These are some of the top cast iron skillets to add to your cookware collection, including pans from Lodge and Stargazer.

Cast iron is an excellent, durable cooking tool, but it requires proper care and cleaning techniques to maintain its nonstick surface for years. Fortunately, the best way to anything clean cast iron—pans,

Alice Beer has the best dupes of Le Creuset cookware so you can cook up a storm in the kitchen at an affordable price

Wash the Skillet with Warm Soapy Water and Dry Well: While using soap on cast iron was frowned upon for years, it is, in fact, OK. After washing, rinse off any soap, then dry the pan thoroughly with a soft cloth. The skillet is raw iron at this point, and water will cause it to rust.

There are few kitchen tools more all-purpose than a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. Southerners use the pans to cook just about anything, hand them down as heirlooms, and have strong opinions about them, too. So when we asked our Facebook followers “What's something you'd never cook in a cast-iron skillet?” they were full of responses.

Nothing sears a steak or transforms a bowl of biscuits like a heavy hunk of iron. A cast-iron skillet also moves seamlessly from stovetop to oven just like a Dutch oven, but there's one key difference: It doesn't have that enamel coating to protect it.