11/03/2003

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Chow Line: Cast-iron cookware great for nutrition (for 11/9/03)

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@osu.edu
(614)292-9833

Source:

Sharron Coplin

Our favorite pan is a cast-iron skillet. Should we be worried about cooking tomato-based products in it?

Au contraire! Cooking high-acid foods like tomato products or apple sauce in cast-iron cook-ware is actually recommended to help increase the amount of iron in your diet.

In fact, in a classic study published in 1986 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers tested 20 foods cooked in new cast-iron skillets. They found most foods increased in iron content by being cooked in the iron cookware, some significantly so.

And that's a good thing: Iron deficiency remains a common mineral deficiency, especially among women. Women who are still menstruating need 18 milligrams of iron a day. Most other adults need 8 milligrams. Cooking in cast iron cookware can help you meet those goals.

Some examples from the study: The amount of iron in 100 grams (about 3 ounces) of apple sauce increased from 0.35 milligrams to 7.3 milligrams after being cooked in cast iron. The amount of iron in the same amount of spaghetti sauce increased from 0.6 milligrams to 5.7 milligrams.

Even eggs absorbed iron from the skillet. Scrambled eggs increased from 1.49 milligrams to 4.76; fried eggs increased from 1.92 milligrams to 3.48; and even poached eggs increased from 1.87 grams to 2.32 grams of iron after being cooked in the iron skillet.

But not all foods increased in iron content by that much. Fried potatoes, for example, almost doubled their iron content, but still contained less than a milligram of iron after cooking. And baked cornbread increased iron content only from 0.67 milligrams to 0.86 milligrams.

There is one thing you won't want to do in your iron skillet: deep fry. Iron can accelerate the oxidation of fat, which can cause it to become rancid. Use aluminum or stainless pots for deep-fat frying -- or better yet, avoid deep-frying foods all together. There are just too many calories involved in that mode of food preparation.

Chow Line is a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Send questions to Chow Line, c/o Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu.

Editor: This column was reviewed by Sharron Coplin, registered dietitian and Ohio State University Extension nutrition associate in the College of Human Ecology.

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