Is your cookware really cast iron? It doesn’t look like it.
We agree. It doesn’t. It isn’t black or rough but it is cast iron. The formula for our iron came from foundry engineering manuals that were used in the late 1800s to make thin-wall cookware.
Why is the color of the seasoning different from black cast iron? Will the color remain after I cook with it?
The surface color of your cookware will change very quickly, the first time you use it. At first use it will become mottled. This is the normal process as layers of oil polymers begin to build up on the surface. It's like the patina on a pair of leather shoes. Get cooking and break them in.
Why is a polished surface so important?
Listen to the sound of a metal spatula scraping on a conventional cast iron pan and imagine that you are removing a fried egg. Enough said.
Do you mill your cast iron out of a heavier casting to make it thin?
Not a chance. We were much too stubborn to accept this solution to make a pan thinner, it was proposed many times along the way by foundry engineers that didn’t want to accept the challenges of casting thin walls. And we cast very thin, as thin as grey iron can be cast. We do not mill our pans down from a thicker casting or grind the cooking surface; doing so creates fine ridges on the milled surface that tends to cause food to stick.
Is your cookware handmade?
Butter Pat Polished Cast Iron is made with a number of hand processes, though we wouldn’t call it handmade, which implies made by an individual craftsman. Over forty people touch your cookware in our process. They are hand-cast one by one. We apply the seasoning by hand. Because our cookware is hand-cast there will always be surface marks and "imperfections". It is the slight imperfections in the surfaces that we hope you will appreciate for the fact that our cast iron cookware is NOT made by machines but by hand processes.
Who designs and makes your cookware?
Our cookware was designed in Alexandria Virginia, by Dennis Powell, the founder of Butter Pat Industries. We proudly cast in Pennsylvania, home to many of the great cast iron foundries of the 19th and 20th centuries. We finish and season our cookware on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
How do I maintain my polished cast iron cookware?
We are all busy and we certainly don’t have time to scrub our pans with potatoes and rock salt. Here's what we suggest:
• Wash with a gentle soap and a sponge
• Dry them slowly over low heat
• Apply a very thin layer of cooking oil on the whole pan
• When it has cooled dry off as much of the oil as you can. Do this every time you cook and your cookware will last – for generations. For more detail and safety notices please read our care and use guide.
How does the 100-year warranty work?
We regularly use 125-year-old cast iron cookware. Likewise, we are confident our Butter Pat Polished Cast Iron Cookware will still be used in the next century.
