Utopia Kitchen Saute Fry Pan Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet With Lid, Nonstick Frying Pan, Cast Iron Pan – Safe Grill Cookware for Indoor & Outdoor Use – 12 Inch

I have officially formed a deep emotional attachment to a pan.
I always wanted a cast iron skillet, and I’m *so* glad I finally got one.For starters, it cooks everything better — which has made cooking almost like an all new thing for me. For example, when I got up this past Saturday, I said to myself, “gee, I wonder what it would be like to make the world’s best pancakes?” and then I cooked pancakes on this cast iron skillet, and said to myself, “this REALLY IS the world’s best pancakes. Does not get better than that!”Cooking everything I’ve ever cooked before has literally become a whole new experience.I’ve also had a number of times in my life where I bought things thinking if I bought it, I’d do more of something I wanted to do. For example, I’ve bought instruments wanting to play instruments, or bought games wanting to play some games with friends. In almost all cases, I buy that thing and proceed to not do anything with it beyond using it a couple times.Not with this. I’m discovering more and more that when you have the right tools to make delicious things, cooking is so much more fun than I ever thought it would be.I *look forward* to cooking.And, hell, even cleaning — because while cast iron is a lot less scary to take care of than some people think, it does require work. And I kind of feel like with my new skillet, it’s kind of like a new pet. And one that I love. But like a new pet, it sometimes needs attention that can’t be too delayed.Previously, I’d have left a dirty pan in the sink for hours… maybe days. Now, I clean it up right after I eat, because it’s my new ‘puppy’ and it needs its cleaning now.There’s been a weirdly fulfilling ritual to this, though, that’s connected me to my kitchen — plus, I enjoy this new cleaner kitchen I’ve been keeping almost as much as I’ve been enjoying the food that I’ve eaten!To think a fairly small purchase has changed so much about me in such a short time — and made me appreciate so many new and different things — is, well, damn. I love it.A few little caveats:This ended up being a bit bigger than I expected, but that’s my fault for not comparing the measurements to my existing pans and skillets. I thought this was a ‘standard’ sized pan (whatever ‘standard’ is), and it ended up being a good deal bigger than the biggest pan I had before.That said, I actually *really* like the size. This makes cooking a lot of things that was challenging a lot easier — I made a *giant* thing of made-from-scratch Mac and Cheese (enough for 12 people!), and this actually managed to fit the entire thing. (And the fact that I could use one pan for the stove top *and* the oven was nice.).I also enjoy how much easier to is to flip things, and how there’s extra space if I want to cook a couple different at the same time. Another nice thing: if you’re cooking burgers or hot dogs, you can cook the meat in the center of the pan and have *plenty* of space around the sides to heat the buns, and this makes them extra tasty.It is a bit heavy, however. I’m able to handle it with one hand (though that took a little getting used to), but a member of my household in her mid to late 60s isn’t. Still, she’s able to handle it much easier than she thought the first time she picked it up because of it’s second handle. Consider this the Great Sword of the kitchen — a number of people are going to need to use its two handles to use with ease.The last caveat: If you’ve never used cast iron — like I’ve never used cast iron — *wow* do they get hot, and they *retain* their heat. I took the advice of all the blog articles I’ve read and seasoned it a few extra times before my first use, and the first time I took it out of the oven I burned myself — right through my oven mitt. If you pick this skillet in the oven at very high temperatures, make sure to use both the silicone hot handle holder and a *good* pair of oven mitts.My burn was very minor because I had the oven mitts on, but they were crappy, cheap oven mitts. I immediately threw them out and bought a good pair of oven mitts on that were designed to be able to protect at 450.I haven’t burned myself since, but it’s definitely something to be careful about.

Cooks great – Bigger than I expected
This Skillet is THICK and HEAVY! Way better in quality than I expected. Easy to clean & keep seasoned. The Lid is heavy and sturdy. This was a great value.

