There's a lot of folklore around cast iron, so be careful when taking advice on what to do. Please wash your pan even if people yell at you for doing it; it's hygienic and won't strip the pan unless you have soap with lye in it. If your soap does have lye, you'll probably want some that doesn't.
Also, don't feel like you need to coddle it. It's a big chunk of iron. It'll be fine despite people insisting you need to follow their way or your pan will explode. It can get weirdly cult-like. If you mess up too badly, you'll just need to strip the pan and put a new layer of seasoning on it, which isn't that difficult.
That said, you'll probably need to use more fat than you thought you'd need while cooking when you're building up the seasoning. Eventually, things will stop sticking as much, though.
I want to second your advice here and tell anyone thinking about it to just jump in. A basic Lodge 10" cast iron skillet will show up at discount stores occasionally (like tj maxx and ross or whatever, got mine there for cheap) but you could definitely look at thrift/donation stores as well. Also make sure to peep garage sales!
Keep in mind it's a big hunk of iron. Meaning, if you screw things up somehow, it's really easy to just reset. Start from zero, re-season in the oven (my preferred method) or however you want. Does it suck to have to start over in terms of seasoning? Sure, but that's learning, and the pan will let you do it as many times as you need to, over and over and over.
I have seen pans restored to being usable after discovery as a rust lump in the woods. They can really take a beating. That's their best feature imo and it's really not talked about enough. They're basically impossible to actually ruin beyond the point of recovery. It's awesome!!! Just don't try to rinse it in cold water while it's piping hot and you'll be fine lmao. Wait for the pan to cool just a bit, still warm but not playing hot potato. Wash with gentle soap and a sponge, dry well and apply oil immediately. That's it.
100%, but to add a caveat on buying used, I've heard some people use cast iron pans for melting lead. Depending on who you buy from, you might want to test it before cooking with it, although I'm not familiar with how to test it or how common lead melting is/was.
Only thing you really have to be careful of is to not let it sit wet for too long, like overnight, cause then it can rust. After use, let it cool a bit (holding a scorching hot pan under water can crack the metal), wash it like a regular pan, and dry it thoroughly. Do that, and your pan is happy.
The "don't use soap" command comes from a time when soap contained lye, which most modern soaps don't. Your seasoning is not affected by water and normal soap.
Here's an advanced tip. Go buy some sandpaper. You want to start at something like 200 grit and go up to 1000 if you can find it.
See, modern (and some old) cast iron is low quality and far too rough. But if you sand it super smooth and then reseason it, it will be the best pan you've ever used.
High quality cast iron is already finished like this, but companies like Lodge ignore this step.
Lodge used to cast with a much finer sand, obviating the need to grind, mill, or sand down the roughness, but they moved to a coarser grit due to worker safety regarding inhaling the super fine sand that was used.
I agree with all the posters here that one does not need to baby a hunk of metal. Just keep it dry and clean.
That having been said ...I believe in the Cast Iron Spirits. Do not anger them. Two years ago I had my 25+ years old Lodge in the oven making a pizza, and when I went to take it out of the oven, the handle broke cleanly, perfectly off, spilling my pizza on the floor and my arm, giving me a nasty burn.
So um, yeah; don't make the spirits angry. Maybe sacrifice a drumstick to them once in a while or something.
Most people have already covered rust, water, etc. So my advice is to buy a nice grip or glove for the handle to ease manipulating it while cooking. The good heat distribution results in the handle ending up very hot.
You can wash it with soap so long as it’s a surfactant soap and not an old timey lye based soap. Like modern dish soaps are perfectly safe. Just don’t like, soak it in water for a long time, water will seep between the layers of seasoning if left to it’s own devices and start rusting the metal.
If crud does stick to it, splash some water in when it’s hot, the high heat will make the water better as dissolving and the steaming will help break stuff off, this works great with most pots and pans TBH.
Avoid cooking anything super acidic in it, like a tomato sauce. The acid will dissolve the iron, arguably a good thing if you’re anemic but it will make the food a little metallic tasting. Will also strip seasoning but that’s not a huge deal since you can easily replace it. Acid in the pan isn’t a big deal, it’s just when you leave it to sit there for a while where it will start to soak up iron.
