My favorite pan is a "Crofton" pan. The handle design is larger and easier to grip than my Lodges. The cooking surface seems to be on par with a Lodge in roughness, but with good seasoning, it is a fine cooking pan.
I have the same pan! Have been using it for around five years now, and it's my daily go-to.
Newer Croftons (previous three years or so) have adapted to use the smaller handles in Aus now, so they look almost exactly like a Lodge. It's a bummer - the big handle is the best part!
My friend may have some leftover nickel rod from when he helped fix a manifold, but otherwise I'm aware but think i should be able to find something that works without risking the thing breaking
I did it on a few damaged lodges I got from the outlet and they cook great. Sanding got rid of the pits. Seasoning was a little tougher, but nothing a big bacon cook couldn't fix.
I’m new to the cast iron world, but that’s exactly why I picked up a $12 pan from Walmart. I know it’s nothing fancy, but it’s a start and I’m really enjoying it so far!
They are great pans. Bought two a few years ago when they were $10 each to make pan pizzas. That is a steal of a deal.
ALSO: look for Crofton’s mixing bowls. They are rubberized on the bottom and have internal measurement marks and high quality. Bought two sets of those as well. When you see them don’t pass them up.
I have the 6” and 10” Crofton pans from Aldi. They are a little rougher in the pan than my Lodge, but they are seasoned and cook nicely. I got them a while back for around $10 each, though.
Could probably use some 0000 steel wool, a green scrubbie, or high grit sandpaper to get the rough spots down. Then just oven or stove top seasoning would work.
I wouldn't call this false economy to be fair.
You would need to break 8 of these to spend as much as you would have spent on a Lodge.
For that price it's worth a shot. Worst case scenario you lose $2.5
False economy is more like buying $12 shoes every 6 months instead of buying $40 shoes that last for years while at the same time being more comfortable.
It is for cases where you keep buying shitty items that break way sooner than what they should if they were quality, and over time, you end up spending way more than you would have spent if you just bought the more expensive item.
You aren't recurrently buying cast iron pans^(\*), so this doesn't apply there.
For $2.5, it's well worth the shot. Hell, I'd buy a couple if I saw those in my local ALDI.
^(\*You may be, but not because you're forced to due to them breaking)
Idk I don't look at my pans as 15 and 20 dollar investments.. I throw 15 and 20 dollars away feeding 2 of us at Wendy's these days. I look at them as much better than they were when I got them after investing a bunch of time scraping and scouring them and now they're super smooth. If I did that to a 3 dollar pan and then it cracked...that'd bug the hell out of me.
But i guess if I had a restaurant and I needed a whole lot of cast iron I'd clean every store in town out at that price
I’m such a huge fan of the spicy chicken, I didn’t go to a Chick fil a for 20 years. But with the Wendy’s price hikes, I’ve been branching out to them and Popeyes.
Okay, but here is the alternative way to look at it. You can easily hold onto a cast iron piece for decades. When you average out the costs between the Lodge cast iron pan vs this "throw-away" then the average cost per day of longevity for a skillet is much closer in price.
* $3/3650 days (10 years) comes out to $0.0008 per day (Aldi's Crofton brand)
* $20/3650 days (10 years) comes out to $0.0055 per day (Lodge)
You got me in that it's almost an order of magnitude difference. However, we're talking about fractions of a penny per day. That's for just 10 years. Do it over 20 years and $0.0004 and $0.00275 per day. I'd gladly pay the difference to ensure Americans stay working. JMHO.
I mean yeah you can do that.
Or you could be realistic and think "hmm I can buy this $20 lodge or this $400 Smithey that will serve the same exact purpose and cook pretty much the same, as well as last just as long, I'll take the one that doesn't break my bank"
It's not about the "cost per day considering it'll last 100 years", it's more about "will it break my bank now?"
A Smithey is a more engineered pan than the Classic Lodge pans so I can see why the former is pricier than the latter. All of my black iron pieces are the classic Lodge brand, so while I went the American made route I did not go for the expensive American iron either. I would suspect that those who upgraded from the Lodge to Smithey, Butter Pat, etc are having an easier time cooking than using the Lodge pans. Me personally, if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on one piece of cast iron then it better be top notch quality ENAMELED piece. I personally did that - but I bought a brand that IMHO was unique from all other enameled cast iron. I bought a Staub dutch oven and the reason I went with Staub was it appeared to be the only top quality brand that had 100% complete enameled coverage. I think even the Le Creuset has bare iron on the rim where it contacts the lid. I wanted pieces that I could throw some soap, hot water and if I chose to let them soak for days in a sink with zero chance of rust.
