Side by Side Comparison of: Victoria vs Lodge vs Imusa vs Bob's Red Mill vs Kana Lifestyle

Very sturdy and very easy to use. I would suggest to cut out 2 square pieces of wax paper when pressing tortillas to avoid sticking.

Makes really good roti! I followed the instructions in one of the review. Press 2-3 times for desired thickness.

As a first time tortilla maker, I was so surprised and pleased to learn how to make homemade tortillas. This press is great, i do place my masa doughs in a plastic to press. It does require a little practice but now I use it even to strecht my GF pizza doughs.

Very satisfied. I had been being cheap and doing tortillas by hand and rolling pin. You should put the dough slightly off center so it doesn't come out the side, or use a smaller dough ball. I would order again. Also, let the weight of the cast iron flatten the dough, not much strength needed to get the job done. Cast iron will shear if too much weight applied to the handle, although it's seems better built than it was in the picture of it broken. Remember it's not like steel. Enjoy!

Very well made and heavy duty. I researched quite a few presses and this one is well worth the price and is built to last. Very happy with it!

This makes perfect tortillas. If you place the ball of Masa a little above the center between either waxed paper or plastic wrap, they come out perfectly round and thin. The lever presses down and flattens the dough. This is heavy duty, and doesn't need to be pressed more than once. I highly recommend.

The only thing I didn't know about cast iron was the maintenance. I found rust spots after my mom cleaned it with a brillo sponge, but realized it was because it was left to dry. Instead, I cleaned it using salt and it looked like new. I will be seasoning it with canola or flax oil from now on too, and will put in on the stove to dry out the water after every wash.Watch a video on how to clean cast iron if you find that yours is rusting, because with proper care, these are great quality, and the price is really good.Honest review, and I received NO compensation for it.

Cooking on cast iron is an art. I grew up with these as a child so I instinctively know what to do. Some aficionados here on Amazon pride themselves on seasoning their cookware with flax seed oil. My dad was a professional chef and we never did that when I was a kid so I don't do that now.It's really simple. You never cook dry. This is old school cooking 101. You never pour a cake mix into a baking pan without buttering the pan. And you never put anything on a heated griddle unless you oil or butter it first. When I bought this I decided to try coconut oil and it works pretty well.Another reviewer advised against vegetable oil and he's right in the sense that if you overheat vegetable oil on a griddle you will essentially create a glue that will cause things to begin to stick to the griddle. This isn't a problem if you're vigilant and avoid burning the vegetable oil. But the better advice is simply not to mess with it.As has been mentioned by others, if you always treat the surface before cooking on it, you won't have any trouble with anything sticking to it EVER. I bought this to make pancakes and it's been nothing but joy. I also filled the entire pan with egg batter and made scrambled eggs and then mixed that in a mixing bowl with rice which I had made in the rice cooker to produce egg-fried rice. Worked great.There's nothing like cooking on cast iron. It creates a self-contained uniform heat that produces wonderfully consistent results. On the other hand, when used without care, it produces burnt food that seemingly requires a jackhammer before you can remove it from the pan. If you're a patient person you'll do fine. If you think cooking goes faster by turning the burner on high, then this is not for you.The best advice I can give is to ALWAYS keep it oiled. Until you get used to it, UNDER heat rather than overheat. If you overheat with a cheap oil, you now have glue and you have failed to ALWAYS keep it oiled (not glued). The natural result of producing glue will be food sticking to the pan. If you fail to remove ALL of the glue, you will CHRONICALLY experience food sticking.Heat the griddle slowly. Run some cold water on your hand. Then flick the water onto the pan. When the water bubbles up and evaporates the surface is ready for cooking. If the water immediately steams off, the surface is too hot. Turn down the burner and wait. DO NOT PUT FOOD ON THE SURFACE until it cools down some. When it has cooled down, re-oil the surface. Do the flick test again and if the water bubbles and then evaporates, you're ready to cook.Remember, cast iron stores and maintains heat. It doesn't get instantly hot. And turning the burner on high won't make things happen any faster. Don't go past medium. Give it a chance to store the heat.If you turn the burner on high, here's what happens: The griddle begins storing LOTS of heat. But it still is warming up slowly. By the time you think that the cast iron is hot, it has STORED up a tremendous amount of heat. It's WAY too hot. At that point you turn down the heat. But it doesn't matter because the heat is STORED. At this point, the former vegetable oil is now turning into plastic. And it's at this point that the fool begins to cook. The food now begins bonding to the plastic. And any further cooking just enhances the bonding process.The fool's conclusion: "cast iron is no good."If you're an impatient person, this is not for you. If want to watch television and knit while you're cooking, this is not for you. However, if you enjoy cooking and you're looking for an item that will improve and enhance your results, this is definitely for you. Take your time. Begin slowly warming up the griddle in advance while you're mixing up ingredients so that you don't have to rush. I love this griddle and you will too! Just remember: Easy Does It.

