Most department stores have a home brand . One of Aldis is Crofton . On one of my earlier posts I had expressed a desire to expand my cast iron cook ware arsenal as the biggest skillet I had was 24cm . A bit small for my every day needs . /
A fellow forum member @grahroll advised me that Aldis often had cast iron cook ware at reasonable prices . He also offered to purchase some pieces for me and ship them down from Queensland to Melbourne because Aldis Queensland is on a different buying cycle to Victoria.
I managed to buy the above pictured items when they became available in Melbourne … Oh yeh , thanks Graham for the offer to purchase them for me and ship . A week before I had driven to Harris Scarfe Home Wares shop in Geelong to buy a a deep walled 30cm Cast iron Skillet with Lid . Main use deep and shallow frying . Brand Smith and Nobel . Paid $25.95 on special . Price reflected quality but quite serviceable after a good seasoning /
Ok getting back to the Croftons from Aldis . What a surprise I got when I opened the boxes . Excellent finish . Nice surface that would take seasoning easily . Incidentally I use Canola oil for cooking and seasoning . Found it to be the best all rounder . I’m a vegetarian but having the griddle grill provides me with a good vehicle to cook steaks on for guests and also to get nice char lines on egg plant strips etc . /
How do the compare when put up against the SolidTeknics I reviewed 2 days ago . The solid Teknics retail at $129 for the 26cm and $159 for the 30cm . The 28cm Crofton falls in between size wise and as well as having an excellent finish has some nice features too . Remember though the Crofton is cast Iron and the Solid Teknics high carbon steel sealess pressed . The Crofton is heavier but not too bad to use against the weight of Lodge or Stargazer , 2 top Yank brands . /
I prefer , myself , the SolidTeknics due to the ease of which they season and the way MJ Henry when he designed them made turning and flipping items in them a breeze due to the slope on their sides . The longer handles don’t get hot ./
But the price difference .The big tail twist . The Crofton cost $ 12.95 each when available . For the quality in this day and age it is a true bargain . Recommended at that price .