A cast iron pot or pan is a lifetime investment. This matters a lot to me because I try to live as sustainably as I can. This means that I try to choose high quality things so I only have to buy them once without having to change it every few years – which happens with cheap teflon pans. A cast iron pan may seem expensive but is cheaper in the long run.
I finally sold my electric grill and went for a cast iron grill pan. I was thinking of Le Creuset, but the prices are crazy! I found another brand in Pantry Magic Jakarta, called La Cuisine , at a fraction of the price, and it works perfectly.
To be honest, I wish I found it in another color, like white, but it was all there was available at that time I found it. This is something I learned from being an expat. Things don’t have to be perfect and this is okay.
On to seasoning! It’s really easy.
- Pre-heat the oven on high and while waiting coat the black enamel with butter using a pastry brush. I used margarine coz it’s cheap.

2. Place it in the oven for an hour. I cheated and only did like 30 minutes.

3. Remove from the oven to cool.

4. Once cool, wipe excess oil with paper towel.

Before I bought my first ever cast iron cookware, I was really intimidated by the process of “seasoning” and thought “I’m a home cook, can I even manage this?” But I just went for it and I was pleasantly surprised that Pantry Magic Jakarta provided me with guides on how to season. There were different methods and I chose the easiest one for me. I might not have done it perfectly but to this day my cast iron grill pan brings us beautifully grilled veggies and meat.
2020 UPDATE: This grill is 7 years old and still going strong!
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