About Us

Welcome to Hnnew — the practical cast iron cookware resource for home cooks who want to season, cook, restore, and buy cast iron the right way — without the confusion, the myths, or the ruined skillets.

Cast iron is the most forgiving and most misunderstood cookware in any kitchen. Hnnew was built to cut through the noise — giving you honest, experience-based guidance on everything from your first seasoning layer to tracking down a century-old Griswold at a flea market.

Who Is Blake Aaron Mercer?

Blake Aaron Mercer is a cast iron cookware enthusiast, home cook, and the founder of Hnnew. Blake’s cast iron obsession started the way many do — with a rusty, neglected skillet that had been sitting in a garage for decades. Rather than throw it out, he spent a weekend stripping it back, re-seasoning it layer by layer, and cooking his first meal in a pan that was older than he was.

Blake is not a professional chef or culinary school graduate — just someone who genuinely loves cast iron cooking, has made every mistake a beginner can make, and believes that this is the one piece of cookware worth truly mastering.

Every article on this site is written from real kitchen experience and researched with care — covering everything from building your first seasoning layer correctly to choosing between Lodge, Le Creuset, and the vintage pieces that serious collectors swear by.

What You’ll Find Here

Hnnew covers three core areas that matter most for cast iron enthusiasts at every level:

  • Seasoning Care: how to season cast iron, how to clean without ruining the seasoning, how to restore rusty or neglected pans, best oils for seasoning, storage guides, and complete care checklists.
  • Cooking Guide: how to cook steak, eggs, cornbread, and more in cast iron, Dutch oven cooking techniques, camping guides, temperature control, and starter recipe collections.
  • Buying Guide: best cast iron skillets compared, Lodge vs Le Creuset vs Stargazer, vintage cast iron buying guide, enameled vs bare cast iron, Dutch oven buying guide, and starter kit checklists.

How We Research Our Content

Every article on Hnnew is written from genuine hands-on experience with cast iron cookware. We research using trusted culinary and food science sources and draw from years of real kitchen testing. We do our best to keep content accurate and practical — but cooking results vary based on your specific equipment, heat source, and technique.

Important Disclaimer

The content published on Hnnew is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not professional chefs, certified culinary instructors, or licensed food safety professionals. Nothing on this website should be interpreted as professional culinary or food safety advice.

Transparency & Advertising

Hnnew is completely free to read. To keep it that way, we partner with Google AdSense to display advertisements. This helps cover the costs of running the site and allows us to keep creating free cast iron resources for our readers.

We maintain full editorial independence. Our content is never influenced by advertisers.

Get in Touch

Have a question, a topic suggestion, or just want to talk cast iron? Blake reads every message.

Thank you for being here — now go season that skillet.

— Blake Aaron Mercer