Paper Town Girl

• 2010-04-19

  Cast iron is the crux of much Southern cooking.

  John T. Edge writes, “Each time a Southern cook hefts a skillet to the stovetop, he or she is not alone. Trapped within the iron confines of these skillets and stewpots are the scents and secrets of a family’s culinary history. Burnished black by countless batches of fried chicken and catfish, embossed in inky ebony by the crusts of cracklin’ cornbread past, cast iron cooking utensils are meal memories in and of themselves. …As porous as they are heavy, cast-iron skillets absorb and impart flavor with each dish prepared. …By way of this strange and thoroughly Southern alchemy of seasoning, the basest of metals is transformed into a treasure rivaled only by the fabled Southern family silver. Like a good country ham or a single-barrel bourbon, cast-iron only improves with age.”

  – A Gracious Plenty

  1. ajamison liked this
  2. thomasfitzpatrick liked this
  3. papertowngirl posted this