Internet lies about cast irons, Seasoning doesn't mean flavoring it. It means maturing in this context.
Burn the fucking absolute shitting piss out of it until everything is grey/white ash. Throw it in some water or wipe it with a towel, can add some salt in the towel rub if you wanna scrub some crap off. Once it is less hot, put some oil on that has a high smoke point olive oil or vegetable oil is fine someone is gonna scream about a specific oil, it doesn't matter.
It's now ready to go, if you think you've ever fucked it up cook the absolute pissing shitting fuck out of it, repeat the cooling and oiling steps. That's literally it.
Yes you can wash it with soap and water, if you wanna be extra nice dry it by heating it on the stove and maybe apply a little oil to a spot that you feel might look dry/rusty.
I have a cast iron skillet. And the thing just came enameled. The instructions from the manufacturer said it had to be carefully washed with mild soap previous to the first use, then milk had to be boiled in it, followed by cooking oil, to then be drained, allowed to cool and cleaned with a non felt cloth.
Well, I dropped it the moment I took out of the box. The enamel chipped and peeled in a couple of places immediatly. It gets banged around. It looks used. It cooks nearly anything I put in it.
Speed run the seasoning by deep frying in it.
Deglaze fond rather than scrub it off.
Don't worry about what the internet says too much; they're pretty hard to fuck up in an unrepairable way.
20 Comments
arthropod_shift@programming.dev · 64 pts · 1d
There's a lot of folklore around cast iron, so be careful when taking advice on what to do. Please wash your pan even if people yell at you for doing it; it's hygienic and won't strip the pan unless you have soap with lye in it. If your soap does have lye, you'll probably want some that doesn't.
Also, don't feel like you need to coddle it. It's a big chunk of iron. It'll be fine despite people insisting you need to follow their way or your pan will explode. It can get weirdly cult-like. If you mess up too badly, you'll just need to strip the pan and put a new layer of seasoning on it, which isn't that difficult.
That said, you'll probably need to use more fat than you thought you'd need while cooking when you're building up the seasoning. Eventually, things will stop sticking as much, though.
new_world_odor@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 18h
I want to second your advice here and tell anyone thinking about it to just jump in. A basic Lodge 10" cast iron skillet will show up at discount stores occasionally (like tj maxx and ross or whatever, got mine there for cheap) but you could definitely look at thrift/donation stores as well. Also make sure to peep garage sales!
Keep in mind it's a big hunk of iron. Meaning, if you screw things up somehow, it's really easy to just reset. Start from zero, re-season in the oven (my preferred method) or however you want. Does it suck to have to start over in terms of seasoning? Sure, but that's learning, and the pan will let you do it as many times as you need to, over and over and over.
I have seen pans restored to being usable after discovery as a rust lump in the woods. They can really take a beating. That's their best feature imo and it's really not talked about enough. They're basically impossible to actually ruin beyond the point of recovery. It's awesome!!! Just don't try to rinse it in cold water while it's piping hot and you'll be fine lmao. Wait for the pan to cool just a bit, still warm but not playing hot potato. Wash with gentle soap and a sponge, dry well and apply oil immediately. That's it.
arthropod_shift@programming.dev · 5 pts · 16h
100%, but to add a caveat on buying used, I've heard some people use cast iron pans for melting lead. Depending on who you buy from, you might want to test it before cooking with it, although I'm not familiar with how to test it or how common lead melting is/was.
blackberry28@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 6m
There are lead testing swabs to test for lead. I think they discolor when lead is detected.
new_world_odor@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 9h
Wow, I've never heard that but I'll remember it now! That's definitely important.
Susaga@sh.itjust.works · 41 pts · 22h
norbert_waggletail@lemmy.today · 30 pts · 1d
Only thing you really have to be careful of is to not let it sit wet for too long, like overnight, cause then it can rust. After use, let it cool a bit (holding a scorching hot pan under water can crack the metal), wash it like a regular pan, and dry it thoroughly. Do that, and your pan is happy.
The "don't use soap" command comes from a time when soap contained lye, which most modern soaps don't. Your seasoning is not affected by water and normal soap.