I am relatively new to cast iron cooking. I purchased this pan specifically to use with a recipe on culturesfoehealth.com. I bought their gluten-free sourdough starter, and wanted to try the recipe for pizza crust. It said to use a 10" cast iron pan. It turned out AWESOME!!! The pan is easy to use, easy to clean, and the pizza was incredible. Far and away the best gluten free pizza crust I have ever had.The recipe makes 2 crusts. When I have a regular size oven, I will buy another pan, so i can cook both at one time. For now, my oven is tiny and I cook one, slide it off the pan, assemble the second one, and it cooks while my son and I eat Pizza #1. Not a bad system :) Great great pan!

I never thought I could make decent crepes at home and I did not want to spend a fortune on a Le Creuset crepe pan. So my husband got this pan for me at Christmas and it works beautifully. Just make sure the pan is hot before cooking, melt some butter on the pan and spread a 1/2 cup of the batter evenly over the pan with a t-shaped wooden crepe spreader (they are very inexpensive and a must for this process). Cook crepes one minute per side and voila---perfect crepes. Worked for me.By the way, all of the American recipes I have seen for crepes have called for milk and water, but the french recipe that I used only called for milk and they were truly scrumptious. I would forgo the water and just use milk (1 and 1/4 cups of milk for every cup of flour). Best of luck.

