Deep-drawn to just a millimetre wall thickness, the pre-seasoned iron heats up within a remarkably short time and transfers the heat of the stove directly to the food. This wok is, therefore, best for sauteing or frying meat and vegetables; however, you can very well use it for steaming, blanching, braising, deep-frying, roasting and steaming food – as customary in the Asian cuisine. Compared with other cast-iron models, the wok from the Netherton Foundry is very lightweight: ergo, you can easily toss the food in this wok with a flick of the wrist. The foundry in Shropshire says they supply Japanese restaurants in the UK in large numbers with this model.

In Shropshire, where the beginning of industrialization has its historical roots and where the world's first iron bridge spanned a watercourse in 1779, the English iron foundry Netherton Foundry has been based for more than 30 years. As before, the production of iron objects is semi-industrial rather than fully automated. On the one hand, machines are used to shape the iron by casting, deep-drawing or spinning. On the other hand, many steps are still carried out by hand. The cookware is so thin-walled and light that one would not expect iron at first glance. At second glance, however, the surface shows a patina that is typical for the material, because in the Netherton Foundry each piece is still burnished, i.e. burned in with a fine layer of linseed oil (instead of acid). A process in which a so-called precious rust forms on the surface, which protects against further corrosion like a natural coating.

Iron pans are suitable for all types of stoves. The stove top should not be smaller than the bottom of the pan.