This is a HUGE “Yes, but.”

Entering adulthood, I got cheap run of the mill non stick pans, they work until they dont.

Then we tried cast iron. Gotta oil it, cure it, and don’t use soap to wash it. Some extra work, but it worked great.

Now, I’m rocking stainless steel. Less work than the cast iron, but you need to preheat the pan before you put anything in it. If you do this, it’s just as nonstick as the others, and it’s a lot lighter and easier than the iron, and I think they are less expensive than cast iron, but I haven’t compared in a very long time.

FYI, you can wash cast iron with soap.

Not using soap is a hold over from when soaps were more caustic (e.g. lye soap).

Thank you for helping to dispel this myth. It is truly disgusting the state that some people leave their cast iron pans in, the fact that people eat the food from them after not having washed it for years is terrifying.

The pans regularly get above boiling temperatures. They’re sterile

Sterile and clean aren’t the same thing.