A friend gave us a couple of luffa sponges for Christmas 2020. They have been incredibly useful. It turned out they were the perfect scrubber for my cast iron pans. A little warm water and one of these can remove most cooking residue from my well seasoned pans without damaging the finish. They are a good scrubber for nonstick pans and dishes too.

They are incredibly durable. The one pictured above has been in daily use in our kitchen since the middle of last year. The two sponges my friend gave me have together lasted more than a year.

Our friend gave us dried lemon grass from their garden this year, so I recently ordered a couple more from this company in California, which appears to make them the way my friend does. You can grow luffa in your garden if you have the room. They are like squashes and need some room and a trellis to vine out over.

When they do wear out, you can toss them in the compost. Yup, pretty all-round wonderful.