Common Sizes of Cast Iron Cookware

Posted by Elizabeth Borer Dec 5, 2007

Cooking with cast iron is a skill that did not come to me naturally. Growing up I had never experienced a meal prepared on the cookware nor was I every taught the benefits of the generations old way of cooking. Growing up in Northwest Ohio didn’t lend itself to the traditional southern method of preparing meals. It wasn’t until my adult years that I became a fan of all things cast iron.

The 5 pieces of cast iron that stand out as the most widely used are the skillet, dutch oven, grill pan/griddle, chicken fryer, and the camp dutch oven.

Skillets come in many diameter lengths, but the 10 ¼ inches and 12 inch are the easiest to handle. The chicken fryer is unique with the long handle of a skillet but depth of a dutch oven. A great addition to any RV would have to be the reversible 2 burner grill/griddle - one side has grid marks for great grilling indoors and out, while the other side is smooth and perfect for pancakes or fried eggs.

A standard dutch oven and camp style are used quite differently. The typical dutch oven has a smooth bottom and mounded lid while the camp model has 3 legs for stability when placed in a campfire or over hot coals. The lid of the camp dutch is flat with a lip to hold hot coals on the top. This type of dutch oven would be a great addition for RVers who enjoy boon docking as it is the official piece of cooking equipment for the Boy Scouts of America.