Now obviously Ole Daniel had no access to the internet in his day nor did he sell anything, more or less cookware. He was too busy blazing a trail through the backwoods of North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio, BUT if it was 2014 and he was living at Fort Boonesborough in Kentucky  he very well may be seen on QVC pushing the greatest cookware known to man….Cast Iron Skillets !!! I can guarantee his wife, Rebecca had a few hanging in the cabin.

I have mentioned several times how the many food shows we see on the tube each week has changed the way we eat AND prepare food. I cannot image that there is any other type of cookware that can be invented, but I guess as long as George Foreman ( and all Five Georges that are his kids ) are alive we will continue to see “improvements in cooking” HOWEVER nothing beats the original…..Cast Iron.!! Period

You going to Fry Chicken…. you better do it in a cast iron skillet.  You going to make some homemade corn bread….you better do it in a cast iron skillet. You going to cook a down home Southern meal……you better have a cast iron skillet, or four, in your kitchen.

With the likes of Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay and others hawking their cookware, what would stop  Daniel and Rebecca from doing the same thing!!  While today’s current stars sell a line of a variety of shapes, styles, and colors, Dan would only have one style, but in different sizes.  Did you know that Cast Iron skillets are identified by a numbers??   A 11 ¼” is a #9, an 8” is a #6 and the small 6 ½” is a #3. Plain and simple. No model numbers….no serial numbers. Just a good skillet.

One thing about Cast Iron Skillets that you may never see in the modern cookware of today, is the fact that many are family heirlooms… The aforementioned three skillets, #9, #6, and #3 have in fact been in my family for years.  Try looking your kids in the eye when u hand down your life long belongings as you downsize and say, “Sarah, I want you and the kids to have my George Foreman GRP004B. I know you all loved the many bland chicken breasts I cooked for you over the years.” Or how about to Thomas.  “Please take care of my George Foreman Super Champ… You remember the great meals of dry pork we enjoyed on that grille ?” and  don’t forget to include the baby. “Sally.  I know you have had your eye on that 120” Variable Temperature Indoor Grille since the day we brought it home from KMart. Well baby, now it is yours!” Somehow that, versus, “Kids, your great grandmother used to fry the best Fried Chicken I can ever remember in this fine #9 Skillet. Treat it with care… and NEVER wash it with soap and water.” Now try that with Bobby Flays pans!!!

If you have never enjoyed the experience of Cast Iron….get on board. You can buy from many stores in the area. You may also get lucky at antique stores, or yard sales, but due to the popularity of the skillets, prices are rising on the OLD ones, so a new one may be the only way to go. If you are not lucky enough to have an old heirloom, start one.   Buy a new one and include the kids as you cook, and then they will be able to tell their Grandkids about the best Great-Grandmother in the world as she fried the best chicken EVER!