Good information found here…

http://www.preparedness.myporc….._tips.html

Thanks Ross.  I had wondered about that, since I have restored several pans in my self cleaning oven, but had been told that the orange peel blemish found on the bottom of some old skillets was caused by placing the pans on a campfire, etc. 

Here are a couple more neat pages on cast iron, if anyone wants to do some more reading…

http://www.richsoil.com/cast-iron.jsp

Cast Iron Cookbook, found here:

http://www.wvagriculture.org/i…..ok-1.pdf  has a lot of neat recipes for cooking in cast iron, and the history of cast iron.

I had wondered about that, Ross.  I clean them in my self cleaning oven when I first get them, so wondered why not a fire.  I had been told it can cause the blemish.

Here is a neat link on cast iron history and recipes… It shows how to use a dutch oven, how many coals needed for different dishes, etc.

http://www.wvagriculture.org/i…..book-1.pdf