This is by far the most low maintenance pan I own. People don't believe it when I say it; because most people who don't believe it don't know how to cook. I am sorry if it sounds harsh; truth often is. Now that we have gotten that out of the way; I will try to be as helpful as possible below. As I am an Informations Major; apologies in advance; old habits are hard to break; I will try to put in more information about a cast iron griddle than you ever wanted to know; and more information than you will ever need to know.~~~~~~ Treatise on Lodge L9OG3 Cast Iron Round Griddle ~~~~~~1) The Background on why when done properly, cast iron is very non-stickI make the blanket statement that if you are spending more than 30 seconds cleaning this griddle; you have screwed up. I literally spend less than 10 seconds cleaning this griddle; I use this and the 10.25" (L8SK3) Skillet so often that there is actually no place for them in my cupboard (on purpose), they live on the stove permanently.Before we get to the cleaning; we need to get to the non-sticking. Let me explain how cast iron seasoning works, and why when done right it's more non-stick than teflon. Cast iron, as the name implies is "cast" into shape. They make a mold (usually out of sand) and then molten iron is poured into the cast. When it has cooled and formed; the mold is removed; and you have (in this case) your griddle. Because the iron is poured in liquid form; there are tiny bubbles and imperfections on the surface. Years ago; Lodge use to sandblast as a final stage to smooth out the surface; they do not do this anymore; but it does not make it any less non-stick. When you pour oil on the cast iron; as it is porous; some oil gets absorbed into the nooks and crannies of the cast iron surface. When you cook something with a fat in it; (or any hydro-carbon) and you overheat it; you essentially burn it. All the gunk burns off and what is left is near pure carbon (why a well seasoned cast iron is deep black). So when you season cast iron; that is what you are doing, you are putting some sort of fat onto it; letting it burn, and leaving only the carbon footprint on the surface. This black surface is called a Patina. Carbon bonds are pretty tough; and so a good Patina will essentially leave the surface of the cast iron with a very thin layer of pure carbon. In a horizontal lattice structure; the bond is strong horizontally; and forms a slippery surface. So before we begin even talking about cleaning; you have to have a good Patina on your griddle. Google "how to season cast iron" and you will come up with a thousand articles and a few thousand Youtube videos.2) Making your griddle non-stick is the first part of easy cleaningSo you have done your homework; and you have seasoned your griddle. Good! Now here is the secret that nobody is going to tell you but me. Let's say you wanted to make pancakes on this griddle; here's what you do; and if you follow my instructions to the letter; I GUARANTEE you the most non-stick griddle you've ever used.Let's talk oils:You want something that can hold up to high heat. Extra Virgin Olive oil is a HORRIBLE choice. Do a search on "smoke point of oil" and take a look at the chart. If you are asking me for a recommendation as far as oil; it would go: Ghee (485F), Pig Lard (370F), Avocado Oil (520F). In that order. You want something that has no solids (so no butter, it burns) and something that has a high smokepoint. Most people use something like grapeseed oil, extra virgin olive oil etc.. and they all will gum up; making your griddle very sticky. Stick with the 3 oils I mentioned above; and you will be fine. (I personally use ghee if available when I cook meats; all other times I use Avocado Oil. If I'm deep frying though; I prefer Lard).Now here's what you do (Seriously do EXACTLY as I say): You've decided you want pancakes; great. Take your oil or lard, and pour it on the COLD griddle. COLD. Take a paper towel, and rub it all around until its even; a thin light coating. Now go ahead and put the griddle on the stove; and fire it up; on low/medium low heat. With the back side of the same paper towel; as you start to see the griddle sweat oil (and it will) wipe it like you are buffing a car with car wax. Small circles; making sure there are no pools of oil anywhere. Once you think the griddle has stopped sweating; add a little bit of oil (I know, it sounds counter-intuitive as I just wiped oil off; but it's not) and cook your pancakes. They will be SUPER non-stick.Here's why it works. Remember I said that the cast iron is porous? So when you rub oil on it COLD; the oil will not seep into the crevices. It will sit on top of those crevices. As the griddle gets heated however; the oil will become much lower in viscosity, and flow in and fill those porous surfaces. The excess is seen as "oil sweat". When the griddle is hot; and you've wiped it down well; what you don't see is a very thin layer oil on top of the surface, this is now your non-stick surface! When you add oil; it lubricates the griddle so when you pour pancake batter or something; it will be less likely to stick.So you are wondering, how is this different than heating up the griddle then adding oil to it? You can answer this for yourself. Heat up a stainless steel pan if you have one. When it's hot; throw a few water drops on it; you will see the water drops dance around. Why? Because the pan is hot; and so when the water touches it; the bottom side vaporizes and causes a mini explosion, sending the droplet into the air. Now what if you had water in the pan and heated it? You'd see the water sizzle but not jump around.When you heat the griddle; and then add oil; there is heat (and perhaps a little moisture) trapped in the porous surface; and trying to get oil into that surface will NOT happen. The nooks and crannies have hot air trapped in it; so oil can't penetrate into it. So you have a dry griddle with oil floating on top; and when you pour pancake mix; the oil actually PARTS and now you have pancake batter on a hot dry griddle. No wonder your pancakes stick! Doing it my way will super-non-stick your pan. Incidentally; you can do this to a stainless steel pan and get the same effect!3) Stiff Nylon Brush and Hot water is your friendIf you have followed my instructions above; and have not turned the heat up so high or so long as to burn the griddle completely; and you are finished using it; then cleanup should be a 10 second affair, and not more. Because what you fail to realize until now; is that if you used the method above; you are SEASONING your griddle AS YOU ARE COOKING. So when you are done; the color will be a deeper black; and the griddle will be non-stick (more non-stick!). At this point; go ahead and get hot water running in the sink. When the water is hot; take your griddle over; and under hot running water; scrub vigorously with a stiff nylon brush for 10 seconds. You shouldn't use soap.. EVER! Soap will strip the Patina and possibly rust your pan! If you have done as I taught; your pan will be completely clean in 10 seconds. I know for a fact because I do this everyday. If there is a hard to clean spot; it means you haven't done as I said! Don't worry; pour a little bit of baking soda on that area; and scrub with the nylon brush. That's it! If you ran hot water while doing this; then turn off the water; shake the excess water off; and with a clean paper towel, wipe it dry. While the griddle is warm; go ahead and rub a little bit of oil ALL AROUND (that means bottoms and handles too!) making sure every surface is coated with a very thin layer of oil. Let it sit and