Ceramic pans, newly beloved by home cooks and chefs, are often touted as being healthier than Teflon-coated nonstick. This is highly debatable, but one thing’s for sure: They won’t transfer naturally occuring minerals to your food due to the coating. (Spoiler alert: Ceramic pans aren’t really ceramic! They’re metal, with a sand-based surface coating. This makes them similar to enameled cast iron.)

And what about that Teflon? Lately it’s been getting a bad rap for potential chemical leaching during cooking. This has been contested, and it’s important to note that any chemical transfer is so small it’s negligible. Kind of like … mineral transfer in cast iron pans.

So, is cooking in cast iron healthier than cooking in other pans?

In short: No.

You’d have to be mouse-sized to see quantifiable health benefits from mineral intake exclusively with cast iron. Because mineral transfer happens at such a small scale, it’s safe to say that cast iron is not any healthier than other pans. It may sear harder and last longer, but it won’t solve your anemia problem.

So why has this story stuck around for so long? Why do we think cast iron is healthier? Well, there’s something intangibly wholesome about cast iron cookware: Their natural materials, rustic appearance and place in literature may make them seem more miraculous than they really are. In a world where we often feel overwhelmed by high-tech, sci-fi appliances, there’s real appeal in a solid hunk of metal that does one thing: cooks your food. Cast iron is great. It always has been. It just won’t cure your health problems.

You can use and love your cast iron skillets. Just be aware that you shouldn’t expect to take in a quantifiable amount of your daily iron requirements through the pan. Remember that the best way to manage a nutritional deficiency is by eating a variety of foods and working with a dietitian to come up with a meal plan that’s tailored to your unique needs.

How to get the most health benefits from your cast iron pans

Although we’d benefit from further research on the efficacy of cast iron pans as an adequate source of iron, there are some steps we can take now to boost their usefulness — even if it’s minor.

1. Use them often. The more you use your cast iron, the more net intake you’ll have of iron. As a bonus, liberal use of your pans makes them better.

2. Don’t be afraid to cook acidic foods. Although we’re often told to avoid cooking high-pH foods in our cast iron pans, if you’re looking for maximum iron intake, acidic ingredients will boost the amount of mineral transfer because of their gentle surface-stripping qualities. Don’t shy away from that shakshuka, for example.

3. Use them to cook foods already high in iron. So, this is a little bit of a cheat. But it’s a smart idea to use your skillet to sear, sauté, and roast foods that have already-high levels of iron. Animal protein, especially red meat, is an obvious choice, but there are many great vegetarian sources of iron as well. Tofu, lentils and chickpeas all have generous amounts of iron and can easily be added to a stir-fry.

(Rochelle Bilow is a senior contributor to TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking. Submit any comments or questions to editorial@thekitchn.com.)

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