We tend to store our heirlooms behind glass in a cabinet or in the shadows of a jewelry box, using them only on special occasions. Not so with cast iron, which belongs next to the tea kettle on the back of the stove. Smart cooks know the more they use cast iron—and the more love they feed it in the form of bacon fat—the better it functions. Cook with your cast iron skillet often enough and you’ll come to understand that cast iron has an old soul.