rest. Next day; you can if you so choose; wipe off the excess oil as it too will sweat a little bit of oil.That is it! We eat 20 meals a week at home, and this griddle is involved in at least 18 of them. Do you think I have time to scrub scrub scrub until my elbows creek? Of course not. If the food doesn't taste good cooked from it; then the pan is a fail; regardless of price. If it's not easy to clean; then the pan is a fail. If it doesn't last, it's a fail. If food from it is unhealthy; it's a fail. This pan scores and scores well in all these categories; but ESPECIALLY cleaning! People come over to eat; and see my cast iron skillets and they literally feel bad for me; thinking I'm going to be scrubbing until the cows come home; and are amazed that no pans I own take more than 10 seconds on my part to clean. Having owned cast iron; I can't imagine owning regular pans simply because of the cleaning involved!4) Why Cast IronSo we've talked about cleaning; but we haven't talked about why cast iron. If you take a google at the list of thermal conductivity, you will be surprised. Aluminium scores in the 200's, Copper scores a 385, Silver scores a 405, and stainless steel scores a 16. Granite scores a 2. Cast Iron scores a very low 55. So what we can conclude from this information is: There's a reason why a lot of chefs like copper bottom pans; it conducts thermal activity well. There is a reason why some of the stainless steel skillets add an aluminium sandwich core; to increase the thermal conductivity of the pan overall. With a score of 55 though; cast iron is not very thermally conductive. That means it's slow to heat up; but that also means however; once it heats up; it won't cool quickly. This is what you need essentially when you sear something, or if you want to gently heat something. (Tangent; from the chart; this is why a lot of people swear granite rock steak is the best on earth.)Because cast iron heats slowly; you should really never use anything past a medium heat; heating it too quickly can cause it to crack. So low heat and more warm up time is the better way to go.So what does all this mean if I'm cooking a steak? Well, it means if I throw a piece of cold meat (incidentally; you should NEVER put a piece of cold steak onto a hot grill or griddle; the meat should be room temp or slightly colder than room temp). It means that when you throw your piece of meat on the griddle; because of the ability of the cast iron the retain its heat; it will not "dump" all the heat into the steak quickly; and the pan itself get cold. This is also why if you cook a steak in an aluminum pan; it scorches. What happens is; when you heat an aluminum pan; and then put a piece of steak on it; with the great thermal conductivity of aluminum; all the heat leaves the pan quickly; so the pan is now cold. The fire underneath then is struggle to bring the pan back up to temp; and by it time it does; the steak has lost all it's moisture through evaporation and there is no searing or browning, you end up with a tough piece of dried steak.Because cast iron does not dump all it's temp right away; when you put food on cast iron; the surface temperature does not drop dramatically. This means cast iron makes a great material for stir frying as well as deep frying pots. For our review of the griddle here; it means that when we pour cold pancake mix onto this griddle; the surface will not drop in temp dramatically; yielding you perfectly uniform pancakes. If you go to someone's house and they make you pancakes; and the center is very dark and the edges are very light; chances are they used a cheap pan. (My guess; an aluminum bottom with telfon top) This is because as the batter mix is poured into the pan; the pan "was" hot; when the batter touched; the pan dumped all its heat into the initial point of contact with the batter (in this case, batter runs outwards in a concentric circle) so by the time the batter spreads; the pan is already cold, so the flame will attempt to bring the pan back to temp; and thus burning the part that was hot already (the center) and leaving the edges undercooked. This is also why people think pancakes at pancake houses taste better than homemade; because they use a big griddle at the restaurant. Well, now you can do the same.The other item two items that cast iron offers are something that has come in more of the limelight in the last few years than a few decades ago; and that's health. Cast Iron is made of 100% iron; and so if you have something leech into your food; it would be iron; an essential mineral. Granted it might color your food taste; as well as the actual color; but it is essentially healthy for you. The other item cast iron provides for you is the knowledge that it's a safe product. Compare that with some of the non-stick pans that will give you cancer when you eat it (hey buddy; those aren't pepper flakes, they are scraped up teflon!!) Or aluminum pots and pans; that will give you Alzheimer. No thank you!5) Low and SlowBecause this griddle is round; and most heating (be it gas or electric) is round; you get very uniform heating. Couple that with the fact that cast iron is fairly uniform heating itself; and this makes for a good pan to heat something that you need heated evenly. I don't own a toaster; why would you if this makes toast that comes out much more uniform; and tastes 10x better? In most toasters; there are strips of wires (heating elements) that run horizontally. They get red hot; and that's is how your toast is toasted. You can see evidence of this by the burn streaks on your toast. When you heat your bread on this griddle however, you have uniform surface contact (assuming your bread is sliced uniformally) and thus you get very good crunch and very even crunch. Couple that with the fact that the bread is being heated on the entire surface all at once; instead of by a few red hot coils; and your toast actually toasts faster on this than in a toaster, and more uniform and more delicious. Put a little butter on it and sprinkle a little bit of garlic powder (or fresh garlic!) and you get garlic bread! Delicious!This is also perfect for tortillas; which I do every morning. We usually freeze our tortillas; and so coupled with a meat press; I take a frozen tortilla out; put it on this griddle; and press it flat with the lodge meat press. I flip it over in a minute; and give it another minute; put some cheeze on it; a little avocado and whatever leftover meat from dinner; and presto! Taco breakfasts.With the great even cooking surface; my wife likes to make egg tortillas; crack an egg and beat it; then pour into the skillet and then cover it with a piece of tortilla. The egg will stick to the tortilla and not the griddle! Flip it over; let it cook alittle bit; roll it up; breakfast egg rollers.Reheating pizza is something I do often on this; I put the pizza on and then put a small piece of aluminum foil over it; have it on low heat; and let it heat low and slow. I cook hamburgers patties on this; and they always come out perfect.Because of the shallow edges; it's not a good idea to cook anything that has a lot of "juiciness" to it; but anything bread related; this is it! Reheating bread is a cinch; as is heating sandwiches.6) AccessoriesI will recommend a few accessories that pairs quite well with this item. The first recommendation is the lodge meat press (LGP3). Like I said above; I use this to press everything from tortillas to hamburger patties. If you heat it first on the open stove top; you can then cook both sides together at once; like a panini without the grill marks. The second recommendation