pan . It could have served as a utility pan for a family of six farmers , or it could have been used in a mansion . It could have been used on a plantation and fed the wealthiest people ,” he said .
He wants others to appreciate cast iron pans and the history they contain as much as he does , and more than that , he hopes to inspire others . " I hope people start their own history with their pan . I started with my kids and try to explain how I feel about these pans ."
He ’ s been known to give away his pans , too , to admirers , suggesting that if it calls to someone , they ’ re meant to have it .
He gravitates toward pans made before 1960 . “ I can tell when I have a vintage skillet that has been used a lot , that whoever had it cared for it and loved it because it ’ s not scratched , bent or chipped .”
He recounted finding one pan on some of his travels , passing through Mojave on his way back from Vegas .
“ I stopped by an antique store and found a pan that was not seasoned and marked under ten dollars . When I looked at the back of the pan , I immediately realized this pan was worth more than ten dollars . I got excited . My heart started racing . I had to keep my poker face .”
He offered the
clerk eight dollars , raced back to his car , and when he looked it up , discovered that the pan was worth ten times as much as he ’ d paid . “ There ’ s an excitement when you find a gem of a pan .”
But owning so many pans takes commitment , requiring a lengthy process to make each pan usable known as “ seasoning .”
First , he begins with a process called “ electrolysis .” He soaks the pan in water infused with electrolytes and submits it to a dose of low voltage electricity . That removes all the dirt , grime and rust . “ When done , it ’ s bare metal . From bare metal , I wash and clean it then I ’ ll season it with grapeseed oil and pure and simple Crisco shortening .”
After oiling , he sticks the pan in his barbecue pit , where he cooks it at 380 degrees for an hour . “ That ’ s when it turns black . The
“ That pan has a history . I keep it in my kitchen and will never get rid of it ”
— Steve Parra , the Pan Guy
more you season it with oil , the darker the pan gets .” This results in a non-stick surface great for cooking almost anything . “ I don ’ t have any Teflon in my house ,” he said .
An avid cook , he keeps a variety of cast iron pans in different sizes in his kitchen for any number of meals . He makes different kinds of eggs for breakfast every morning in the smaller pans , cooks homemade spaghetti sauce in bigger ones and uses a 120-year-old Dutch Oven to make homemade sourdough bread . His kids also love a chicken casserole dish he makes . “ I never eat fast food ,” he said .
Whether or not you develop the same fascination for cast iron as Parra has , he suggested that once you cook with cast iron , you ’ ll never go back .
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN SPRING 2021 gmhtoday . com
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