Caring for Cast Iron
Any tips? My parents just gave me a cast iron pan to replace my trusty non-stick (teflon! oh noes!)
My mom already seasoned it, and warned me to be gentle. But when I cleaned it, I ended up with rust-like spots. What should I do now?
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28 Comments:
Just use it and season it over and over again. The more you use it, the more seasoned it will get, and any rust spots will be replaced by the glossy shine. I have 4 different cast iron pans, dutch ovens, griddles. My original pan that I've had for years, and used to cook with exclusively is my best non-stick pan, and still almost always the first piece of cookware I grab for. I've found it takes some time to get it to where you want it to be, but constant use, a rinse, and season, and soon you can use your cast iron to its fullest potential.
mediocrepop at 1:00PM on 09/29/08
My mom still uses her grandmother's skillet, which is probably over a century old, so when I bought my first cast iron skillet I expected it to be as easy to care for as hers is. Like you, however I was faced with rust spots and a bumpy surface. All I can say is, hot water, no soap, dry with paper towels, and spray cooking spray on it after every use. I haven't had a problem for awhile, and the surface is getting shinier, like mediocrepop!
Also, you will soon be obsessed, and your old non-stick skillets will be collecting dust!
embolini9 at 1:39PM on 09/29/08
I totally have a case of the Mondays, and didn't finish that sentence about mediocrepop. @mediocrepop, your surface is not shiny. Actually, I have no idea about anything having to do with your surface, so please, forgive my assumptions about your exterior disposition!
The sentence should have read: I haven't had a problem for awhile, and the surface is getting shinier, like mediocrepop suggests it will
I'm going to go have some more coffee now. And finish my pumpkin muffin.
embolini9 at 1:53PM on 09/29/08
I wash mine with a stiff brush with hot water only. No soap. If you have dried on food that won't come off with a brush, use a crumbled wad of foil to gently scrub it off. After drying with a towel, I usually put it on the stove over medium heat to dry it completely and then spray with oil or rub some oil on with a paper towel. I've never had a rust spot by doing this.
Also, I found that the first few times I used mine, even though it was "pre-seasoned" cooking some fatty foods like bacon helped build the seasoning even more.
sfgoo at 2:00PM on 09/29/08
I second everyone else. Definitely no soap-- warm water and a sponge or brush is best. Be sure to dry it well, and then lightly coat with oil. Keep it in a dry place.
My boyfriend once "cleaned up" the kitchen and left my cast iron skillet in the bottom of the sink. I didn't know it was there, as other items were piled on top, so I had quite the surprise when I did the dishes.. a rusty skillet and a rusty ring in the sink. I scrubbed it really, really well and re-seasoned and it eventually was back to it's old self! So there's hope!
Laurel E at 2:13PM on 09/29/08
Don't wash your cast iron with dishsoap!
(I learnt the hard way)
Just wipe it out with clean water and cloths.
hungrychristel at 2:15PM on 09/29/08
I scrub my cast iron with coarse salt and hot water. Never use soap. Before each use, I rub a little oil over it with a paper towel. That's all there is to it! The more you use it, the better seasoned it will become.
Kelly Spitzer at 2:15PM on 09/29/08
I agree with all of the above -- and like Kelly, I use coarse salt. I sometimes rub the salt in with half of a lemon, if I've made something stinky (like fish) in the pan. Then mist lightly with cooking spray. A little oil before cooking the next time helps too.
But I LOVE my cast iron and am sure you will grow to love your too!
CookiePie at 2:20PM on 09/29/08
Oh dear. Skewer me if you must, but I have too many tummy problems to take a chance. I always use soap and hot water, then dry immediately and reseason. I have no problems with rust
PerkyMac at 2:23PM on 09/29/08
Hey guys, I'm piggy-backing off of this post (hope you all don't mind) -- I was given a cast-iron skillet years and years ago and never used it. It was seasoned before...but has sat in my cupboard ever since. Do I need to "reseason" it, or just wash it and oil it as you have suggested in the posts above? If I need to "reseason" is, what does that entail?