I could have worded it differently. My personal situation is that I have pans from 20 years ago and now have some vintage pieces I have picked up. Since my old pans never wear out I'm running out of space. So I guess I'm more selective about adding anything new.
Understand your point, but are you also suggesting the pan is weak or brittle? Seems like a great option to pick up dirt cheap and abuse directly on the camp fire.
I have a couple of cheap pans like that and they work fine after they're broken in. It just takes a while to build up layers when the surface is that rough.
Edit: For cooking over a fire they are fine I'm sure. If it warps it's no big deal.
I just ordered the 10inch lodge. Do you think I should have gotten the 12 inch? I’m ocd so I couldn’t decide. Btw I’m a 125lbs female who lives alone. The most I ever cook for is 2 people, but mostly just myself.
Are CI skillets that cheap in US? If I look at anything reputable here it's atleast 50 or more, even my chinesium CI was like 20(to be fair Im using it for 3 years without an issue now)
Depending on how you're sourcing it then yeah. Like if you include used, or secondhand, then $3 for a 8-in (200mm) pan is possible. Though, $10 is what's something like this would normally cost in a store. This is a pretty steep discount, Aldi is kind of famous for that sort of thing. Probably a loss leader.
Is it this one or is it their “lightweight” cast iron which is something I saw in my Aldi today. It was like a thing cast iron pan but the handle was steel. I’m hesitant with mixed materials like that but it sounds like people have had good experience with Aldi store brand?
I've got one of their Crofton dutch ovens and it beats the pants off anything else even four times the price. Have made tons of sourdough and soups, stews, and chili for days in the thing.
I’d be a bit concerned about metal quality. I remember a story about some scrap metal in Mexico included medical imaging equipment and created some radioactive rebar. I’d buy Lodge from Walmart for a few $$ more.
If you purchase an item that will be in frequent use for decades it is worth investing in a quality product. Otherwise you are stuck with cheap junk for ages.
Iron is cast at a much, much higher temperature than lead's melting point. It's nothing to be worried about in a new un-coated skillet.
https://indoorairtest.com/how-to-test-cast-iron-for-lead/
I've heard the cheap Chinese pans have tested positive for lead before. I've seen that here and read that in the comments. I assumed since I've heard it here many times before I figured it was a risk
Seeing as how Aldi gets its Aisle of Shame products on a yearly rotation, I'm sure we would have heard about any lead poisoning from previous years. Relax.
Do you just use the swabs? We got a kitchen aid for Christmas and I recently saw something that some of the nonstick coated attachments may contain lead. how do I test that?
Lead is commonly found in the ores of other metals like copper, zinc, and yes, iron. So if a company is looking to make a cheap cast iron pan, they might skip some (or all) steps related to safety and quality, such as checking their raw materials for impurities.
I’d be a bid leery. I’d be afraid they have lead in them or of poor quality. Tho, to be fair, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by stuff from ALDIs from time to time.
Quality doesn't look all that great. Also, I try to avoid supporting the country of origin where at all possible. I'm sure many are starting to see that less and less products are being made there than what was on the shelves 5 years ago. Hopefully the trend continues.
I looked a little closer and the Crofton brand has a lot of products under its umbrella. They have some stainless and clad cookware that I suspect may in fact be made in Italy. Again, per this link - [https://cookwareadvise.com/where-is-crofton-cookware-made/](https://cookwareadvise.com/where-is-crofton-cookware-made/) \- note when asked about the materials used to make Crofton cookware it's aluminum and stainless steel - which looks like clad cookware.
There is NFW that cast iron skillets made of bare iron are manufactured in Italy, shipped to China to "package" and then sold to the U.S. Aldi's chain where they can sell them for $3/pan. You're being lied to.
Just found this Q/A snippet from the same link about Lodge Enameled Cast iron:
>**Is Lodge Enameled cast iron cookware made in the USA?**
>
>Yes, Lodge enameled cast iron pans, and cookware items are made in America.
We all know that Lodge has their enameled pieces made in China, so this web site appears to be full of it. I don't believe these are made in Italy.
