Victoria 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet, Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Frying Pan with Long Handle, Made in Colombia

Lovely Pan! I gave up non-stick pans long ago and have been cooking eggs in a stainless steel Cuisinart frying pan for over a decade. If you want no stick on a will-stick pan, you gotta learn what they want. For my 8" Cuisinart, I set it on the small electric burner, turn it on to medium (5), and set the timer for 6 minutes. At 6 minutes, add a dab of butter (and for me, I do mean just a dab - only enough for a thin coat where the egg will sit), then add the egg for scrambled or over-easy. No stick. Begin sooner than 6 minutes, it sticks.Basically, if your pan is too cold, the food will stick. If it's too hot, it may stick and will burn your food. Ya gotta find that sweet spot where you food browns nicely without overcooking. Know your burner; does it run hot? Use a timer, check your results, and test til you find it. You can do it, and it's worth it.This is my second time using the Victoria Cast Iron, first time with an egg. The pan came pre-seasoned which I'm glad of as I'm not interested in that; I'd rather learn my pan and burners. The first cook was steak with some butter to welcome the pan home. Followed the instructions that came with it: washed with mild soap and warm water, towel dry. No problems.For this egg, the burner is large and heats up faster, so I set the timer for 5 minutes but only needed a bit over 3. Small dab of butter, and walla! No stick. Deliciously cooked evenly throughout, tender but with crispy edges. Better than my trusty Cuisinart!Regarding rust, the instructions say to never let it air dry. Also, it says to use warm soap and water, something I've not done before on cast iron. But I researched the brand well. They've been making this cast iron for a long time; I trust they know their metal.This pan is so much better than my old lodge, I can't even compare. Nearly smooth surface (read about that on their website), nice long, arched handle, and way bigger drip spouts that are wonderful. Bonus of beautifully etched logo on the bottom.Looking forward to a long and prosperous cooking adventure with this pan. Ya just gotta treat 'em right!Update 2/15/25: Tried making a grilled cheese: set burner to #4 for 3 min, but it browned the edges of bread too quickly (see first side). Turned burner down to #3 and covered it with a light pie plate to capture the pan's heat and melt the cheese quickly, but without sealing the pan which would cause steam and soggy bread. Pan was still too hot, turned it down to low/sim (#1) for 2 min and walla! the amazing side 2. The cheese (pretty thick slices of Colby Jack) was melted all the way through and gooey, the bread and crust was crisp but not hard. The sandwich stayed warm for most of eating it (I've found different cooking methods have different heat retention; call me crazy, lol). Probably the most delicious grilled cheese I've ever made!Next day I tried frying cheese right in the pan after cooking an egg (turned burner down to #3 for fried cheese). It melts quickly without having to broil it before putting the egg on top. The bit of browned cheese stuck in the bottom of the pan comes right off with the spatula and goes onto the bread. So yummy! This pan has become my favorite to try everything! Made delicious fried rice from leftovers that didn't stick at all. Love this pan!!

I own the 12" skillet, the 2 qt pot and the 8" skillet.I came across Victoria when looking for a basic pot. When you check out their store you will find they sell a number of unique items in cast iron. I was very impressed.When I purchased my 12" skillet I went with Victoria over Lodge because it's just over a pound lighter and those skillets weight enough as it is.When it came time to buy an 8" skillet I again went with Victoria.Victoria cast has a smoother finish than todays Lodge cast. It is equal to or sometimes slightly lighter in weight than Lodge. This is not cheap, light weight cast from an unknown company. This is heavy weight cast of superior quality, meant to last a lifetime.They use a different oil than Lodge when pre-seasoning that has a lower smoke point. Rather than jet black, the cast resembles more of a gun metal. Manufactures pre-season cast to prevent a pan from rusting. It is simply a base to work off of when continuing to season a pan yourself. You can season via cooking or through a seasoning process. I season mine but I had some scallops I wanted to cook did so straight out of the box. Amazingly they didn't stick. I will still season it.To season cast, use a quality, high temp, cook oil. I use grape seed oil. Wipe all over and then wipe it off. Place it in an oven upside down and cook it to 20-50 deg above the smoke point of the oil. Turn the oven off and wait for your pan to cool. Repeat so than you have done this 2-3 times. Every time you wash your pan, you wipe it down with oil and wipe off the excess.When you cook, pre-heat your pan. Cast cooks evenly but it takes awhile to heat up. Once heated, add your oil and turn down your heat to a low to medium setting. When your done cooking, add a bit of hot water to the pan & go eat. When your done eating, rinse the pan in hot water. It should be clean. If it's not, scrub with a stiff brush or chain-mail. Dull black is carbon, you don't want that. If you end up scrubbing down to metal, just re-season once in your oven. There is a learning curve going from aluminum non-stick pans to cast iron. Some pans take longer than others to season. Much of this depends on how you cook and what you cook. No worries, yours will pass the egg test in no time.If a pan gets a slight bit of rust. No worries. Mix up some citric acid or use lemon juice, it will come right out. Oil it and bake it in the oven.

Great skillet, has a longer handle than the other brands which is nice, also a little better finish, not as rough, try the flat skillet with handle they make you'll love it, also the 8" pan is great