Heavy, clunky, out of place in a streamlined high-tech kitchen, inexpensive, and definitely old-fashioned. What more could a homesteader ask for?

That's why although they win faint praise from most modern cooks, cast iron utensils are frequently listed among homesteaders' favorite tools. There are many other good reasons.

Cast iron heats slowly and evenly, with none of the hot or cold spots often encountered with utensils of more modern materials. But if it takes a relatively long time to heat, once it attains the desire temperature it maintains it particularly well. There is none of the too-hot or too-cool frustration so common with thinner, lighter pans. This is especially good for sauteing and stir-frying, cooking methods for which the heat needs to remain high.

Also of great importance to homesteaders, cast iron pans are nearly indestructible. (The only cooks we're aware of who ruin cast iron skillets are those who do a lot of "blackened" cooking, where extremely high heat is required, sometimes cracking the pans.) Under normal use, cast iron can literally be used for generations.

An often-overlooked attribute is that with long and continuous use, cast iron is the original non-stick material. That's because iron is porous, and can be "seasoned." When the pan is covered with a very thin layer of cooking oil which fills the pores, cast iron will easily match the most highly-touted and expensive "non-stick" cookware, and without requiring the coddling of plastic spatulas or spoons. With years of use, the protective layer builds up to a black, flat, even surface that is a sure sign of a well-loved tool. A bit of water and if necessary, a few swishes with a brush, and the pan is clean.

New cast iron can be aggravating, which might account for some people avoiding it, or trying it and giving up in disgust. The same porosity that allows seasoning can also make an unseasoned pan a real chore to clean. But the eventual "heirloom" pan is well worth the time and effort.

There is a great deal of folklore, almost a mystique, associated with seasoning cast iron, and many countrysiders have shared methods handed down by their mothers and grandmothers. But the principle and basic method is simple.

Wash a new (or any unseasoned) pan with a steel wool soap pad and hot water, and then with detergent. Dry it thoroughly. A warm stovetop or oven is ideal.

Coat the entire inside with vegetable (non-salted) shortening, such as melted Crisco. Put it in an oven at 375 degrees for about an hour, turn off the oven, and let the pan cool in the oven to room temperature.

A newly-seasoned pan should not be washed with soap or detergent (or horrors, in a dishwasher!) because this destroys the seasoning. However, if a cooking disaster makes it absolutely necessary to soak or scrub the pan with detergent and hot water, it's no disaster for the pan. Simply repeat the seasoning.

To clean ordinary pot mess, use plain hot water and a plastic scrubber or stiff bristle brush. For less stubborn residues or for a more thoroughly seasoned pan, it's possible and better to avoid water entirely. Scrub the pan with table salt moistened with oil to loosen cooked-on particles.

Cast iron can't be dried adequately with a towel, and besides, the towel will turn black. Put the pan on a burner over low heat (or on the wood stove) until it's dry.

Even then, rust-the worst enemy of cast iron-can sometimes form, especially during the early years. This is easily removed with a little oil and a dish cloth (although most people will prefer to use a paper towel). Many cooks also give their cast iron this treatment before each use. (The cloth or paper will turn black.)

If you do manage to do a really good job of burning something into a carbon that bonds with the iron, you haven't ruined your tool. Remember, cast iron is almost indestructible! Here's an easy way to salvage it that, as someone once said, makes cast iron "the only pan in the world that's actually fun to clean!"

Build a big, hot fire-in the fireplace, wood stove, outdoor grill, or even campfire ring. Toss the skillet into the coals, and wait for the fire to die out and the pan to cool. That's it. Season it again and it'll be as good as new... or better, because cast iron improves with use and age.

Many homestead cooks wouldn't be without their cast iron skillets of various sizes, as well as Dutch ovens. Other utensils available in cast iron include corn bread pans (some shaped like small ears of corn) and muffin pans.

There's just something about a stew in a cast iron Dutch oven, simmering on a wood stove on a brisk winter day, that can't be duplicated by any modern, high-tech cookware. It's one of those little details that makes homesteading so hard to explain... and such a pleasure.

Because cast iron can last for several lifetimes, and because so many modern cooks can't be bothered with it, skillets and other utensils can often be found at yard sales and other sources of used items, at very reasonable prices. As noted here, even the worst can be cleaned and rehabilitated. This is definitely a case of a city cook's trash becoming a homesteader's treasure.

But even if you must buy new, cast iron is a wise investment.

A Countryside reprint.