What's this I hear about not washing cast iron skillets with soap and water after using them for cooking but just wiping them out with vegetable oil? I tried the vegetable oil thing for awhile. Seems kind of unsanitary, but I was willing to give it a try. Is wiping them with vegetable oil a good thing, bad thing, or whatever?

If anyone has the "straight dope" on this, I would appreciate knowing what it is!

Thank you!

templelane

Chemically it makes sense.

Soap contains sufucatants which are part hydrophobic (water hating) with a hydrophillic head (water loving) so it can pick up grease and get it into water. It usually forms a little cirlce around the grease with the hydrophobic tails all pointing inward and the grease trapped in the middle. There's a picture on this page Surfactant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vegetable oil is all hydrophobic so it will act as a solvent for the grease directly. It will dissolve the dirt directly. It will also have the added benifit of not oxidising the iron like water would, but forming a protective layer. I suppose this is why it is recommended.

Random Fact- he acient greeks used to wash themselves in olive oil - very good for the skin. Removes dirt just as well as soap and is moisturising!

I have no real life experience on the matter to know whether the above thoery is why people use vegetable oil, but it was the explaination that stood out to me when reading the question. Apparently Lard is better anyway How to Clean and season cast iron cook ware | eHow.com

Hope this helps

Clough

Thank you for your answer!

curlybenswife

It might seem unsanitary but remember the heat you put into the pan before you use it anything bad gets burnt right away.
If you keep washing the pan it will just go rusty and be no good at all ask ben what he did to my lovely cast iron pan he was lucky i didnt hit him with it.
Everything Temp has said is correct this is the one time id say dont folllow your instints one thing i will say though is once you have used the pan leave it on the heat turn it right up and let any excess food burn away leave to cool wipe out and treat.

KeepItSimpleStupid

Well, you do have to season the pan once and a while. I don't have any problem using soap. The mechanism is wash pan. Dry with paper towel. Heat empty pan on stove to remove moisture so it won't rust. Let cool on stove. Look at pan. If it isn't shiny, add a drop or so of oil. Wipe oil around pan with paper towel. Been doing it this way for years.

Clough

Thank you for your answer also! I am learning things here!

Clough

I think that you should have hit him with it regardless!!

Thanks for your answer, though! You have been very helpful! I am learning a lot here!

lovelesspa

I have been cooking with cast Iron just about my whole life, and have my grandmother Cast Irons, and she's turning 100 in about 2 weeks. The way she told me to do the seasoning is alway to use lard (even though I cringe at the thought and feel of it), but it works best, doesn't leavy a sticky feel to the pots. But when your skillets are new you coat the pans with lard, generously, and lace in the oven set at about 300 degrees, keep in there for about 15 minutes. Pour out any excess oil and then place back in over for at least another hour or two. This creates the seasoning bond. Every time you cook in the beginning you should try and use food with high fat content, like bacon or foods cooked with fat cause this will also strenghten the process in the beginning.
If rust appears it has not been seasoned properly or needs reseasoning, or it has wore off from foods sticking to it and need to be reseasoned. When this happens wash thoroughly with hot water and a soft scrubbing pad (the plastic kind), dry quickly with a paper towel and reseason. (Cleaning while the pan is still hot makes cleanup so easy, but don't use a scouring pad, like brillo or a hard detergent, cause this is what causes breakdown in seasoning) She told me not to use detergent in general, but I use a minute amount of a light detergent, one that doesn't contain bleach or hard core antibacterials solutions, something like Ivory. I love them and wouldn't cook on anything else, you get real use to them, quickly.

Emland

I do the same basic thing as KISS. I wash it in the sink with soap and water, rinse and dry on a low setting on the stove. Once it is cool, I spray it with PAM and wipe it dry with a paper towel.

Wondergirl

Didn't the chuck wagon "cookie" always wipe out the inside of his cast iron frying pan with sand and then a towel? The grit acted like SOS and the towel got rid of the sand. Setting it on the hot fire for a few minutes before putting anything into it sterilized it. Maybe you need a pan of sand at the kitchen sink...although your cat might find it useful too....

Do you own a cast iron Dutch oven? One old camper was heard saying, "With my Dutch oven, I can cook potatoes and eggs in the morning, bake bread or cook a roast in the afternoon, and then bake a pineapple upside down cake for dessert. All in the same oven! What other piece of cookware ... can do that."