is a glass lid. I have 6 pots that are between 10.25~10.5" in diameter. I found a very nice glass lid at the thrift store for $1. I changed the knob on it from the plastic to a metal one. This lid fits on all 6 of my pots! The glass allows you to look into the food without lifting the lid, while the lid is quite useful on the 10.25" skillet; I use the lid on this griddle mainly to prevent slashes. My wife uses it when she reheats bread so the bread doesn't dry out so quickly. Remember, while you are heating up the griddle or skillet and you know you will be using the lid; then heat up the lid as well. My third recommendation is the silicone hot handle holders. They help.7) Full Circle ~ Let us begin at the beginningSo we are back full circle; let me encourage you to buy this piece of kitchen equipment. The price and value in unbeatable, When you first buy this; and ONLY when it's new; I do encourage you to use hot soapy water and a stiff nylon brush to clean the pan thoroughly. It comes out of the factory with a thin film of wax so it doesn't rust, and so that requires a bit of soapy water to get off. Then go ahead and google and follow directions on how to season your pan properly; and season it; and you are ready for action! Most recommend your first official item cooked on this be bacon; and I agree! I do want to stress though what I said above; Ghee; Lard, or Avocado Oil as the three cooking oils of choice. Most vegetable based ones have a low flash point; meaning you will easily burn your oil which becomes carcinogenic, or else they will add a funky taste to your food. I have quite a few pieces of Lodge cookware and I fully intend to Will them to my grandkids. They are beautiful; durable, cooks beautifully; browns beautifully; makes food tastes much better, and the cost is near nothing for what it provides for you and your family. You owe it to yourself and your loved one; and your health and your loved one's health to buy one. If you do what I tell you to do above; you will have the nicest; most non-stick griddle in the world.8) Bonus: How to save a rusty panSo a lot of you for some reason have decided to put this in the item in the dishwasher... and now it's super rusty.. never fear, I'm here! How to save your rusty griddle. Go to Walmart; and buy a 2-Liter bottle of regular Coke. (not the sugar free or diet one; regular Coke). Plug your sink up; put the griddle in it; and pour and cover with coke. Set your timer for 5 minutes if it's kind of rusty; and 10 minutes if it's super rusty. When the timer beeps; grab your roll of aluminum foil; about 1 square foot. Now ball it up into a ball. Take your griddle out of the coke solution; 90% of the rust should be gone already. Dab and scrub with the aluminum foil until no more rust. Drain the sink; get the hot water running; and scrub with the stuff nylon brush under hot running water. Congrats, you now have a new griddle! Now season it as you would; and go about your life.9) Super Bonus: When to clean your panThere are 3 points in time when you should clean the pan:1) Right after you cook; while the griddle is ridiculously hot. The food has not stuck onto the pan; and so it's a great time to clean. But ONLY if there is no food left on it.2) If there are bits of food on the pan, I'd actually wait until the food is almost cool on the pan to scrape and wash the pan. The reason is this: Remember cast iron is low thermal conductivity? Well, when the food is stuck on there; ironically the cast iron continues to slowly cook the food even after you've turned off the heat. Because you aren't adding more heat; the air temp is now cooler than the temp of the pan; so as the moisture slowly leaves the food item because the cast iron is still heating it; the food will CURL UPWARDS because the air is cooler than the pan and that will be the direction of the shrinkage; as well as the pan is slowly burning the food's bottom. So when the food is almost cold; you will find that it isn't stuck so badly as it initially was; because it's dried a bit and now might "flake" a bit when you pick at it, so a hard plastic pan scraper will easily scrape it off. Scrape the large chunks off with the scraper; and then again; back to the stiff nylon brush under hot water.3) The only time cast iron is super difficult to clean is if there was burn sugar involved. Three ways to attack this: while the griddle is hot; pour some warm water (not cold, you will crack the griddle) on it; let it bubble; and then scrape right away. Second way is to reheat the griddle; let it start almost burning again; and pour some warm water on it; let it bubble for a bit; and then scrape it right away. The Third method is a strange two-stage method. Scrub with a stiff nylon brush; under the hottest water you can. If the sugary parts scrape off; great! If not; don't fret. Stop scrubbing; and dry it with a paper towel. The pan should be warm to the touch still. Leave it on the stove top to cool off overnight; do not put it into a cupboard. The next morning; take a dry pot scraper; and scrape it. The sugary parts will flake and come off. When the pan was warm, it was again slowly drying out the sugars stuck on it. As the sugar dried; it hardened and so next morning; you can "crack" the sugar and remove it easily.10) Notes, hints, and personalsI recall staying at a relative's house one time; and my wife usually has eggs for breakfast. So the only pan we could find was one of the wunderbrick non-sticks; and so she cooked an egg with it. It tasted so bad that she threw it out. While ingredients make obviously a big difference; a less obvious one is the pots and pans used to cook it. The ability to go from stove to oven without transferring the vessel used; is not to be looked upon lightly. The fact that it will outlast most other pots and pans should not be looked upon lightly either. Our health depends our ability to cook healthy foods and not eating out; and the right pots and pans is a big part of that. If it's difficult to use or produces inferior results; then you will not use it. We have become a people of instant gratification; instant this; instant that. But I have yet to eat at any restaurant; food equal to that which I cook at home. I have control over every aspect from procurement of ingredients to pots and pans used. A lot of people buy cookware because it looks pretty; that is their prerogative but the priority really should be, what does it do for your health? A piece of cookware that is pretty AND functional is great; but if not; I'll settle for functional over pretty any day. What's the point of having a pan that's pretty but burns all your food? What's the point of a pot that is easy clean up but gives you cancer?Like I noted in the beginning; this was not a review; but a treatise. What we are talking about essentially isn't a piece of cookware; we are talking about quality of life. And a good quality of life begins with health. And health begins with healthy cooking. And healthy cooking begins with a piece of cookware that you are willing to use. One that will provide for you and your family delicious food day after day; week after week; month after month; year after year, generation after generation. I rarely give a product such a glowing endorsement; I have not been paid by anybody; and I bought mine with my hard earned money because I wanted the best for my family. Tortillas and farm fresh eggs for breakfast; this is the cookware we wake up to every morning. It has been an essential part of our lives and I couldn't imagine for the price of a few beers; a better way to build great health for you and your family.

