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Question: Is the 10" measurement at the top of the skillet or the cooking area on the bottom?
Document: I love cast iron bakeware and cookware. Lodge is excellent quality. However, I would rather not have such slopped inner sides to this ten inch diameter (as measured across the top) skillet/pan. Why? Because the actual cooking area is too small for my needs. An additional measurement in its offer by Lodge of the bottom cooking area would have been good information to have BEFORE purchasing this skillet/pan. Other than that I am very pleased w/ this product and highly recommend it.
It's a typical Lodge pan - beautifully cast, solid, durable, and practically nonstick from the beginning. If I had to choose between the chef's skillet and the regular Lodge 10-inch pan I would choose the regular one. The sloping sides of the chef's skillet arguably make turning food easier, but you lose a little cooking area. No big deal either way. An inexpensive, wonderfully useful pan that will last several lifetimes.
The Chef 10 inch skillet has sides that slope more than the "regular" Lodge skillets, which means it also has less surface area than a regular 10.25 inch skillet. This skillet's inside flat cooking area is about 7 inches in diameter vs. the roughly 8.5+ inch diameter of the 10.25 inch skillet. So what fits on the regular 10.25 inch skillet is going to seem crowded on the Chef 10 inch skillet.
The convenience of the sloped sides is undeniable (draining grease from bacon for example), but in order to get the surface area of the regular 10.25 inch skillet Lodge would need to make a 12 inch Chef skillet. The Chef's geometry means it is noticeably lighter. This is a skillet I would buy in addition to, not instead of, the 10.25 inch skilletLodge Logic L8SK3 10-1/4-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet.
We love this pan. Can't believe how much we are using it on a glass top stove. Was a bit worried about the glass top but we have this and the Lodge 10 inch chef skillet and have not had an issue with either one. It's great to get such a terrific USA made product at such a great price. It is very heavy but that is normal for cast iron pans.
I am happy with this cast iron skillet. The first thing I cooked in it did not stick, I cooked eggs, and I did not have to reseason the pan before using it. The preseasoning on it was more than sufficient. Plus this pan was not heavy at all and easy to handle. Albeit the pan is small, 10 inches at the widest part, meaning the bottom of the pan is 8 inches, which is fine for a small family.
Oh beware though I use paper towels to dry the pan and add more oil since you will find some black stain on the towel when you're finished.I also use an induction stove top and I've learned a bit about how to use cast iron in combination with induction. I've discovered that because the cast iron holds the heat so much better it's necessary to decrease the settings on the stove top. For example when cooking pancakes I used to use a setting of 7 for my non-stick skillet.
If I would've known before how much I love cooking with these, I would've not bought the Calphalon set that already looks like it's 10 years old (purchased less than a year ago). To be honest, the Lodge 10-inch skillet has the same non-stickiness (if that's even a word) than the much more expensive and chemically laden Calphalon pans.
I now turned it up to medium heat until it smokes, you will also see the bottom of the pan darken each time you do this but I only did it once. Now I tested it with a table spoon of cooking oil and two strips of turkey bacon. After cooking the bacon and leaving the oil and bacon fat behind, I cook a three eggs omelet and it was sliding a little when I turned it the first one yea. I going to sand the others because I was so impressed by it.
This skillet is just big enough to cook two new york strips or one rib eye. If you need more surface area than that and still have a reasonable-sized pan, go for the 13-inch.
Answer: The 10" measures at the top and slopes down to approx. 8" of cooking surface