Nonstick pans offer so much. And in the end they deliver so little.

I should know. I was taken in by the promises. Easy cooking, fast cleanup, and great pancakes.

But then reality hits. The pans warp, the cooking is easy for about two weeks, and the easy cleanup becomes a matter of removing the flakes of the nonstick coating. And you have to face the other reality: those flakes aren’t just coming off in the cleanup. You’re eating those flakes. Like I should have said, you don’t want to think about this too much.

So what’s the solution? What pan is truly easy, cooks well, and both literally and figuratively cleans up?

Easy: get a cast iron skillet. They’re remarkably inexpensive ($25-50), cook well, are flexible (in cast iron you can cook a roast chicken – imagine doing that in your nonstick), and they last forever. The pan you’re buying today is one your great-grandchildren could use.

People on Reddit and other spaces will ask, “What can you cook in a cast iron skillet?” The more accurate question is, “What can’t you cook ins cast iron skillet?

They really do work. When properly seasoned, they’re nonstick without the chemical feast. Seasoning is the process of treating the pan’s metal to ensure that food doesn’t stick. But the “properly seasoned” part is the one that throws people for a loop. Seasoning a pan is made to be way more difficult than it is. Here’s how to take care of it.

Preheat your oven to 350. Now put one tablespoon (any more is unnecessary) in the pan. Use a paper towel to wipe the inside and outside of the pan. (The pan should look wet after you’ve done this). Now place the pan in the oven, shut the door, and turn off the heat. Leave the pan inside for 12 hours or overnight.

Don’t make this any more complicated. People will tell you to place the upside down on a sheet of aluminum foil or other things. Don’t. Just do what I’m telling you. You’ll have a great pan that you can cook in three times a day.