I bought this pan after reading a lot of reviews. Especially I read a lot of 1, 2 3 star reviews. I believed that most of these negative reviews are because of not proper use or impatience. Remember, cast iron skillets are tricky, They work better than most of the nonstick, provided they are seasoned well, and proper use. I have had success in using larger Lodge Cast iron skillets, so thought I'll give it a try.I mainly bought this to prepare my all time favorite , nice crispier awesome dosas (Indian rice crepes). It was a hit in the first try itself. If you have difficulties like sticking, burning etc, be patient. Season it well by using multiple times, or baking it couple of times after oiling the skillet. I am using it almost every day to prepare my favorite breakfast. If you have any questions, how to seaon, sticking issues etc, please post it in the comment, I'll make sure to answer. I want to help you to enjoy this pan and the dosa :)Update: I have been using this skillet for more than two years now. We use it almost every day. Can't complain, best $12 investment ever.

Super happy with this! I've never used one of these before so I have nothing to compare it to though. It's smaller than I expected but I'm sure there were measurements posted that I didn't read. It works great though. I'm very happy with it. Hubby is thrilled to have homemade tortillas!

Ok. So the handle was broken in half when it arrived, but this thing still cranks out great tortillas regardless. I was going to send it back, but really needed some tortillas for dinner and decided it still is FAR better than rolling out by hand. the weight of it is the magic.

This press works great, and is well-made. I don't know why I waited so long to start making my own tortillas - it's easy and fun. It is a good idea to line the press with a plastic bag (or parchment paper, etc) to make it easy to peel off the tortillas.

I've used this about five times since purchase and I'm very happy with it. I have read other reviews that the pin breaks used too much pressure is applied. I haven't had that issue and will note that the item came with an extra pin. I've also taken other users' suggestions and added a thin piece of cardboard (think cereal box thickness) to make the tortillas a little bit thinner. I also recommend using a zip-lock bag on top and bottom to keep a clean press.Only four stars because even when the dough ball is placed a little off-center, the tortillas tend to be a little thicker on one side than the other.Nevertheless: RECOMMENDED

I bought this after getting tired of rolling out a bunch of tortillas by hand. Like most presses that I've seen/worked with the tortillas will be thicker on the side closest to the hinge. I fix this by pressing the dough then flipping it and pressing again. I usually keep the dough inside of a split gallon sized ziplock so this make the whole thing easier to do and eliminates any sticking. Works great on flour or corn tortillas. My only gripe now is the size. I think I will have to build something to get the size that I want.

Pretty cool heavy, heavy duty tortilla maker. Cranks out fine tortillas. Only qualms are the aluminum or pot metal pin that holds the handle on--doesn't look long for this world and I ordered it on Friday and on Monday it is 5 dollars cheaper. Grrrr.

I'll take a star off for bad quality control, mine has two 'bubbles' on the seasoned inner surface. I will not be returning as this does not seem to stick to food (yet). Otherwise this product is good. Somehow food tastes a bit (awesomely) different when made over this pan. Worth every penny!

I love my cast iron pans BUT my husband always takes a sander to them. Lodge makes good stuff however they are bumpy and things stick and tear. The sander smoothes then out wonderfully and we season our pans ourselves. Pancakes, eggs and cheese all come off easily after a sanding session.

I wanted a real cast iron heavy griddle, and that's what I got. However, be advised, there were rust spots on it. Though normal unless seasoned, these spots were touched up with black spray paint before being shipped. I would rather have seen the rust on it than spray enamel. Had to steel wool the entire pan and season myself. Just be aware those dark black spots you scrap off to reveal rust is actually spray paint.

This is a nice little pan. I wish it was just aa little bigger. My quesadilla shells are just a tad to big for this pan. But over all works well and is not to heavy. I have several different cast iron pans. This is reasonably price and works well.

