In fact, cooking certain foods in a cast iron skillet can damage the seasoning, affect the flavor of your meals, or even lead to rust.

If you want your skillet to last — and to keep your food tasting great — here are the top foods and cooking habits to avoid.

1. Tomatoes and Other Acidic Foods
Acidic ingredients like tomatoes, vinegar, and lemon juice are hard on cast iron.

These foods can strip away the pan’s seasoning. Even worse, they might react with the iron itself and give your food a strange, metallic taste.

Cooking a quick tomato dish once in a while is okay in a well-seasoned skillet. But slow-simmered sauces or stews loaded with acid? Best to skip it.

Instead: Use an enameled cast iron or stainless steel pan for recipes with high acidity.

2. Delicate Fish
Fish like tilapia, flounder, and sole are too fragile for cast iron.

The rough surface and high heat can make these tender fillets stick and fall apart. Plus, fish smells tend to linger — and nobody wants their next batch of pancakes tasting like last night’s salmon.

Better option: Try nonstick or stainless pans for cooking seafood, especially if you’re working with fillets that can flake apart easily.

3. Sticky or Sugary Sauces
Sticky glazes, like honey garlic or teriyaki, are tough on cast iron.

The sugar in these sauces can burn and cling to the surface, making a mess and harming your pan’s seasoning. Cleanup becomes a nightmare, and your skillet might lose some of its nonstick quality.

Best choice: Cook sticky sauces in a nonstick pan or wait until your cast iron is very well