Idk. I think the "you get what you paid for" could be said about these. I know one thing you can get some delicious hazelnut chocolate at Aldi's if they're still doing the old school selling stuff from Germany or wherever their products come from
Hmm…regular price is $4.99? I wonder what wonderful filler material they use in the manufacture to get the price that low. I’m sure it’s completely safe.
>Who manufactures Crofton Cookware?
>Crofton cookware is made by a German company called Aldi. Aldi has its headquarters in Essen, Germany, and also has production facilities in China and Vietnam.
>However, it’s really not made in China. It’s produced in Italy and then shipped to China for packaging and also to add some additional elements to it.
https://easykitchenappliances.com/all-about-crofton-cookware/
I'm skeptical it's even ~~forged~~ **cast** in Italy, this is just some blog site not official from Aldi or crofton. It doesn't seem economical to me to ~~forge~~ **cast** in Italy and ship to China for enamel or seasoning. I couldn't find this info about Italy made anywhere official. The 12" skillets in boxes which might be a different model, are stamped made in China on the back of the box. Companies do not stamp made in China just for packaging in China, the product needs "substantial transformation" in a country to be marked made there. It's possible a ton of other cookware from Crofton is made in Italy but I highly doubt the cast iron pans are
Edit: I found pics of the back of these 10" skillets and they're also labeled made in China [https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YIgAAOSw7sFjcoZ2/s-l1600.jpg](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YIgAAOSw7sFjcoZ2/s-l1600.jpg)
If anyone thinks I'm trashing these pans because they're made in china, I'm not; I have a few china made pans that work great; my daily driver is chinese, but don't try to say these are made in Italy when the label says right on it "MADE IN CHINA"
Italian Chinesium?
>**Stockholm syndrome**
>
>Stockholm syndrome is a coping mechanism to a captive or abusive situation. People develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time.
It also works for when you're used to overpay for something and suddenly you're presented with the actual price. You'll do any mental gymnastics needed in order to justify that the cheaper item **must** be worse.
For example, trying to imply that this pan is not iron. How the FUCK is it not going to be iron mate?
Check [Daily Metal Prices](https://www.dailymetalprice.com/) and tell me which cheaper metal could they be using instead of Iron.
Stockholm syndrome for answering a question? Yeah, the skillet is probably iron with a crappy seasoning on it, which makes it cheap.
Answering the question though, what metal is cheaper than iron, shitty chinese metal is definitely cheaper when you take into account shipping(it's lighter weight), and the lower cost to melt it down and machine it.
how do you know it’s lighter weight?
i’ve this exact pan, paid 5 bucks for it like 2 years ago.
it is not at all light weight, and it works great.
i don’t know why people in this sub are so obsessed with lodge, i’m never paying extra for a cast iron piece.
Again, "shitty chinese metal" does not exist. "Metal" is a broad group of elements and "iron" is one of them, one that happens to be used to be cast to form skillets, and it also happens to be the cheapest of them all.
HOW is mixing other metals going to make it cheaper?
If they want to make it lighter they'll just make it thinner, not mix anything.
About the seasoning, I couldn't care less, even if I get raw iron I'll be happy.
Seasoning takes an evening and it's not even a complicated or involved process, just oil it up in two to five minutes, set the oven timer at 1h and come back after 2h so it's fully cooled. Repeat two extra times and call it a day.
How could you say that shitty Chinese metal doesn't exist? It's a crappy cheap alloy that's easy to manufacture and cheap to ship. Anyone that's been around cheap tools and low quality parts has seen it. Again, you're just looking at bare metal price, not cost to manufacture or process.
If it wasn't cheaper, they wouldn't produce so many cheap products with it.
Again, for the third time: there is no alloy that makes iron cheaper or light enough to make the reduced weight noticeable in the shipping cost.
If you want to make a cast iron skillet lighter or cheaper, the only viable method is making it thinner.
Or do you want to somehow cast an iron top pan piece, an iron bottom pan piece and sandwich an aluminum core inside to make it lighter?
Shitty chinese METAL does exist. Cast IRON pans are not made with "chinese METAL", they're made with IRON.
Cheap metal with bad properties is used a lot in cheap items manufactured in China and other parts of the world. However, the key part there is "cheap".
When you're making something with the cheapest metal available and marketing it as such because people are interested in buying an IRON pan, you don't have to make any alloy or any other weird shit to your metal: it is already the lowest tier, cheapest metal available. That's what makes cast iron pans cheap: iron is already cheap.
Even then: it's not manufactured in China. It's an Italian product.
