Some people don't because acidic foods can mar the seasoning and add a metallic flavor. I use mine anyway, my old doc told me it was a good way to add iron to my diet and it didn't seem to affect the seasoning, although I do clean and reseason my pans periodically.

I use a cast iron dutch oven for spaghetti sauce (when the girls are home), for chili, for tomato soup. Some others won't, it's up to you.

Annie

Thanks annie, I guess adding tomatoes to the soup won't hurt the seasoning. I never store the soup in the pot, just cook it. I also clean and reason, I just can't get past the never use soap.

I use tomatoes in cast iron. If it's seasoned well, you won't get enough iron to taste, and good seasoning shouldn't come off with mere tomato sauce.

I do wash, with soap, every time. The seasoning shouldn't be affected. That's why you have to use EZ-Off on the oven, right? I do manage to mess up my seasoning frequently due to negligence, but not to scrubbing with dish soap!

(Be prepared to reseason if you use your pot to catch a Liquid Plumber-filled plumbing leak...)

I don't use a non- nonreactive pot for anything with tomatoes....
I swear I can taste the metal and I don't like that it messes up the pot.
I prefer a Le Cruset dutch oven, but stainless will work.

Here's my "corrode the pot" recipe for chicken soup with tomatoes.

Gypsy StewÂ..Pink Adobe, Santa Fe
1 large frying chicken cut into pieces
3 yellow onions peeled and quartered
8 cloves garlic, peeled and halved ( I chop!)
2 cups dry sherry
1 cup chicken stock (I use enough to cover the chicken...more like 2 2/1 cups)
12 medium hot chilis like poblano, roasted, peeled and seeded (or use canned)
6 large ripe tomatoesÂAgain I use whole canned plum tomatoesÂ.cut in 4thsÂpull apart using 2 forks)
Salt to taste and ½ pound grated jack cheese
Put chicken, onions, garlic 1 cup of sherry and the broth in a large heave kettle ( add more broth to cover if neededÂ..simmer one hourÂ.cool somewhat and remove skin and bonesÂ.I also cool the pan juices somewhat and skim the fat..
Put chicken tomatoes, chilis and rest of the sherry back in the pot and simmer about 45 minutes.
To serveÂplace cheese cubes in the bottom of bowl and ladle hot soup over the top.
Good made ahead and reheated.

Lindac, I never used tomatoes or anything acid in my cast iron pot either, I always used SS soup pot if I was adding tomatoes. I didn't use the CI pot for about 5 yrs while I had an electric smoothtop, now I have gas and trying to use it more. I no longer cook beef so no stew for the pot or pot roast but chicken soup and roasting a chicken were uses of pot. I use my CI fry pan for more things. The dutch oven is a big, heavy pot taking kit real estate so I want it to be useful again.

Since my stainless stock pot bit the dust, I've been using my old 5 qt. WagnerWare Dutch oven for most cooking. I too was afraid of cooking acidic food in it, but my fears were unfounded. Even recipes with tomato sauce and red wine haven't been a problem.

After cleaning with diluted soap and rinsing, I warm the pan on the stove and rub a light coating of Crisco on the inside, wiping out most of the oil with a paper towel. I let this heat on the stove until the oil smokes a bit, then turn off the heat. This technique restores any degradation of the seasoning that might have occurred.

I'm glad others cook acidic foods in their cast iron dutch ovens, I thought perhaps I didn't taste the iron because I'm used to it.

I'm out of storage space and unless I put up some shelves in the basement I won't have room for any more or bigger pots, LOL. I already have Elery's "toys" down there, the meat marinator and the sausage stuffer and the meat slicer, as well as my canning equipment and the big roasters for family dinners.

awm03, I think one of the reasons I don't seem to degrade my seasoning is that I also use that Lodge dutch oven for deep frying, and as the hot oil seeps into the metal it gives it a nice slick finish. It's kind of like being continually re-seasoned by use.

Annie

I also heat and usually grease my pans after washing. And I also frequently use an old Wagnerware thing. I suppose I shouldn't use cast iron on my smoothtop, but it doesn't seem to damage it. (I'll be getting a new cooktop soon and will probably scratch the heck out of it and be peeved...)

I have cooked tomato dishes in iron. No remarkable problem but then perhaps I'm just used to the taste. I seldom use cast iron anymore due to a smooth top stove.

: )
lyra

I use my cast iron on my smooth top. No problems. Of course, I don't slide the pans around on the glass, and am mindful about lifting heavy cast iron lids so I don't drop them.

I'm a little surprised at the smoothtop/no cast iron comments. Been using CI on mine for years, not any more carefully than any other pan, and never had an issue with scratching.

Tomato sauce literally ate through my pre-seasoned (and post seasoned) Lodge pan's surface. That was because I stupidly left the dirty pan out all night. But still, it shows that "something" is going on there.

foodonastump, of course there's "something" going on there. The acidity of certain foods is sufficient to leach some of the iron content into the foods, food service people know it as a "reactive" pan and in some instances it can impart a metallic taste to food if left to simmer or set long enough.

My iron level used to be high, always. My doctor asked me if I took iron supplements. No, I didn't. Did I eat lots of high iron foods? No, not particularly. After several questions about my diet and habits he asked if I cooked with cast iron a lot. Because I used cast iron almost exclusively at that point, the iron level was being deposited into my food and I had great iron levels. No anemia at that time, that's for sure. When I stopped cooking so much with cast iron because I got some other "better" pans, I started struggling with keeping my iron levels up and ended up taking iron supplements.

That's a side effect many people are not aware of, and in my case (and the case of many women of child bearing age) it was beneficial.

Annie

I am the OP and said I didn't use CI on my smoothtop mainly because I am very short and end up sliding pans to a more comfortable spot to stir etc. I found that my All Clad pot worked well enough at the time.

I cook tomato-ey things in my cast iron pans, but I don't let the food sit in them for long.