Anyone who knows me, will likely have seen me carrying an iced-coffee in mason jar. I know there are gobs of newfangled drinking bottles and mugs, that have their own high-tech fancy lids (that don’t rust), but there’s something about drinking my coffee from glass that makes it taste so much better.
I was thinking of a couple of things that stand the test-of-time. And, mason jars and cast-iron skillets popped into my head. Growing up on a horse ranch, I was all too familiar with both. My parents nearly always drank their tea from a jar. And, we used to have a series of cast iron skillets hanging on the wall. As I grew up, I started to see both these items as (for lack of a non-insulting term) old-fashioned. To me, using jars was like using trash. And cast iron skillets were nothing but massive hunks of metal no one could ever get clean. But, I was ignorant of the versatility and durability of these items.
Yes, mason jars are glass and will break if you drop them on a hard surface. But compared to other glass containers, mason jars stand up well. Then, there’s their versatility. Try pickling anything with plastic. Apart from what they were intended for, they make great glasses, add a lid and you can take your drink on the go. Sure, the lids rust, but you can always buy more. Can you buy a new lid for those water bottles? At least easily?Plus, I recently discover you can buy plastic lid, so rust shan't prevail...
What else can you do with mason jars? There are tons of DIY projects. Layered sand crafts. Terrariums. Fill them with the ingredients for cake and cookie mixes. Jams. Jellies. Make homemade scented candles. Etc. All these make great gifts. And since mason jars are inexpensive, you can expand your joy of giving.
And then there’s cast iron skillets. A few years back, a friend of mine gave me three unseasoned cast iron skillets. Being a young single with no knowledge of how to season them, I simply cooked a lot bacon in them. (That seemed to work well.) I’ve read on many sites that linseed oil is a great seasoning. I haven’t tried it, but I’d like to. But, you can often get pre-seasoned skillets, so you don’t have to stress or labor seasoning your own. Yet, I did not use them all that much. I mostly used those teflon coated things.
As the years passed, those cast iron skillets sat in my cupboard waiting. As pans began to wear and tear, my wife and I thought we’d spend a little extra and get a nicer pan, one that bears the name of a cooking star. The pan was good, and we still use it today, but the coating has worn, food sticks, and it is difficult to clean (one doesn’t dare use a scouring pad on it).
So, I began using our cast iron skillets more and more. Like a man who’s realized his close friend is the one he should have been dating all along, I discovered these skillets are the pans for me. Scrape them with a metal spoon. Fry an apple/sugar mix until it caramelizes, then add biscuit mix and sugar to the top and throw it in the oven. Or, toss it on the grill or even campfire. Try any of these with many of the thin, coated pans on the market today? I think not.
As with the mason jar lids, cast iron skillets have the tendency to rust, or lose their seasoning. So, some recommend limiting water exposure using as little (or no) soap as possible, and to never place your skillet in the dishwasher. But, we’re all humans. We mess up. That’s the beauty of cast iron. A skillet let rusted, can be salvaged. Try saving a ruined Teflon pan.
If oxidization happens, first remove the rust. You can find several tricks online. A friend of mine purchased a completely rusted dutch oven, he completely soaked it in vinegar, then scoured it with a potato and salt. The trick worked to remove all the rust. Whichever trick you use to clean it up, once clean, you simply have to re-season... and presto. Your cast iron skillet is as good as new.
I guess, maybe there are gobs of other old-timey items I should check out…
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