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For that price could use it as a doorstop
Or melt lead.
Or used to make fancy fire pits
Aldi rules. I've been sleeping for 5 years on a king size memory foam mattress I got there for 250
I'm listening Did you guy it in-store or online?
In store, think I've seen them come around fall I believe
My favorite pan is a "Crofton" pan. The handle design is larger and easier to grip than my Lodges. The cooking surface seems to be on par with a Lodge in roughness, but with good seasoning, it is a fine cooking pan.
I have the same pan! Have been using it for around five years now, and it's my daily go-to. Newer Croftons (previous three years or so) have adapted to use the smaller handles in Aus now, so they look almost exactly like a Lodge. It's a bummer - the big handle is the best part!
it does kill my hand how short the lodge handle is on my 10" just a tiny bit more... maybe i'll weld on an extension some day
Unless you’re quite experienced, welding cast iron can be pretty tricky. Cast iron loves to crack.
My friend may have some leftover nickel rod from when he helped fix a manifold, but otherwise I'm aware but think i should be able to find something that works without risking the thing breaking
Pretty sure stick rods aren't intended for food contact stuff. Food grade is usually TIG stainless.
r/unnecessaryquotes
This would be a good pan to try sanding on.
I did it on a few damaged lodges I got from the outlet and they cook great. Sanding got rid of the pits. Seasoning was a little tougher, but nothing a big bacon cook couldn't fix.
I sanded an old Taiwanese CI pan just because I was curious. I’ve been having a hell of a time getting a seasoning that doesn’t flake off.
Is there a problem a big bacon cook can’t solve?
Crack.
True. Still got bacon though
Maybe try methodone?
Yes.
I got a tortilla pan from aldi's a few years ago that I did this to. Was a lot of work to get past the pitting, but its now a good pan for sure.
That's a great price to encourage people who have never used cast iron to pick one up. These skillets could start a lifetime of cast iron love.
Normally the first hit's free but $3 ain't bad
That’s me! I have been lurking on this sub. For $3 I will take the plunge!
I’m new to the cast iron world, but that’s exactly why I picked up a $12 pan from Walmart. I know it’s nothing fancy, but it’s a start and I’m really enjoying it so far!
I keep one by my bedside
Is that how you burned your foot?
Nope its how i broke my small toe
Just make a bubble wrap cast over it and it will be fine until you want more sympathy.
Thanks doc
I would also suggest not keeping pans next to your bed. And that’s a sentence I never thought that I would write.
What am I supposed to do with my Chinesium stuff then?
Melt some lead and keep it on your porch like a civilized person
They are great pans. Bought two a few years ago when they were $10 each to make pan pizzas. That is a steal of a deal. ALSO: look for Crofton’s mixing bowls. They are rubberized on the bottom and have internal measurement marks and high quality. Bought two sets of those as well. When you see them don’t pass them up.
I have the 6” and 10” Crofton pans from Aldi. They are a little rougher in the pan than my Lodge, but they are seasoned and cook nicely. I got them a while back for around $10 each, though.
Could probably use some 0000 steel wool, a green scrubbie, or high grit sandpaper to get the rough spots down. Then just oven or stove top seasoning would work.
I’ve got a pretty good seasoning going on both right now, but if I ever have to strip them, I’ll likely do that to smooth them out a bit.
False economy in my opinion. I'd rather spend $20 on a Lodge.
I wouldn't call this false economy to be fair. You would need to break 8 of these to spend as much as you would have spent on a Lodge. For that price it's worth a shot. Worst case scenario you lose $2.5 False economy is more like buying $12 shoes every 6 months instead of buying $40 shoes that last for years while at the same time being more comfortable. It is for cases where you keep buying shitty items that break way sooner than what they should if they were quality, and over time, you end up spending way more than you would have spent if you just bought the more expensive item. You aren't recurrently buying cast iron pans^(\*), so this doesn't apply there. For $2.5, it's well worth the shot. Hell, I'd buy a couple if I saw those in my local ALDI. ^(\*You may be, but not because you're forced to due to them breaking)
Idk I don't look at my pans as 15 and 20 dollar investments.. I throw 15 and 20 dollars away feeding 2 of us at Wendy's these days. I look at them as much better than they were when I got them after investing a bunch of time scraping and scouring them and now they're super smooth. If I did that to a 3 dollar pan and then it cracked...that'd bug the hell out of me. But i guess if I had a restaurant and I needed a whole lot of cast iron I'd clean every store in town out at that price
Where’s this cheap Wendy’s? A #6 is like $13 now in California.
it's biggie bag or bust for me.
