Seasoning enamel cookware?
Le Creuset being a bit out of my budget, I picked up a nice oval Dutch oven from Ikea not too long ago. It came with seasoning instructions involving boiling a mixture of milk and oil, which kind of left me with unsatisfactory results. (Besides, don't you need to season the entire inside of the pot?)
I haven't actually made anything in it yet for fear of... well, I'm not sure, actually. Should I just go for the wipe-it-down-and-crank-up-the-oven method, or do I just go ahead and hope for the best?
Thanks in advance!
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12 Comments:
Enamel cast iron cookware that is covered with porcelain enamel, either on the outside or both inside and outside. If the pan has porcelain inside, seasoning it is not an issue. Much enamel cast iron cookware is French cookware, as France is where the technique was developed and popularized.
I have Le Creuset (some pieces so old they were bought right after I was born) and have never seasoned them.
JerzeeTomato at 8:46AM on 03/14/07
I've never seasoned any of my enameled cast iron cookware, both Le Creuset and other brands.
savvy at 8:53AM on 03/14/07
I've never heard of seasoning enamel cookware. Cast iron, sure. But isn't the enamel coating supposed to do the same thing as seasoning, thus obviating the need?
megnut at 9:22AM on 03/14/07
If you're gonna season, just buy cast iron and save a lot of money.
Then, there are the stains. I picked up a few pieces at a legit Le Creuset outlet a few years ago. They're white, and they are stained. Nothing I've tried eliminates the stains, including Le Creuset's rather expensive cleaning liquid.
billg at 9:52AM on 03/14/07
I've always found it really easy to remove stains from my enameled cookware. I just fill it with water (as high as the stains go), add a squirt of Dawn, and put it on the stove on medium heat. Bring the water to a boil, boil for a few minutes, and dump the water out. Carefully wipe the hot pan down with a cloth and rinse.
You can add a little baking soda to the water and Dawn mixture to increase the stain-removal power.
savvy at 10:51AM on 03/14/07
Well, I realised right after a nice nap that I should have specified that it's only enamelled on the *outside* and what I can only guess to be raw cast iron on the inside. The usual seasoning rules apply then, I suppose? The instructions that came with it were so unlike anything else I ever heard that my kitchen paranoia set in.
Nick at 6:53PM on 03/14/07
Strange cookware scares me. If you don't like the seasoning directions, which involved milk, return the pan. I buy wine glasses, gadgets and candles at Ikea. I don't like their cookware.
JerzeeTomato at 1:15AM on 03/15/07
Seasoning has been a major nightmare for me. About a year ago I bought a new cast iron skillet and tried to season it by following the instructions that came with the thing. All that got me was tons of smoke and a gross and incompletely seasoned pan. I tried again, several times, and never got to that real beautiful black that I'd grown up with. Does anyone know places that sell second hand or pre-seasoned cookware in new york.
pstella at 5:55PM on 03/15/07
What exactly does seasoning do?
pbisNOTmyname at 9:21PM on 03/15/07
Though I'm trying to figure out why IKEA would bother enamelling a cast-iron oven on the outside only...the best seasoning method I've ever used - which I read in Cook's Illustrated, I think - is to bake a pineapple upside-down cake in the new pan. Apparently the acid in the fruit opens the "pores" of the pan to allow more of the grease in the recipe (butter) to penetrate and season the thing. Plus, you end up with a delicious pineapple upside-down cake, in addition to a newly seasoned pan! (Though of course you have to maintain the seasoning, not wash the thing w/ soap and water, etc...I scored my Le Creuset on sale a few years back, and it is the best thing that ever happened to me, even though it was still mad expensive.)
producestories at 5:21PM on 03/18/07
p.s. Is your cast iron IKEA pan in the "SENIOR" line? Because although the interiors are black, the IKEA site says they're enameled inside as well, and no seasoning/oiling is required...
producestories at 5:23PM on 03/18/07
Seasoning essentially creates a non-stick surface in the pan. I realize this discussion is rather stale, but I had to hop in since I'm new here and just checked out IKEA's line of enamel cast iron the other night. Nick -- the inside may very well be enameled, too. I have a Staub enamel cast iron that *appears* as if it isn't enameled on the inside because it has a black matte finish. It really is, though, and nothing sticks to it. It's a snap to clean up and I absolutely relish using the thing. Hope this helps -- and has anyone actually bought and used the IKEA stuff yet?
Degen at 1:57PM on 11/14/07