In 1975, our 150 year old house burnt to the ground and Mother pulled her cast iron pans out of what had been the stove. She has had them for over 50 years and Grandma had them for 30 years prior. She still uses all 3 of them today. A cast iron pan with a lid is great for roasting. I can't eat cake, but Grandma Love (Black Foot/Osage and Black Dutch) always baked her whole wheat cakes in a cast iron pan and poured honey over for icing. She gave birth to 16 children, never had a pap smear and lived to 97! There must of been something missing in the water! (Fluoride)