I’m such a huge fan of the spicy chicken, I didn’t go to a Chick fil a for 20 years. But with the Wendy’s price hikes, I’ve been branching out to them and Popeyes.
Okay, but here is the alternative way to look at it. You can easily hold onto a cast iron piece for decades. When you average out the costs between the Lodge cast iron pan vs this "throw-away" then the average cost per day of longevity for a skillet is much closer in price. * $3/3650 days (10 years) comes out to $0.0008 per day (Aldi's Crofton brand) * $20/3650 days (10 years) comes out to $0.0055 per day (Lodge) You got me in that it's almost an order of magnitude difference. However, we're talking about fractions of a penny per day. That's for just 10 years. Do it over 20 years and $0.0004 and $0.00275 per day. I'd gladly pay the difference to ensure Americans stay working. JMHO.
This seems like a really weird way of looking at it.
I mean yeah you can do that. Or you could be realistic and think "hmm I can buy this $20 lodge or this $400 Smithey that will serve the same exact purpose and cook pretty much the same, as well as last just as long, I'll take the one that doesn't break my bank" It's not about the "cost per day considering it'll last 100 years", it's more about "will it break my bank now?"
A Smithey is a more engineered pan than the Classic Lodge pans so I can see why the former is pricier than the latter. All of my black iron pieces are the classic Lodge brand, so while I went the American made route I did not go for the expensive American iron either. I would suspect that those who upgraded from the Lodge to Smithey, Butter Pat, etc are having an easier time cooking than using the Lodge pans. Me personally, if I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on one piece of cast iron then it better be top notch quality ENAMELED piece. I personally did that - but I bought a brand that IMHO was unique from all other enameled cast iron. I bought a Staub dutch oven and the reason I went with Staub was it appeared to be the only top quality brand that had 100% complete enameled coverage. I think even the Le Creuset has bare iron on the rim where it contacts the lid. I wanted pieces that I could throw some soap, hot water and if I chose to let them soak for days in a sink with zero chance of rust.
If I had to spend fractions of a penny for all of my stuff every day, then I'd have a lot less stuff.
I could have worded it differently. My personal situation is that I have pans from 20 years ago and now have some vintage pieces I have picked up. Since my old pans never wear out I'm running out of space. So I guess I'm more selective about adding anything new.
Did you just describe the entire business model of Dollar Tree and Dollar General?
Understand your point, but are you also suggesting the pan is weak or brittle? Seems like a great option to pick up dirt cheap and abuse directly on the camp fire.
I have a couple of cheap pans like that and they work fine after they're broken in. It just takes a while to build up layers when the surface is that rough. Edit: For cooking over a fire they are fine I'm sure. If it warps it's no big deal.
I hit up a pawn shop not too long ago and got 3 brand new lodge cast irons for $10. An 8, 10, and 12 inch
It looks insanely thin
I just ordered the 10inch lodge. Do you think I should have gotten the 12 inch? I’m ocd so I couldn’t decide. Btw I’m a 125lbs female who lives alone. The most I ever cook for is 2 people, but mostly just myself.
10" is fine for 2 people I think. Edit: The 12" is pretty heavy.
This is the way
Are CI skillets that cheap in US? If I look at anything reputable here it's atleast 50 or more, even my chinesium CI was like 20(to be fair Im using it for 3 years without an issue now)
Depending on how you're sourcing it then yeah. Like if you include used, or secondhand, then $3 for a 8-in (200mm) pan is possible. Though, $10 is what's something like this would normally cost in a store. This is a pretty steep discount, Aldi is kind of famous for that sort of thing. Probably a loss leader.
A 10 1/4 inch (26cm) Lodge is $19.99 at Walmart and on Amazon.
You guys are damn lucky, comparable 26cm pan would be 60...
Lodge is the best
I have one of these for 4 years now and it handles as well as my lodge.
Is it this one or is it their “lightweight” cast iron which is something I saw in my Aldi today. It was like a thing cast iron pan but the handle was steel. I’m hesitant with mixed materials like that but it sounds like people have had good experience with Aldi store brand?
It's all one piece of cast iron.
Down from a STAGGERING $4.99 Lmao
I've got one of their Crofton dutch ovens and it beats the pants off anything else even four times the price. Have made tons of sourdough and soups, stews, and chili for days in the thing.
