Even inexpensive cast-iron pans heat evenly, retain heat like no other material and are virtually indestructible if one cares for them properly. If well-seasoned and properly maintained, a cast-iron pan can last for generations.
In restaurant kitchens, chefs love them for searing and roasting: sizzling steaks; crisping chicken, pork belly, and duck; and baking cornbread. They’ve made the transition to tableware, too, a favorite for presenting roasted oysters, shrimp and grits, and loaded breakfast skillets.
But as versatile as cast-iron pans are, and while some cooks choose them first every time, many agree that they aren’t the right choice for every kitchen task. Certain foods and techniques can strip the seasoning or impart off-flavors to the finished dish, and sometimes there’s just a better material for the job. I polled chefs across the country to weigh in on what they avoid when cooking in cast iron and why.
Acidic Foods
The most generally and universally agreed-upon no-no when it comes to cast-iron cooking is acidic foods. This means recipes that are heavy on tomatoes or contain more than a few spoonfuls of citrus juice, vinegar or wine and require prolonged (more than 15 minutes) contact with the pot or pan.
A.J. Capella, executive chef at Summit House in New Jersey, explains the thinking that acidic foods can actually erode the pan’s surface: “If you use a cast-iron [pan] to cook something acidic, the iron ore in the metal erodes. This causes pitting and can give food a metallic flavor.”
While a quick sauté of tomatoes is fine, long simmers with low-pH ingredients can leach a metallic flavor into your dish and break down the pan’s seasoning, the layer of polymerized oil that gives a well-loved cast-iron piece its shiny surface and nonstick properties.
Chef Charlie McKenna of Roux in Chicago and barbecue brand Lillie’s Q is a cast-iron ride-or-die who proudly displays his collection of 20+ Griswold cast-iron skillets in a vintage cabinet in his kitchen. He cooks everything from delicate egg dishes to large pieces of meat in them, and even he follows this rule. “I typically like quicker cooks with acidic foods—simmering tomato sauce too long can instill a slight metallic taste.”
But some chefs think that the worry over acidic ingredients is overblown. Chef Ari Miller of Post Haste, in Philadelphia, PA, says “I haven’t found this to be a limitation. I think it’s more a myth, like not washing your cast iron with soap. I find that cast iron is less about what you put into it than how you maintain it. Once properly seasoned, it’s the right answer for all situations.”
Chef’s Tip: Choose stainless steel or enameled cast iron for long tomato sauces, pickle brines and wine-heavy braises. For quick sautés, seasoned cast iron can handle anything just fine.
Delicate Fish and Sauces
One of the things that makes cast-iron pans so excellent for searing and roasting—their incredible heat retention—can be a bit of a liability when it comes to more delicate ingredients. Private chef Jenny Messing said: “I would avoid it for delicate, nonstick tasks like cooking a gentle tilapia. Cast iron is too much of a workhorse.”
Many of the chefs polled said that fish with a protective layer of skin is great cooked in cast iron, but thin filets without that buffer stick easily if the pan isn’t very well-seasoned. Chef Erik Niel of Easy Bistro in Chattanooga adds that butter and cream sauces don’t shine in cast iron: “I don’t like building pan sauces in cast iron because they tend to look a little dull,” a personal preference that’s more about color than flavor. Chef Chris Farella of Brothers Smokehouse agreed, explaining that “delicate dairy-based sauces are also tricky since cast iron holds heat so well and can scorch them quickly.”
Chef’s Tip: For thin or skinless fish fillets or delicate sauces, stainless steel is a better choice.
Sticky Sweets or Delicate Cakes
Yes, you can bake in cast iron, and doing so can yield great caramelization and delicious crispy edges on a craggy fruit crisp or a lofty Dutch baby that you can deliver to the table right in the skillet. But sticky, sugary recipes can adhere to the surface and be difficult to clean without damaging the seasoning—or be a nightmare if your pan’s seasoning is still developing. The inflexibility of the material can also make them challenging for removing delicate cakes without damaging them.
Chef Evan Hennessey of Stages in Dover, NH, notes, “Baking a cake in cast iron isn’t necessary—stick to stainless or a baking pan. But tarts, Dutch babies, and cornbread? Have at it.”
Chef’s Tip: Stick to baked goods that benefit from high heat and caramelization. Skip them for sticky caramel or delicate cakes.
Soups
One response I didn’t anticipate when surveying chefs for this story has to do with water. While cast iron excels at searing and roasting, several chefs polled said they avoid it for dishes heavy on liquid or steam on the grounds that prolonged moisture exposure can wear down seasoning.
Capella says, “I don’t like to use my cast iron pans to simmer liquids for a long period of time. I wouldn’t make a soup or something like that.” Chef Jason Hall of Cathédrale in New York’s East Village agrees: “I would not use anything with liquid. These are more for roasting meats and vegetables. I would not use them for pasta.”
In this case the consensus seems to come not from a significant drawback to the flavor but more of an abundance of caution around protecting the pans’ seasoning.
Chef’s Tip: Use a stainless-steel or enameled Dutch oven for soups, boiling pasta water, poaching eggs or blanching vegetables. Cast-iron skillets shine when liquids are minimal.
The Bottom Line
A cast-iron pan is one of the most durable, versatile kitchen tools you can own. It’s unbeatable for searing steaks, crisping potatoes and baking crispy-edged cornbread. But it’s not the right fit for every dish. Long-simmered acidic sauces, delicate fish, cream-based pan sauces, very sticky sweets or cakes and soups are better left to nonstick, stainless-steel, or enameled cookware.
