I find that the amount of knowledge and effort to "care" for a cast iron pan is overestimated.

I treat mine no differently than any other pan and do all of the things that I do to any other frying pan. I wash it with soap and the scratchy side of the sponge, I store it with no oil, I cook acidic sauces, I let it soak in the sink, etc...

The seasoning is fine, once I accidentally left it on the burner and it burnt off the seasoning (something that would have destroyed any teflon pan). I just used a little extra oil the next few times.

I haven't used it extensively with an induction burner, but I don't have any complaints....

In exchange for learning how to keep it seasoned, you get to use metal cooking instruments again.

Cleaning cast iron is easier than cleaning teflon or stainless. However, you'll want something to scrape it with, and a stanless steel pot scrubber.

We use cast iron on our induction range with no problems. The only issues I've heard of involve scratching. The new models don't seem to have that issue (and cast is no scratchier than stainless, etc).

I just put my stainless pan in the dishwasher. Doesn't get much easier than that. That's why I got it. I keep a Teflon and my old cast iron pan around, but the stainless steel one is the workhorse. If I had to let one go, it'd be the cast iron pan.

Our top of the line dishwasher doesn't reliably remove burnt on stuff from stainless steel, so I end up scraping it before putting it in the dishwasher. Cast iron would be done at that point, but stainless needs a degreasing step after that.

Cast iron is best if it's the workhorse. Not using it regularly degrades the seasoning.

> Cast iron also has multiple issues when used with induction ranges, which are by far the most efficient/environmental cookers.

This is the first I’m hearing of this. My understanding is that pans only need to be magnetic to work with induction, in which case cast iron are prime candidates for induction.

My issue is the induction area is smaller than my pan and cast iron conducts heat poorly, so only the middle ~7" of my 12" pan is hot, the rest is downright cold.

Though my cast iron wok heats properly, for almost the same reason!

Scratches are a minor issue because the induction surface is flat, as opposed to electric/gas which are not. A heavier dropped pan can also sometime shatter the glass surface of an induction range. And being heavier, a cast iron pan requires more electricity to heat. If you are cooking an egg in a 5-lb pan the vast majority of the power goes to heating the pan. A thinner/cheaper pan will heat faster, pass more heat to the actual food, and therefore use less electricity.