Thanks!!
juliebugsmama at 2:28PM on 09/29/08
@PerkyMac: I heard that the pan would absorb the dishsoap?
hungrychristel at 3:22PM on 09/29/08
First, in my opinion the best way to season a cast iron skillet is to cook bacon in it (if you eat bacon) or make pan fried chicken (if you don't eat bacon but do eat chicken, or if fried chicken sounds better to you than bacon). Honestly, I'm more likely to use transfat-free vegetable shortening and fry up some chicken. The prolonged heat with the clean fat will really penetrate the pores of the cast iron nicely.
Second, its cast iron. You really can't hurt it much and anything that does hurt it can pretty easily be undone, so don't worry about it too much. Mostly, in my experience, the key is not to let it be wet for any length of time. Once you're done cooking, rinse it off and scrub out whatever might have stuck. If you find you have to use soap to get things off (unlikely, but possible) rinse it thoroughly and immediately and then get it back on a burner to dry it off. Just using a towel can leave some hard to detect damp spots, at least on my skillet. Wiping it off and then putting it back on a warm burner for a few minutes will make sure its really dry. If you see any spots that aren't nice and shiny, add a bit of vegetable oil to the skillet and wipe it around/rub it in with some paper towel. Let it cool down and you're good to go.
If the seasoning becomes suspect, its time to make fried chicken again.
ccbweb at 3:34PM on 09/29/08
@hungry ~ I've never detected any soapy taste and I use my cast iron more and more these days. My mother never used soap and it always made me a little uneasy. I do dry mine on a burner, cool and wipe lightly with oil. I occasionally put it in a warm oven upside down over a pan with parchment paper to catch any drips. Prevents it from getting gloppy. Is that a word? I cook bacon and fried chicken in mine too. I just can't risk getting any bacteria - my immune system is compromised.
PerkyMac at 4:25PM on 09/29/08
More tips: if cleaning your skillet seems like it will take a ton of work - let water and heat do the heavy lifting - put 1/2" or more of water in the skillet or dutch oven, put it over heat, and let it boil. Anything that has become crusty/tough to clean will come off very easily now.
Also, to season or re-season: thoroughly coat (inside and out, handle too if you please!) the cast iron in oil (my mother used shortening, I usually use olive oil and will be trying coconut oil next since I won't have shortening in my kitchen), and set upside down in a hot oven for several hours.
joyyy at 4:35PM on 09/29/08
I'm with Perky on this. I use dish soap, and even the scratchy side of my sponge if necessary -- but lightly and rarely. Never let the pan sit in the dishwater. I immediately dry the pan on medium heat until it is good and hot, and then rub while hot with a little vegetable oil on a paper towel. You can move the paper towel around with a wooden spoon if your fingers are sensitive to heat.
Blue Iris at 6:49PM on 09/29/08
I also put it on the stove after I wash it (sometimes i use soap) and after it is hot i squirt a little oil in the hot pan and use a paper towel to rub the oil in all over. ahh perfectly nonstick it it rusts get it hot and dry and rub oil
if it sticks get it hot and rub oil. basically anything no matter how old or dirty is better when you get it hot and squirt oil on it. (wait - does that sound bad?)
love2cook at 8:32PM on 09/29/08
Yeah, it does but it made me laugh on a day when laughs are scarce.
Blue Iris at 11:21PM on 09/29/08
I'm a cast iron collector and user. I season all my cast iron utensils with bacon grease exclusively.
1stmakearoux at 8:33AM on 09/30/08
I just rub mine down with Crisco and put it in the oven for an hour at 350.