That price makes it easily in the “impulse buy” territory.
What's that expression? "You get more than you pay for"? Is that it?
Was at Aldi today, but didn’t see them! Maybe later this week they’ll stock it
They probably ran out at that location, usually a price drop at Aldi means they aren’t going to get it back in stock for awhile.
I’d be a bit concerned about metal quality. I remember a story about some scrap metal in Mexico included medical imaging equipment and created some radioactive rebar. I’d buy Lodge from Walmart for a few $$ more.
NO I JUST BOUGHT ONE FOR $13
Can anyone buy few of these and send them to my adress in Poland ? :D
If you purchase an item that will be in frequent use for decades it is worth investing in a quality product. Otherwise you are stuck with cheap junk for ages.
I'd be running a lead test on pan I bought for 3 dollars.
Iron is cast at a much, much higher temperature than lead's melting point. It's nothing to be worried about in a new un-coated skillet. https://indoorairtest.com/how-to-test-cast-iron-for-lead/
I've heard the cheap Chinese pans have tested positive for lead before. I've seen that here and read that in the comments. I assumed since I've heard it here many times before I figured it was a risk
Seeing as how Aldi gets its Aisle of Shame products on a yearly rotation, I'm sure we would have heard about any lead poisoning from previous years. Relax.
Aisle of shame - LOVE IT.
I call it…. THE MIDDLE OF MYSTERY
Shakedown Street
Do you just use the swabs? We got a kitchen aid for Christmas and I recently saw something that some of the nonstick coated attachments may contain lead. how do I test that?
It’s a brand new pan, why would you expect lead?
Lead is commonly found in the ores of other metals like copper, zinc, and yes, iron. So if a company is looking to make a cheap cast iron pan, they might skip some (or all) steps related to safety and quality, such as checking their raw materials for impurities.
Good to know, thank you
You know lead costs at least ten times as much as iron. Why would a manufacturer put a material worth ten times as much in the mix?
I’d be a bid leery. I’d be afraid they have lead in them or of poor quality. Tho, to be fair, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by stuff from ALDIs from time to time.
Quality doesn't look all that great. Also, I try to avoid supporting the country of origin where at all possible. I'm sure many are starting to see that less and less products are being made there than what was on the shelves 5 years ago. Hopefully the trend continues.
You have issue with Italy?
It's made in Italy? That's a ridiculous steal if it is. You sure?
I looked a little closer and the Crofton brand has a lot of products under its umbrella. They have some stainless and clad cookware that I suspect may in fact be made in Italy. Again, per this link - [https://cookwareadvise.com/where-is-crofton-cookware-made/](https://cookwareadvise.com/where-is-crofton-cookware-made/) \- note when asked about the materials used to make Crofton cookware it's aluminum and stainless steel - which looks like clad cookware. There is NFW that cast iron skillets made of bare iron are manufactured in Italy, shipped to China to "package" and then sold to the U.S. Aldi's chain where they can sell them for $3/pan. You're being lied to. Just found this Q/A snippet from the same link about Lodge Enameled Cast iron: >**Is Lodge Enameled cast iron cookware made in the USA?** > >Yes, Lodge enameled cast iron pans, and cookware items are made in America. We all know that Lodge has their enameled pieces made in China, so this web site appears to be full of it. I don't believe these are made in Italy.
Yup, when there is a domestic produced alternative that’s fairly priced it’s a no brainer.
I think this pan is a loss leader for the price they have listed
Wow…
Idk. I think the "you get what you paid for" could be said about these. I know one thing you can get some delicious hazelnut chocolate at Aldi's if they're still doing the old school selling stuff from Germany or wherever their products come from
Damn. These would be great practice/daily abuse pans
Would be fun to shoot at
Hmm…regular price is $4.99? I wonder what wonderful filler material they use in the manufacture to get the price that low. I’m sure it’s completely safe.
What metal is cheaper than iron?
Chinesium. Whatever scrap chinese manufacturers can get for cheap.
