Good ol' Cast Iron -- or is it?

Here is an illustrated procedure to reseason a pan.

Just as an aside, my favorite magazine, "Cooks" suggests using food grade linseed (flax) oil to reasona a plan the first time.

Sue

To season cast iron I use a paper towel to wipe Crisco oil all over. Use only good quality pans because yes, there is some very poor quality cast iron cook ware out there. Then placed it on tin foil (to catch the drippings) and put in the oven for a bout an hour and then let cool. Do this a few times and you're well on your way to happy cast iron cooking!

Also, as mentioned, DO NOT EVER WASH YOUR PAN IN SOAP!!!! this will remove the stick free seasoning you have strived so hard to achieve! To remove stuck on food, just put a bit of water in the pan and simmer on low. The stuck on bits will soften up and wipe out clean with a rag. Then give your pan a wipe with a bit of oil again while it is still warm and store for next time. Eventually your pan will require less and less simmering as it becomes more and more seasoned.

I’ve learned so much reading this. Also, now I understand better why my mother had a conniption fit the time I scrubbed her cast iron pan out with dish soap and water. My bad. I won’t make that mistake ever again!

I always use just butter!!! Works great, tastes good. I love my cast iron frying pans. Wagner and Griswold are the most popular brands.

Don't use anything made in china or japan. I won't buy any kind of cooking items from those places. You just can't beat cast iron.

ChicoryFarm wrote:I love my cast iron cookware. If the pan is totally smooth inside to the touch of your hand then quit scrubbing. It sounds like you have scrubbed it enough. I never use soap unless I've cooked animal flesh in it, otherwise its hot running water and a metal scrubbie only for cleaning. That way you don't have to reseason every time you wash with soap. And I don't season it every time I use it....probably only every half a dozen times at the most and then I use coconut oil as it has a very high heat tolerance. I also wipe any excess coconut oil with a paper towel before putting away. You can tell when it needs 'seasoning', i.e. a little coconut oil rubbed in, when the inside of the pan starts to look parched or without a slight sheen.

And I cook with cast iron at high heat with no problems. You just have to remember it holds its heat very well and takes a little longer to cool down while you're cooking in it and you're lowering the heat.

Oh yes, and you cannot taste even a hint of coconut oil in your cooking.

You'll get there. Just don't over scrub and over season it.

I totally agree Chicory...I SWEAR by coconut oil - my pans have improved since I started using it although I never, never use soap - cast iron is porous and will absorb anything you put on it so, I have one for meat and one for everything else - the high temp. takes care of any nasties and anything left just adds good ol' fashioned flavour!!

Also: found this article this morning on the "chemistry" of cast iron - worth a read I think....

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Sue

Thanks for that link Maddy!

I grew up with cast iron cook ware my dad uses rendered lard and it did a goo job of seasoning it we put it in the oven at 400deg. f. we just coated it lightly with a paper towel and let it sit in the oven until it was all black

I too grew up with dad's cast iron pan. Everything got cooked in it, and when it did occasionally require re-seasoning, it was baked with grease/lard, then when removed, a light coating was wiped on, then left to cool.
Everything got cooked in that pan, and he still uses it some 40 years later.

We only use cast iron cookware, nothing beats it. However I am in constant battle with hubby, as he keeps washing and scrubbing my frying pan...I finally get it with a good season and he scrubs it off! grrr

Definitly don't use olive oil...tried it once and it was NO good. I use lard now, it works very well.

When I was growing up, my family would leave the bacon grease in it after breakfast to harden and it stayed in there until the next time the pan was used, just scraped out beforehand. That pan was very well seasoned!

I've learned that it is important to let the pan warm up, and to not use high heat (I rarely go past 5). Again hubby has a habit of putting it on high...grrr

I have accidently forgotten the pan on a burner to dry...it smells terribly when the iron overheats, and it burns the nose.

You may have to burn off the residue on your pan, leave it in a fire till it cools. Then start over with the seasoning.

I have also read that the newly made cast iron pans are not made well - the surface should be smooth but the new ones are rough. It takes longer to get the surface smooth (it is the bits of food/grease/etc that fill in the pits to make it smooth so you don't want to over scrape when cleaning).

oh also a note to say that I use my cast iron on my glass top stove, and have not had any issues.

Karma Creek Farm wrote:oh also a note to say that I use my cast iron on my glass top stove, and have not had any issues.

That's good to hear. Anyone else? I have a glass top stove and some cast iron and always wonder if it's okay.

I use mine on my glass cooktop - never over 6 though.

Thats great to know. I think my 1st step is to re-season from scratch, and my second step is to turn it down some more.

Okay..glass top issue...having worked in a furniture/appliance store, this is the deal.

If your cast iron is dead flat on the bottom, that is good and fine. Some cast iron pans have this teeny little rim all around the outside edge. On a glaass top this will prevent the pan and the glass top from making direct contact. A glass top works best when it has full contact with the surface it's heating. Reason is that you want the heat to disperse quickly into the surface you intend to heat(fry pan) and not linger in the glass top, unable to get where it is directed quickly and easily. That is why they caution against canning on a glass top...old style canners had wavy bottoms and that lack of complete contact can overheat and SHATTER your glass top.

Unlike conventional ovens where you can replace a single burner, if you break your glass top, you have to replace the whole thing. (it is costly). It's not that you can't use a cast iron pan, it's just that you run a higher risk of damaging your glass top if your pan has that little rim. On a conventional oven that little rim often was bigger than the burner so it did not hold you pan off the element. Not so with a glass top. So it's just cautionary information to prolong the life of your glass top.

Having said that I have a glass top (which I HATE with a passion) and have abused it in numerous ways and so far I have not killed it. I do not follow the 'wise' advice of manufacturers.