What I Learned from Looking at Octogon Pans

How much do you love your cast iron? It's perfect for cooking so many things! I'll admit, mine is used most for two things: cornbread and chicken pot pie (this recipe is so yummy!) I don't use my cast iron every day though. The pieces I have aren't for everything. I have one pan I use exclusively for cornbread. I'm sure that confuses some people, but it's been my cornbread pan since 1991. I bought it as the largest (12") of a three piece set. My ex-husband took the 10" one when we divorced, and I just got the smallest one, which is 8", out of storage. (Oh does it need some work! I'll be talking about that soon.) This pan hasn't stuck in years, because even though I cut cornbread in the pan before turning it out, it's well seasoned. One day I hope to pass it on to my grandchildren and teach them how to appreciate all that cast iron has to offer.

We use the same skillet year after year, just like generations before us, accepting that the design is what it is. The handles are sometimes not big enough, or feel like they're not the right shape to carry it safely, especially at cooking temperatures. When they offered silicone handles for us to add to out cookware, we were estatic.

Otherwise, our cookware was perfect for so many things, unless you used it for everything. Most of the people who use cast iron to that extent are in the food service industry, such as a chef or line cook. For most of us, the pour spouts on the edges of our cast iron are enough. Sure, they're a little messy when you pour out drippings, but we wipe them and move on.

Last week I saw something on Facebook that I can't remember the details of, but all that I thought when I saw it was "Where has this been all my life!? It would help me cut perfect cornbread pieces!" This was only the beginning of what I learned this week though.

In 2013, Mike Whitehead started a Kickstarter campaign for a new octogon skillet, branded as Finex. Somehow I've missed this for a while, but apparently the campaign was wildly successful and now they have their own website where you can buy skillets and grill pans with this unique shape. One thing that did catch my eye is a 1-quart dutch oven, but before I talk about why, I wanted to see what the reviews were like. Apparently, people love them if you read theie site reviews, but I wanted unfiltered results. I was happy to find this test, which looked for the best cast iron skillet.


I love how this article reviewed various pans, because you learn things about them that you just can't anywhere that you would have purchased these pans. In their tests, this pan just didn't hold up to the hype. So OK, it's got a cool shape, and I would be able to cut my cornbread other than eyeballing it, but otherwise it's not a pan I would buy.

So back to the 1-quart dutch oven. It's got a small size, but it's deep, which they say makes it perfect for many things, including lasagna for two. Lasagna in cast iron!? Worth it or not? Well, I'd say that depends on what else you thought of to use it for. To me, a 2 quart or larger would be better. Because the spoiled rotten chef discontinued the pot/pan set that I was missing to complete my new cookware, I'm considering this as my next cast iron purchase.

It would fill the gap between the 1-1/2 quart and the tall pasta pot, and fom what I've been reading would be wonderful for rice making.

As always, comments and suggestions are appreciated, so if anyone has experience with these in between sizes, please chime in!

Until next time...