Lodge cast iron skillet, 12 inch

What it is good at

• Holding heat through a thick steak or a batch of cornbread
• Going from hob to oven without a second dish
• Being repairable: strip it, re-season it, carry on

Check before you buy

• Handle length against your oven gloves
• Whether the cooking surface is machined smooth or left sandy
• The weight in your hand — a 12-inch pan is around 3.5 kg

Who it is not for

Anyone with wrist or shoulder trouble, and anyone who cooks a lot of tomato or wine sauces, for which an enamel or stainless pan is the better tool.

Cast iron is the least sophisticated pan in the kitchen and the one most likely to still be in use in twenty years. It heats unevenly on a glass hob and beautifully on gas, and it improves as the seasoning builds.

Pre-seasoned pans from the main foundries are usable straight away; the seasoning improves if you cook fatty food first and avoid boiling water in it for the first weeks.