Edit: and watch this 4 min video for some advice: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3bZVk0LpilM&pp=ygUVbWludXRlIGZvb2QgY2FzdCBpcm9u
esc@piefed.social · 21 pts · 1d
Wash it. I'm serious.
chaogomu@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 20h
Here's an advanced tip. Go buy some sandpaper. You want to start at something like 200 grit and go up to 1000 if you can find it.
See, modern (and some old) cast iron is low quality and far too rough. But if you sand it super smooth and then reseason it, it will be the best pan you've ever used.
High quality cast iron is already finished like this, but companies like Lodge ignore this step.
megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 17h
Lodge used to cast with a much finer sand, obviating the need to grind, mill, or sand down the roughness, but they moved to a coarser grit due to worker safety regarding inhaling the super fine sand that was used.
chaogomu@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 15h
Worker safety is good. But even with the finer casting sand, they weren't actually finishing their pans.
All castings need to be finished to get that non-stick surface.
AllHailTheSheep@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 17h
here's a picture of a shitty lodge cast iron pan I wash with soap every time I use it.
the whole soap thing is simply not that deep
RecursiveParadox@piefed.social · 7 pts · 19h
I agree with all the posters here that one does not need to baby a hunk of metal. Just keep it dry and clean.
That having been said ...I believe in the Cast Iron Spirits. Do not anger them. Two years ago I had my 25+ years old Lodge in the oven making a pizza, and when I went to take it out of the oven, the handle broke cleanly, perfectly off, spilling my pizza on the floor and my arm, giving me a nasty burn.
So um, yeah; don't make the spirits angry. Maybe sacrifice a drumstick to them once in a while or something.
HuntressHimbo@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 18h
Most people have already covered rust, water, etc. So my advice is to buy a nice grip or glove for the handle to ease manipulating it while cooking. The good heat distribution results in the handle ending up very hot.
Grail@multiverse.soulism.net · 3 pts · 17h
Hahaha, I've already reckoned with this! Good thing I have an oven mitt!
megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 17h
You can wash it with soap so long as it’s a surfactant soap and not an old timey lye based soap. Like modern dish soaps are perfectly safe. Just don’t like, soak it in water for a long time, water will seep between the layers of seasoning if left to it’s own devices and start rusting the metal.
If crud does stick to it, splash some water in when it’s hot, the high heat will make the water better as dissolving and the steaming will help break stuff off, this works great with most pots and pans TBH.
Avoid cooking anything super acidic in it, like a tomato sauce. The acid will dissolve the iron, arguably a good thing if you’re anemic but it will make the food a little metallic tasting. Will also strip seasoning but that’s not a huge deal since you can easily replace it. Acid in the pan isn’t a big deal, it’s just when you leave it to sit there for a while where it will start to soak up iron.
Doom@discuss.online · 2 pts · 14h
Internet lies about cast irons, Seasoning doesn't mean flavoring it. It means maturing in this context.
Burn the fucking absolute shitting piss out of it until everything is grey/white ash. Throw it in some water or wipe it with a towel, can add some salt in the towel rub if you wanna scrub some crap off. Once it is less hot, put some oil on that has a high smoke point olive oil or vegetable oil is fine someone is gonna scream about a specific oil, it doesn't matter.
It's now ready to go, if you think you've ever fucked it up cook the absolute pissing shitting fuck out of it, repeat the cooling and oiling steps. That's literally it.
Yes you can wash it with soap and water, if you wanna be extra nice dry it by heating it on the stove and maybe apply a little oil to a spot that you feel might look dry/rusty.
qyron@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 2h
I am honestly worried about my next words.
I have a cast iron skillet. And the thing just came enameled. The instructions from the manufacturer said it had to be carefully washed with mild soap previous to the first use, then milk had to be boiled in it, followed by cooking oil, to then be drained, allowed to cool and cleaned with a non felt cloth.
Well, I dropped it the moment I took out of the box. The enamel chipped and peeled in a couple of places immediatly. It gets banged around. It looks used. It cooks nearly anything I put in it.
But it still sticks.
chillpanzee@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 16h
Speed run the seasoning by deep frying in it. Deglaze fond rather than scrub it off. Don't worry about what the internet says too much; they're pretty hard to fuck up in an unrepairable way.
PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de · 1 pts · 2h
dish soap can't melt steel pans