Just as described, a great value
Reasonably priced cast iron. One of the rare products, without built in obsolescence.

REALLY NICE PAN…
The pan is very nice and it comes with a glass top, which is a plus. I bought a smaller one too. I am very pleased with the purchase.

The only things I dislike is that:1. the metal handle is a bit short, only about 4 inches at most. It comes with a red silicon handle cover which is at least an inch longer than the actual metal handle. I have small hands but anyone with larger hands will probably find the handle a bit small.2. the silicon handle cover is no very thick and it can get a bit hot at times. but it came free with the pan so I guess I can’t complain… (you can get the same pan for same price without a handle cover right now which doesn’t make sense but whatever)Other than that, it’s a great pan and great value for money.The surface is a bit rough at first which is normal for cast iron, however the surface was smoother than more expensive pans I’ve seen in store. I didn’t have any sharp edges or raised high/sharp spots. The surface gets smoother after use as well.after using it a few times and seasoning it twice, nothing really sticks to it.For anyone that is new to cast iron cookware, I strongly suggest reading up on proper use and care on the internet before using it.Anyone complaining of rust simply doesn’t know how to take care of it properly. Cast iron is iron and iron rusts.I seasoned the pan a couple of times when I got it and I have no rust on it. Clean it properly and dry it after you wash it and there won’t be any rust. And if you do get rust, the nice thing about cast iron is you can just clean the rust off and re-season the pan and it will be like new again.Don’t use a lot of water and soap to clean it because that can affect the seasoning, and dry it after you wash it.Also, use low heat on cast iron cookware! My electric stove goes from 0 to 10 and I use it mostly on 2, max 3. cast iron stores the heat a lot better than aluminum or other metals so if you use high heat you will burn your food.Also avoid thermal shock since this will cause cast iron to crack! this is a basic property of cast iron and will happen on any pan, no matter how much or little you pay for it.don’t put something really cold on a hot pan, don’t put cold water on the hot pan etc. (wait until it is cold before you clean it)

I bought this skillet for $25 CAD and, in my opinion, quality exceeds the price a lot.I am a huge fan of Teflon frying pans – what can be easier to cook on? However, after watching “The Devil We Know” BBC movie, I started looking for an alternative.For the record, I find it difficult to cook on stainless steel or cast iron skillets. My husband takes an excellent care of them (so they “work” properly) and I am cook at cooking, but a lot of different food sticks to my other stainless steel and cast iron skillets. But not to this one. I absolutely love how I can cook whatever I want and not to be nervous half of the food stays on the pan – it is a huge relief. I also used it in the oven without issues (just make sure to remove rubber handle).It is a bit small, so you won’t be able to cook a 4-person meal quickly only using this skillet, but it is big enough for my cooking. And did you see how much iron cast skillets cost these days?; I consider this one to be given to me practically free.It is heavy, but all cast irons are. I also received a red rubber handle that fits perfectly. While this not a big deal, it is a nice bonus as it makes it easier to cook (and, again, check Amazon prices for the exact same handle sold separately).The only drawback of this skillet is the fact that it is cast iron – meaning you absolutely must take a proper care of it every time after cooking as well as season from time to time.

Very good starter pan. The reason sit isn’t a 5/5 star rating is because the cooking surface is very rough. Many cheap cast iron pans these days have a rough surface and is annoying when cleaning. They also make it sometimes susceptible to sticking. That said, if you season it properly, food sticking shouldn’t be a big problem. When cleaning, I use a plastic brush to help loosen particles stuck to the rough surface. Be warned: this 12 inch is extremely heavy. I recommend getting a 10 inch for an all-around cast iron pan due to the lighter weight. The 12 inch requires both hands to lift it around, especially when cleaning. If you can afford it, buy a pan with a flat surface since the non-stick performance and ease of cleaning will be superior to a pan with a rough surface. You can also try grinding down the surface to make it smooth.