Most cast iron is pretty much the same. It's cast iron. Things of note, as others have said, is that this has a rough cooking surface rather than a smooth one that has been sanded down (if you have a belt or orbital sander you can do this yourself). I also found the pre-seasoning to be less than desirable, but after applying 4 thin coats of flaxseed oil and baking at 500 degrees per the method linked below it yields great results. If you have any other cast iron pieces this would be a good time to re-up their seasoning too.5 star product after some elbow grease, 4 star rating as a purchase because you have to do a little work, though that is to be expected with cast iron.Science-based cast iron seasoning method: [...]

First off this item is heavy, there is nothing cheap about it so just be careful not to drop it on your foot or the floor for that matter. As far as cooking goes I find it great for fried eggs, pancakes and even a quick burgher. It heats up quickly and stays hot so remember that when grabbing the handle even after it's been off the burner for a while. It also cleans up nicely which of course is important. The first time you use this item be sure to follow the enclosed instructions referring to using a drop of oil before cooking. Actually make sure you use a few drops, make that "quite a few drops" or you'll be scraping your stuck egg off the griddle like someone I know. "Pre-seasoned" or not I use spray oil every time I use this item just to make sure I don't have any sticking problems. So aside from my first attempt at cooking an egg (yes it was me) I really do like this griddle very much and have no problem recommending it to anyone. Just remember, heavy, hot, and use some oil and I'm sure you'll come to enjoy this griddle as much as I do.

It worked really well, but the tortillas were a lot smaller than we were expecting. Too small for us so we returned.

Unfortunately I took too long to try it out. I can't return it. I wasn't strong enough to flatten the press so I asked my son. He quickly pushed hard enough to break the handle. I'm sure if you are just the right strength, it will be fine. It shocked me that the cast iron handle broke where there should have been no weak areas. I won't be getting one again. Believe it or not, I can do them by hand. I thought it would be easier. Who knew.

I received my package today. It would be perfect other than it didn't come with the handle!! Kind of hard to use with no handle in the package. I looked everywhere. In the box, the plastic container. NO handle. So it won't work like it should!!

Not bad for the price, though it feels a little flimsy like the top might come off at any time. It does work ok though I wish it could get tortillas slightly flatter.

This tortilla press is heavy cast iron. The reason it gets 3 stars is because the tortilla,when pressed, is still rather thick.

works ok, press is heavy and flattens the dough nicely, but my tortillas stick and are hard to get off the press. They stretch as I pull them off and never come out nice and round.

I bought this for heating Roti but have used it for grilling burgers and every other thing. After seasoning it, it works pretty well. It's not too heavy and easy to clean. However, my complaint is it heats unevenly. So food gets brown on some parts, where others are barely cooked.

The handle gets too hot, they should have the wooden or some insulation for the handle to make it a great product!We used silica cover but that doe snot fit very well.

I love the pan but I am not impressed with the pre-seasoning. The pan holds heat very well, so you need to set the burner lower than you would with non-stick. I liked how it cooks meat, but I have struggled to figure out how to cook my tortillas on it because it burns the flour on them if I have it on medium and if I turn it down low, the tortillas take so long to cook that I cannot serve warm ones when making an entire batch. Either way, the pre-seasoning does not quite seem adequate for cooking. I hope, in time, the pan becomes more serviceable.

I like the idea of having a cast iron griddle that is small and affordable. Kudos to this pan for that. However, the iron seems uneven, thinner in some sections than others, making small dollar sized pancakes get burned in one area of the fine, but okay in the other areas. This happened with two different cooks, and on different occasions.The pan is reasonable good for making quesadillas however.All in all, we are getting rid of this item to use something else that is a little more consistent.

I'm not sure what happened with this one. I love Lodge and own several but I still haven't been able to flip a pancake due to sticking. I've reseasoned it several times, being careful not to use too much oil but still no luck. I must be doing something wrong. I have some very old iron skillets that are very nearly non-stick they're so perfectly seasoned.

