So I’m a little unclear on the idea of seasoning a cast iron pan. Apparently you’re supposed to leave the leftover oil and other stuff you’ve cooked in the pan for a little bit before you wash it (separate from the idea of letting the pan cool down before you wash it.)
I think the idea is that the juices from things you’ve cooked will sink in and then affect the food you cook later in the same pan.
How does this work, exactly? Does it work?
The idea is that raw cast iron is sticky. Seasoning means that you develop a layer of carbon around that cast iron. New cast iron skillets are grey and metallic, seasoned cast iron skillets are carbon black.
Every time you cook in a cast iron skillet you inadvertantly remove a bit of the carbon layer and add to it.
The other thing is that cast iron rusts. So you can’t leave your skillets wet. So you generally don’t use soap to wash a cast iron skillet, because that could leave a small amount of water on the skillet, instead you wipe them down with oil, or at least heat them up after washing to cook off any water.
I wash mine in the normal way, then heat very gently on the stove to dry, then oil.
They’re in great condition.
No. Seasoning is an ongoing process which occurs while you cook. The purpose of seasoning is to create a nonstick surface by filling the porous surface of the cast iron with oils. Letting stuff sit in it after cooking can actually do more harm than good, particularly with acidic foods (which shouldn’t really be cooked in cast iron, anyway). The important part is to season the pan before the first use, to give it a good base. You do this with a new pan by applying a generous coating of oil (vegetable oils work well; tropical oils, not so much) to the inside surface and baking it upside-down in a 350 F oven for about an hour to an hour-and-a-half. Be sure to put a baking pan under it to catch the drippings. Once the time is up, turn off the oven but let the pan sit in there until it cools off. Care after cooking is a matter of some debate; I, like some, prefer to simply wipe the pan with warm water and dishrag, but some people recommend using dish soap, as well. In any case, NEVER scrub it with an abrasive cleanser or scrubbing pad. If stuff is sticking to it, it’s not correctly seasoned. Well-seasoned cast iron is as nonstick as any Teflon cookware.
I’m having a lot of trouble keeping my cast iron frying pans seasoned. I never use soap, I dry thoroughly, I avoid abrasives and yet my pans still keep getting scraped down to grey metal on the inside. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
What do you cook in it? Some acidic foods will dissolve the carbon coating.
I’d try starting over, assuming you’re not cooking acidic foods. Strip it right down to the bare metal with steel wool, and season as I outlined above. If you want a less labor-intensive (and probably more thorough) means of getting down to the bare pan, you can stick in your oven and run the self-cleaning cycle.
Would this work on recently inherited pans that have rust spots? (I think my wife’s grandmother washed them with soap.)
Some cast iron frying pans are pebbly-textured (when you get down to the actual metal); others are milled smooth.
The smooth ones are the ones I like.
I don’t get all orthodox-sanctimonious about seasoning and never washing. There’s no need to hit the pan with soap and scritchy-pad most of the time, just run hot water and paper-towel off the surface, then pour a little splotch of fresh oil, heat for awhile, then wipe down again and put pan back in its resting place.
But if you DO scorch something and soapy water and scratch pad are the easiest way to get the crud off, go for it. Seasoning comes back. Yeah, the first few times you use the pan it won’t cook as nice and will be more inclined to stick, but before long you’ll have a good cooking pan again.
And if the pan is old and rusted? Assuming it’s just superficial rust, scour it off then season the pan. I’ve obtained many a nice pan at thrift stores and yard sales. Sure, it’s possible to rust a pan beyond the point of no return: deep pits and permanently scratchy-abrasive surface makes for a pretty useless pan. But you get that by leaving the pan out in the rain for a few years, not just from forgetting to dry or oil the pan after each use.
Ah ha! When I moved in with my girlfriend, I started using her pans. I had not owned any cast-iron before and had considerable misconceptions about what was supposed to be done with them.
Thanks all! 
Let me just second QED’s excellent advise on how to season a pan for the first time. Under NO circumstances should you try to season it on the stovetop like my brother did. And if you do try it on the stove, don’t try to douse the fire with water.
we had a recent CS thread about this. Could someone with the appropriate search skills find it? It had very good advice.
I’ve mentioned this before: a great way to season cast iron is to use the gas grill. I just rub the piece all over with shortening and put it in on high. Every so often I turn and/or rub more grease on. You can get a shiny black surface that would normally take years of cooking to get, plus you don’t smoke up the house.
I second this emotion. I sauteed some fish and added lemon juice, which ruined the seasoning on my prized skillet. I also avoid tomato sauce, which can be acidic.
I once received advice that you don’t use soap OR water on a cast iron pan, but rather rub it with a paper towel and some salt. Anyone else ever heard this?
Yep. That’s the way I treat my cast iron chicken fryer. About the only thing I use table salt for any more.
Yup. Also very handy when you are camping. A pound of salt is a lot more transportable than a kitchen sink, water and soap.
Johnny L.A. that’s the one.
Sand it down until you’ve gone through the rust to the metal. Then re-season it.
Wash a cast iron pan! :eek: The very idea is horrible!
Years ago, as a child, I thought I would be helpful after Thanksgiving Dinner at Grandma’s, and after the other dishes were washed, I worked hard to wash her cast iron frying pan completely clean, scrubbing down to the bare metal.
I knew I had done something wrong when my aunts & uncles were so dismayed, and started sending people to talk to Grandma before she found out, saying things like “he meant well” and “he’s too young to know what he was doing”. Then they sent me into the other room when Grandma came into the kitchen. AndI was astonished that my nice, white-haired Grandma even knew such words existed, much less that she would say them out loud!
You DO NOT wash cast iron!