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Iwachu Skillets: Effortless Japanese Cast Iron

By Hand-Eye Supply - August 5, 2015

in Hand-Eye Supply | Product Design | Homeware

Cast iron is a known Good. Its even cooking surface, versatility and durability have made cast-iron pans into vital kitchen staples all around the world for hundreds of years. To usefully update such an old technology usually comes down to the details, and Iwachu skillets are a prime example.

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Nambu tekki (or nanbu tekki, depending on which part of the Internet you ask) is a traditional form of ironware, made in Morioka, Japan, for over 400 years. It is still used in simple, high-heat kitchen tools like kettles, griddles and bakeware. This type of ironware is made in a proprietary process resulting in a higher quality material, thinner wall thickness and a satisfying, slightly pebbled non-stick surface. That means you get a lighter weight cast-iron pan without sacrificing even heat or durability. Past their use of this credentialed construction, the key design feature in Iwachu skillets is subtle: their gentle sloping sides and unusually long cut-out handle dramatically improve ergonomics.

Though they're called "omelette" pans, the graceful shallow shape is good for all kinds of sautes, sauces and bakes. That longer, subtly-curved handle allows better grip, cools faster than traditional handles, and is well angled for fancy wrist-flipping. Pre-seasoned and now available in two sizes, over at Hand-Eye Supply.

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Austin Liu

9 years ago

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The even heating quality of a pan is actually dependent on how thick the base is. This was tested by Cooks Illustrated. They found that it mattered less whether a pan was copper, aluminum cored, or cast iron than whether a pan had a thick base; a thick base plus a conductive material was the best for even heating, but a thick pan made of a poor conductor was better than a thin pan made of a good conductor. Heat conducts along the material of the pan better when there is more conductive cross-section; the greater this cross-section, the more the heat evens out before it reaches the food.

Because of this, it is actually counter-productive to make a cast iron pan thin if the intention is to use cast iron for even heating. Cast iron pans that do heat evenly do so as a side effect of having thick bottoms; the material properties of cast iron have very little to do with this quality.

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Peter Middleton

9 years ago

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"That means you get a lighter weight cast-iron pan without sacrificing 'even heat' or durability"

Cast iron do not heat evenly. What they excel at is heat retention

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- Austin Liu
  
  Peter Middleton
  
  9 years ago
  
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  My understanding of the matter is that the heat retention comes from the mass typically characteristic of cast iron products; a thin cast iron pan shouldn't retain heat that much better than a pan of equivalent thickness made of other materials.
  
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