One of my cast iron skillets belonged to my grandmother. Another was a wedding gift to my mother (that may be how she kept my Dad in-line those first few years:>) Until my hands and grip got weak and it became dangerous for me to lift and pour from the pots, all of my pots and skillets were cast iron. I gave away the pots a few years ago, but still use the skillets for 99 per cent of anything I use a skillet for. One of my skillets was my grandmother's. It is probably 75 or 80 years old, and still going strong. Another was a wedding gift to my mother, so is 50 years old.

I did make the mistake of using veggie oil for awhile. It does indeed gunk it up leave an uneven finish.

I don't think I saw anyone post this - after each use and cleaning with hot water, I dry mine on the stove burner, drop a teeny bit of crisco in (the only thing I use crisco for), then wipe the very warm skillet with a clean rag to lightly coat the interior.

peregrina, I had forgotten you were from across the pond. What we southerner's call yankee cornbread is made with half yellow cornmeal, half wheat flour, is on the sweet side with 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar added, and is usually baked in a square pan.

Southern cornbread is usually made with white cornmeal, is 3/4 cornmeal to flour, is either unsweetened, or has no more than a tablespoon of flour, and is baked in a cast iron skillet. the oil in the receipe is heated in the skillet while the skillet is preheated until it is very hot, and is added hot to the batter.

Southern cornbread is gritty and crumbly, the better to break up into the chili or pinto beans it often accompanies.
With really traditional southern cornbread, the oil used is bacon fat.

I use a stainless skillet with a tight lid if I am going to lightly saute veggies and then lightly steam them with a tablespoon or so of water. I use a silverstone skillet to saute fish, shrimp or scallops, make fried rice, or need to brown tofu. For everything else, from stir-frys, to pancakes, to searing beef or chops or boneless chicken breasts, I use my cast iron skillets.