I was in a fancy kitchen store yesterday and saw that Lodge has a new
"Signature Series" line of cast iron cookware, apparently specially
designed to appeal to people who can't stand to spend less than $100
on a piece of cookware. It's their normal uncoated (but pre-seasoned)
cast iron cookware as far as I can tell, but with polished stainless
steel handles riveted on. Prices are nearly 5x - 10x as much as the
equivalent normal cast iron pieces go for.

Lodge's catalog of the new series: http://tinyurl.com/22of6t

Am I missing the point? Sure, those handles will stay slightly cooler
slightly longer than cast iron handles. You might say that they look
better. But it's going to make cleaning difficult, because that nice
polished stainless steel needs a very different care regimen than the
uncoated cast iron it's attached to. Crud is going to need to be
scoured from those rivets, which is going to scour off the seasoning
on the cast iron around the rivets.

I think I'll continue to reach for my $10 plain old cast iron skillet
when I want cast iron.

--
Randall

On Aug 28, 7:35 am, Randall Nortman >
wrote:
> I was in a fancy kitchen store yesterday and saw that Lodge has a new
> "Signature Series" line of cast iron cookware, apparently specially
> designed to appeal to people who can't stand to spend less than $100
> on a piece of cookware. It's their normal uncoated (but pre-seasoned)
> cast iron cookware as far as I can tell, but with polished stainless
> steel handles riveted on. Prices are nearly 5x - 10x as much as the
> equivalent normal cast iron pieces go for.
>
> Lodge's catalog of the new series:http://tinyurl.com/22of6t
>
> Am I missing the point? Sure, those handles will stay slightly cooler
> slightly longer than cast iron handles. You might say that they look
> better. But it's going to make cleaning difficult, because that nice
> polished stainless steel needs a very different care regimen than the
> uncoated cast iron it's attached to. Crud is going to need to be
> scoured from those rivets, which is going to scour off the seasoning
> on the cast iron around the rivets.
>
> I think I'll continue to reach for my $10 plain old cast iron skillet
> when I want cast iron.
>
> --
> Randall

Lodge is simply getting ahead of the curve. Those are non-magnetic
stainless so they won't get so hot on the induction pad. Isn't that
obvious :-)

"Randall Nortman" > wrote in message
...
>I was in a fancy kitchen store yesterday and saw that Lodge has a new
> "Signature Series" line of cast iron cookware, apparently specially
> designed to appeal to people who can't stand to spend less than $100
> on a piece of cookware. It's their normal uncoated (but pre-seasoned)
> cast iron cookware as far as I can tell, but with polished stainless
> steel handles riveted on. Prices are nearly 5x - 10x as much as the
> equivalent normal cast iron pieces go for.
>
> Lodge's catalog of the new series: http://tinyurl.com/22of6t
>
> Am I missing the point? Sure, those handles will stay slightly cooler
> slightly longer than cast iron handles. You might say that they look
> better.

I have a SS pan with a similar handle and it says cool all the time; nice
feature. I image these will also. I'd be willing to pay an extra $5 or so
for them. The prices they list though are waaaaay more than they are worth.
I guess they are targeting the people with more money than brains.