Recently, I’ve been on a cast iron kick. It helps that I get to test some of the best cast iron skillets as part of my job, but there’s something about this charming, classic cookware that makes me reach for it over my Teflon-coated pots and pans.

But recently, I’ve come across some debate online as to whether it’s ok to cook tomato-based sauces in cast iron. Could this damage your pans, and why?

I reached out to Laura Ascher, Recipe Developer at Cast Iron Skillet Cooking, and Hank Shaw, James Beard Award–winning chef and author of the new cookbook Borderlands, to get to the bottom of the debate. Is it ok to cook tomato sauces in cast iron?

“Yes, with a few caveats,” says Shaw. Long story short, I can keep cooking tomato pastas and hot curries in my cast iron pots, but there are some th

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