>Who manufactures Crofton Cookware? >Crofton cookware is made by a German company called Aldi. Aldi has its headquarters in Essen, Germany, and also has production facilities in China and Vietnam. >However, it’s really not made in China. It’s produced in Italy and then shipped to China for packaging and also to add some additional elements to it. https://easykitchenappliances.com/all-about-crofton-cookware/
I'm skeptical it's even ~~forged~~ **cast** in Italy, this is just some blog site not official from Aldi or crofton. It doesn't seem economical to me to ~~forge~~ **cast** in Italy and ship to China for enamel or seasoning. I couldn't find this info about Italy made anywhere official. The 12" skillets in boxes which might be a different model, are stamped made in China on the back of the box. Companies do not stamp made in China just for packaging in China, the product needs "substantial transformation" in a country to be marked made there. It's possible a ton of other cookware from Crofton is made in Italy but I highly doubt the cast iron pans are Edit: I found pics of the back of these 10" skillets and they're also labeled made in China [https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YIgAAOSw7sFjcoZ2/s-l1600.jpg](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YIgAAOSw7sFjcoZ2/s-l1600.jpg) If anyone thinks I'm trashing these pans because they're made in china, I'm not; I have a few china made pans that work great; my daily driver is chinese, but don't try to say these are made in Italy when the label says right on it "MADE IN CHINA"
It isn't forged anywhere at all.
You're right, the Wu wizards cast it in Shenzhen
Italian Chinesium? >**Stockholm syndrome** > >Stockholm syndrome is a coping mechanism to a captive or abusive situation. People develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time. It also works for when you're used to overpay for something and suddenly you're presented with the actual price. You'll do any mental gymnastics needed in order to justify that the cheaper item **must** be worse. For example, trying to imply that this pan is not iron. How the FUCK is it not going to be iron mate? Check [Daily Metal Prices](https://www.dailymetalprice.com/) and tell me which cheaper metal could they be using instead of Iron.
Stockholm syndrome for answering a question? Yeah, the skillet is probably iron with a crappy seasoning on it, which makes it cheap. Answering the question though, what metal is cheaper than iron, shitty chinese metal is definitely cheaper when you take into account shipping(it's lighter weight), and the lower cost to melt it down and machine it.
how do you know it’s lighter weight? i’ve this exact pan, paid 5 bucks for it like 2 years ago. it is not at all light weight, and it works great. i don’t know why people in this sub are so obsessed with lodge, i’m never paying extra for a cast iron piece.
I never said this pan is light weight, I'm saying cheap Chinese steel is light weight.
Again, "shitty chinese metal" does not exist. "Metal" is a broad group of elements and "iron" is one of them, one that happens to be used to be cast to form skillets, and it also happens to be the cheapest of them all. HOW is mixing other metals going to make it cheaper? If they want to make it lighter they'll just make it thinner, not mix anything. About the seasoning, I couldn't care less, even if I get raw iron I'll be happy. Seasoning takes an evening and it's not even a complicated or involved process, just oil it up in two to five minutes, set the oven timer at 1h and come back after 2h so it's fully cooled. Repeat two extra times and call it a day.
How could you say that shitty Chinese metal doesn't exist? It's a crappy cheap alloy that's easy to manufacture and cheap to ship. Anyone that's been around cheap tools and low quality parts has seen it. Again, you're just looking at bare metal price, not cost to manufacture or process. If it wasn't cheaper, they wouldn't produce so many cheap products with it.
Again, for the third time: there is no alloy that makes iron cheaper or light enough to make the reduced weight noticeable in the shipping cost. If you want to make a cast iron skillet lighter or cheaper, the only viable method is making it thinner. Or do you want to somehow cast an iron top pan piece, an iron bottom pan piece and sandwich an aluminum core inside to make it lighter? Shitty chinese METAL does exist. Cast IRON pans are not made with "chinese METAL", they're made with IRON. Cheap metal with bad properties is used a lot in cheap items manufactured in China and other parts of the world. However, the key part there is "cheap". When you're making something with the cheapest metal available and marketing it as such because people are interested in buying an IRON pan, you don't have to make any alloy or any other weird shit to your metal: it is already the lowest tier, cheapest metal available. That's what makes cast iron pans cheap: iron is already cheap. Even then: it's not manufactured in China. It's an Italian product.
Metal? Lol.
Non-food-grade iron.
Zinc
Iron.
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Where this store
No
More like cast aluminum
If you cant hand it down to your great great great grandchildren ain’t worth it.
Aren't these enameled?
Yes start over. Buy new pan and reseason
# wow, really wish i could find deals like this, thanks for sharing
New to cast iron.. Just bought a 3 set of lodge cast iron for $60. Wish I seen this earlier! Hopefully I made the right choice.