Kitchen

[Shanus]

I have several cast iron pans and use them almost exclusively, BUT what about the tomato issue?

I'd love to add fresh tomatoes to my sauteed chicken recipes and especially use my cast iron for a quick spaghetti sauce. 

Everything I read says NO TOMATOES IN CAST IRON.

Experiences or advice?

[loriqvc]

I mainly used enameled cast iron, so "the tomato issue" doesn't apply; however, from what I understand, if you've been using your pans for a long time and they're well seasoned, the likelihood of problems with acidic ingredients like tomatoes is small unless you're trying to make a long-cooking tomato sauce.

America's Test Kitchen has an article on its website about myths and realities of using cast iron; here's an excerpt from the part about using tomatoes:

Myth: You can’t cook wine, tomatoes, or other acidic ingredients in a cast-iron pan.

THE TESTING: When acidic ingredients are cooked in cast iron for an extended amount of time, trace amounts of molecules from the metal can loosen and leach into the food. Although these minute amounts are not harmful to consume, they may impart unwanted metallic flavors, and the pan’s seasoning can be damaged as well. To test how fast this happens and how noticeable it is, we made a highly acidic tomato sauce and simmered it in a well-seasoned skillet, testing it every 15 minutes to check for off-flavors and damage to the pan.

THE TAKEAWAY: In the end, our tasters could detect metallic flavors in the tomato sauce only after it had simmered for a full 30 minutes. So, while you can definitely cook with acidic ingredients in your cast-iron skillet, you have to be careful. First, make sure your pan is well seasoned; seasoning keeps the acid from interacting with the iron—to a point. An acidic sauce can afford a brief stay in a well-seasoned pan with no dire consequences. You should also be careful to remove acidic dishes from the skillet after they finish cooking; don’t let them sit too long in the warm skillet and transfer any leftovers to an airtight container. (These rules do not apply to enameled cast-iron skillets; the enameled coating makes it safe to cook acidic ingredients for any length of time.)

All of our cast iron recipes have been carefully developed to work in cast iron, even when they use highly acidic ingredients like vinegar, wine, tomatoes, cherries, and stone fruits. We use tricks like shorter simmering times, diluting the problematic ingredients to make the pH less of an issue, and waiting until late in the recipe to add the acidic ingredients. If you do accidentally oversimmer an acidic ingredient, you may have to throw out the food, but you can simply reseason your skillet and get back to cooking in it again.

[Harpa]

@ShanusI do not use cast iron because it is too heavy for me.

My DM used to make this dish, (I have no idea what it was called, where she got it from, or what all was in it, except for the tomatoes.) It was the only time she ever used her cast iron.

It was always Double Yuck!! There was always a very strong taste of the iron pan.

[drizzellla]

We bought a cast iron skillet. And spent quite a bit of  time seasoning it.

When I made spagetti sauce it ruined the seasoning on the cast iron. So please listen - No Tomatoes in Cast Iron.


PS - @Shanus I am SO CONFUSED!

I just watched a show on the Food Network. Every recipe was cooked in a cast iron skillet. She made a chili. It had tomatoes and tomato paste in the recipe. And another recipe had sun dried tomatoes.

She did end the show and showed how to season the cast iron skillet. SO maybe she seasons the skillet frequently. So I guess that using tomatoes wouldn't matter if you season the pan after using tomatoes.

[Danky2]

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@Harpa wrote:

@ShanusI do not use cast iron because it is too heavy for me.

My DM used to make this dish, (I have no idea what it was called, where she got it from, or what all was in it, except for the tomatoes.) It was the only time she ever used her cast iron.

It was always Double Yuck!! There was always a very strong taste of the iron pan.

---

That's why I don't use my cast iron......H ow do I get the taste of the iron out ?

[catmama]

I've used cast iron pans for years.  Don't put tomato sauce in them, but have added canned tomatoes to a pan while cooking and have not had an issue.  I just don't let the pan simmer with the tomatoes for a long period

[ManyMeows]

🍅 When I make spaghetti sauce, I use fresh tomatoes, and simmer for hours on low temp in my large crock pot. Never burns, never bubbles over, and it never disappears into thin air.

[elen22]

yaah, the timeless tomato debate with cast iron! The acidity in tomatoes can potentially react with the iron in the pan, causing some flavors to leach and a slight change in color. However, many home cooks successfully use cast iron for tomato-based dishes, myself included.

To mitigate any potential issues, here are a couple of suggestions:

Preheat the Pan

Limit Contact Time

Stainless Steel

[skittles2]

Hi, 

I use Le Creuset and have never had an issue.

My parents had traditional cast iron for at least 40 yrs, which I'm sure they seasoned.  They had a pot, fry pan and a fabulous round pancake/griddle that I adored.

Unfortunately they weren't handed down to me.

Their meals were always delicious!