I live in a condo with an open kitchen, so when I have to cook something that's gonna smoke up the house, I try to do it out on my deck. Sometimes, I'll pull out my butane stove and use my stainless steel pan or carbon steel pan, but more often than not I'll pull out this cast iron griddle and plop it on my bbq. For example, this is how I use this griddle for ribeye on my grill...I'll turn both burners of my grill on full blast and leave the griddle in their with the bbq lid closed for a good 10 minutes, until everything reaches 700 degrees or so, then plop an oil-rubbed, seasoned steak on the griddle for about a minute per side to get a seriously beautiful sear on it. I'll turn down the heat, cover the bbq, and finish 'er off for a few minutes until I get perfect medium rare. Pull off the steak, but it on a cooling rack tented with foil, and while it rests, I'll toss a sliced clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary onto the griddle, and a nice pat of butter (~1 Tbsp). The butter melts, the garlic softens, the rosemary releases its aromatics, all over a low-medium heat. It's a beautiful thing. After the steak's done resting, I'll brush or drizzle the rosemary garlic butter on the steak. Delicious. And most importantly, my condo doesn't smell like seared meat.I often use this griddle to cook bacon out on my bbq as well. Bacon and seared beef are like the two strongest, most persistent meat smells, after all.This griddle is also great for pancakes and crepes. Just make sure you use butter over medium heat (don't use high!), as butter has better release characteristics than most vegetable oils. I'll keep a folded up paper towel on a saucer of softened butter, and use it to rub the pan in between pancakes/crepes.This thing is also really awesome for pizzettas. Just don't get too ambitious with size or toppings, and it's excellent. Smaller pies (8" or so) fit nicely in this griddle. Preheat an oven and pan on the top rack to 500 or 550 degrees while the pie is being assembled. Slide the pie onto the griddle, switch from bake to broil and blast that sucker with all it's got, and you should end up with a nice, crispy pie with a blistered, slightly blackened crust. Yum. If you use too thin a crust and/or too many toppings, it becomes difficult to handle, and often the crust cannot handle all of the moisture from the toppings, so you end up with a leaky crust, resulting in caked on crap on the cast iron griddle. Caked on cheese is the worst, especially if it goes back under the broiler. Sometimes you get lucky and the cheese will scrape off in nice huge chunks, but other times the cheese is damn near impossible to remove. I just scrape away with abrasives, then reseason if necessary.Speaking of seasoning, the preseasoning on this pan is mediocre at best. Better to do few more coats of seasoning before using it for anything too "sticky" (e.g. eggs or fish). Or use if primarily for bacon for the first handful of uses. Once it's seasoned well, it's a great pan, especially for the price. And unlike teflon and other nonstick coatings, cast iron is safe and will last a lifetime.

Worthless if you ask me. First off, the handle is just asking to be broken with too much pressure, although it can take a lot. One. Two, the tamales don't expand as big as the press so you still end up taking them off and rolling them with a wooden roller. I just don't see the point of this thing. I wish I would have spent more on a wooden press.

It is sturdy but it doesn't flatten enough. I don't use this anymore for tortillas. I just use a roller.

This press never worked very well. It wouldn't press the dough flat enough, so it really made more of a pancake. I tried putting a dish cloth and some wax paper in it to get the desired thickness, and that helped. Yesterday, while pressing tortillas, the handle broke. This was a disappointing purchase for me.

Doesn't get the tortillas thin enough. Very disappointed.

Bought a bunch of these as xmas gifts. Haven't heard from my polite relatives, but I can tell you ours doesn't work.The two halves of this thing don't meet evenly, and they don't meet in such a way to make a flat tortilla. They are maybe more like 'Gordita' makers, or maybe like those Thai Pork Buns? But not flat. Not really flat at all.Yeah I read some reviews that tell you about how to make them work better and about how easy it is. I only wish the company who made this thing read those reviews and improved its product all by itself. I know I would.

After 3 uses,The handle snapped in half !

Difficult to use and clean. I didn't keep it.

Would never buy again, did not work for me at all

It's nice and solid but pancakes stick to the griddle. I can only use it to cook bacon right now. Not sure if it will work better as I season it.

It feels pretty sturdy, and is certainly heavy. Just used it for the first time and noticed a crack from one side to the center once the pan was heated up. Must have been damaged during shipping or just defective. I thought these things were supposed to last a lifetime or two!

Its not yet been an year i got this pan and i recently noticed the black coating on the pan was chipping away. I hardly used this pan and made sure i cleaned it following all the requirements for cast iron

Good, quality griddle pan.. nice and heavy..this pan does not cook/heat evenly.. when cooking pancakes on this pan, the outside edges do not get brown..I have an aluminum pan I also use for pancakes that heats evenly and appears to be working better tan this cast iron griddle.. unfortunately.. I was hoping to get a quality cast iron griddle for breakfast...

Wasn't impressed with this product. It doesn't completely flattened the tortillas perfectly. We ended up ditching it and just rolling out our own by hand again.

Showed up broken 😭

Handle broke off with the first use! Terrible product. Such a complete waste of money and didn't even make them flat in the first place. If you have to finish with a roller, you might as well start with one.

Handle broke on the first use. Sending back

The handle snapped off the second time we tried to use it. There doesn't seem to be a way to contact the seller about the problem either.

Very heavy and everything sticks to it

Very disappointed. It split within a month of buying it. Had to throw it away.

Not happy at all everything sticks

product is defective and unusable.... has a crack that runs through the pan inside through to the bottom .... I have completed a return label and still waiting for pick up after 3 weeks and several calls .... nothing is being done

I've purchased Lodge products in the past and have been very happy with them. Not sure why this product is so awful. I am familiar with how to use cast iron products, and this is not like the cast iron I am used to. First of all, the heat was uneven, second, it rustsed like crazy. It's going back. Very disappointed. Most of the reviews here are terrific, so maybe I just got a bad one :(

I hate it. Everything sticks. I tried seasoning it myself after the first use, even though it says it's pre-seasoned, and it didn't help one bit. Useless.