Irish Soda bread and Jiffy cornbread are my 2 favortie things to make in it. What do you guys use yours for?
gastronomeg at 12:03PM on 09/30/08
oh okay thanks PerkyMac; I'm going to put mine in the oven upside down tonight!
hungrychristel at 1:05PM on 09/30/08
I've had a lot of trouble with my cast iron. It came "pre-seasoned", which of course means nothing, so i seasoned it in the oven for an hour or so. I've been using it, but it is HARDLY non-stick. I've roasted a chicken in it which means it had a nice puddle of fat in it for an hour or two, still not non-stick. I've fried things in it (not bacon yet, though), and still not non-stick. I never use soap. And what's more, i can never get that papertowel-dipped-in-oil trick to work... whenever i try to wipe out the pan with an oily paper towel, the rough spots of the pan slightly shred the paper towl and i get all these itsy bitsy tiny little clumps of paper towel stuck to the pan! Then i have to spend 30 minutes trying to get them out, otherwise i know they will "incorporate" into the pan over time and make it bumpy. What a mess! HELP! I want to love my cast iron, i really do! :)
mh330 at 1:29PM on 09/30/08
@mh30: Try putting a tablespoon or so of regular table salt in the dry skillet and using it like you would cleanser. I use a paper towel for scrubbing it. It should scour out the stuck on stuff and leave a nice smooth surface for seasoning.
If that fails, put the dry skillet in your oven on the "Clean" cycle for a couple of hours. After it cools, wash it out real well and re-season it.
1stmakearoux at 2:58PM on 09/30/08
I bought a pre-seasoned cast iron pan as well - and had the same trouble you did. I had to "start from scratch" so to speak to get it to where it needed to be. I treated it like an old, rusty pan and took sandpaper to it, removing whatever coating it came with. I then seasoned it with shortening in the oven (upside down for an hour). After it cooled down I put it on the stove over medium heat for an hour with about an inch of veg oil in it. After that it was good to go and I haven't used any of my other pans since. It took some work but it was well worth it.
mamiller35 at 3:06PM on 09/30/08
Wow, thanks for all the advice!
I heated some olive oil in my pan and it seemed to help. However, when I rubbed it in my paper towel ended up all rusty looking. Maybe I'll get to say goodbye to iron deficiency?
Lilly at 3:18PM on 09/30/08
i have found that my very old cast iron pan (one my mother got at an estate sale years and years ago) is superior to my 'pre-seasoned' pan. it has a smoother cooking surface and is far less likely to stick.
that being said, even the pre-seasoned ones, if they are properly taken care of (or seasoned from scratch as mamiller35 suggested) can become as good as nice, old, well-used pans.
also, regarding bacteria - i don't use soap on my pans ever. but i do preheat my pans very well before each use (to kill any leftover bacteria) and i heat them with oil after each use (to kill bacteria and to refresh the seasoning). Detergent works as a physical agent to remove most bacteria (yes, that's right, not all). Heat kills bacteria. (food-service training). of course, i still say do what you're comfortable with - if you won't use the pan otherwise, use soap! :-)
philosophotarian at 12:13PM on 10/01/08
I had a problem when I burned some kind of sugar substance (can't remember exactly what) on my antique skillet. Rather than throw it out, I tried everything to get it clean......sos, drill with wire brush etc. Nothing worked. I then used some spray oven cleaner on it, put it in a plastic bag in the sun outside for two days, and it cleaned up beautifully. I had to re-season it of course (I use crisco, oil makes it gummy) and it worked great. So for a major disaster, go for the oven cleaner.
rooney at 10:17PM on 10/01/08
I would never use oven cleaner, it contains ammonia and other reactive chemicals that can adhere to the metals and taint your food.
I have several cast iron pans from Lodge, I wash mine in hot water with a scrub brush, place it in a cool oven on 350 degrees for a half hour or so until it's dry. Shut off the oven, open the door and let it cool. I then rub oil all over it with a paper towel. Place a cookie sheet on the lower rack (to catch any drips), put the pan in upside down and turn the oven back on to 350, and leave it in there for an hour, again shutting oven off to let it cool.
My pans don't get gummy, and I have a good seasoning on them.
Mine were initially a bit bumpy, but I did sand them down, and reseasoned them.
Mares at 11:12PM on 10/01/08
oops, I meant to say, place them in the oven while it's cool, then turn it on to 350 degrees. Cast iron could shatter if you put a cold pan into a preheated oven.
Mares at 11:14PM on 10/01/08