Ashley L. Jones - Modern Cast Iron: The Complete Guide to Selecting, Seasoning, Cooking, and More

Modern Cast Iron is a great resource for anyone who wants to bring the spirit of minimalism into the kitchen. With an emphasis on family traditions and a healthy lifestyle, author Ashley L. Jones captures the spirit of having more with less.

Joshua Becker, author of The Minimalist Home

Jones is a warm and charming guide to all things cast iron. She has a passion for every detail from the making of it, the preservation, and most importantly cooking with it. Lifelong fans of cast-iron cooking as well as those just beginning their journey will be delighted by her depth of knowledge as well as passion. She does a beautiful job showcasing just how versatile cast-iron cooking is and always has been.

Lauren May, Must Love Herbs

Indulging the readers every curiosity about cast iron, Jones delves into the nostalgia and venerable history of cast-iron cooking across continents. Cooking, cleaning, seasoning, choosing pans and even how and who makes cast iron cookware todayevery topic is covered in entertaining and easy-to-read prose. Whether because of sentimentality, health concerns or genuine preference, cooking has come full circle back to the days of cast-iron cooking; Modern Cast Iron is the how-to manual to pass on to future generations along with your grandmothers favorite cast iron pan.

Jules E. Dowler Shepard, gfJules

Modern Cast Iron by Ashley Jones has successfully rekindled my desire to try cast-iron cooking once again! After numerous tries and multiple failures, Ashleys stories, practical tips and yummy recipes make me think its actually more accessible than I thought. I cant wait to add this book to my library and share with my friends!

Victoria Duerstock, author of Heart & Home: Design Basics for Your Soul & Living Space

Ashley has put together a beautiful book full of practical tips and easy-to-tackle recipes that I cannot wait to tryespecially the Crispy Coconut Chicken Tenders! I just flat love this book! The author didnt leave out anythingfrom how to care for your cast iron to the health benefits of using this precious cookwareand everything in between. Modern Cast Iron: The Complete Guide to Selecting, Seasoning, Cooking, and More is perfect for the cast-iron snob to the cast-iron newbie, and I plan to purchase copies for all of the accomplished and not-so-accomplished cooks in my life.

Michelle Medlock Adams, author of The Perfect Persimmon

MODERN
CAST IRON

The Complete Guide to Selecting, Seasoning, Cooking, and More

MODERN
CAST IRON

ASHLEY L. JONES

Foreword by
MARK H. KELLY

Photography by
CARISSA FASSNACHT

This book is a publication of

1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA

redlightningbooks.com

2020 by Ashley L. Jones
All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481992.

Manufactured in China

ISBN: 978-1-68435-102-2 cloth

ISBN: 978-1-68435-105-3 ebook

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Contents

Foreword

ALWAYS REMEMBER:
GONE WITH THE LARD ISNT THE END OF FLAVOR

Mark H. Kelly

Lodge Manufacturing Company

In the mid-1970s, my father, R. Norwood Kelly Jr., was diagnosed with diabetes. Overnight, my parents switched the familys home-cooked meals from traditional Southern cuisine to an updated version.

Along with a jar of bacon drippings for seasoning, deep-fried foods were gone with the lard. Cornbread, long a fixture on our familys table, was out of favor, and whole-wheat dinner rolls became a welcomed replacement. Olive oil, garlic, sodium-free salt, and other ingredients became the norm rather than foreign elements.

Initially, my two brothers and I wrinkled our noses at the concepts. In time, we learned to enjoy a more flavorful and broader variety of home-cooked recipes than those in the past (not that we didnt slip out to restaurants in Savannah, Georgia, to savor fried chicken and barbecue from time to time).

I wont say that the change in dietary selections was ahead of its time; it was, however, a necessity we embraced for the benefit of my father and our family. Leading the charge in our conversation were cast-iron skillets, griddles, Dutch ovens, and bakeware lovingly handed down from previous generations.

Thats why Im excited about Ashley L. Joness new book Modern Cast Iron: The Complete Guide to Selecting, Seasoning, Cooking, and More. Ashleys is a much-needed work for beginners and experienced cast-iron cooks. Many of the recipes are updated classics, with Ashley lending her experience and application of ingredients to craft healthier and more enjoyable results.

As difficult as it may be for some readers to accept the concepts presented in this guidebook, Ive learned through the years that culinary exploration pays off in new and unexpected heights of satisfaction. And what better cookware to accompany cooks through their exploration than cast iron? With a history that dates to the Middle Ages, cast iron provides cooks with a tool to utilize every cooking techniquesearing, baking, stir-frying, sauting, braising, deep frying, broiling, and stewingfor generations of wonderful results.

Along with allowing the use of multiple cooking techniques, cast iron doesnt require as much oil as other forms of cookware. In many instances, cast iron is the go-to item for fat-free cookinga feature chefs and home cooks employ as an assist for folks watching their waistlines and calories. And, lest we forget, cast iron is equally at home on the stove top, in the oven, on the grill, and over a campfire with a price point consumers find appealing to their pocketbooks.

One of Ashleys more intriguing substitutions for fried chicken is oven-baked coconut chicken. After the first bite, youll wonder where this recipes been all of your life. Dessert is another area where family history maintains traditional ingredients in recipes, with: If Mama used them, why shouldnt we? a familiar declaration. Ashley crafts a winner with a blueberry cobbler featuring gluten-free flour and honey that is a tasty update on a classic. And a delightful apple crisp is another twist on conventional kitchen wisdom.

Seasoning and maintaining cast-iron cookware is a topic thats been discussed throughout the centuries of its use. Every brand on the market offers preseasoned items, though some consumers prefer to burn off manufacturers seasoning and begin the process anew. To assist readers, Ashley L. Jones reviews the use and care of cast-iron cookware with easy-to-follow instructions.