[Wondergirl]

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.

Sort of like that.

Or fry up some bacon. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

[Clough]

I don't really understand this "hour or two" thing. Is the oven working like some sort of kiln?

[Wondergirl]

Yes.

[Clough]

Wow! I didn't know hardly any of this stuff about the usage of and maintenace of cast iron skillets!

[N0help4u]

I rarely use soap and water. Most often the lard coating as loveless says is enough to have the same effect as teflon where the dirt simply wipes out with a paper towel and as others have said the heat cooks out any germs, etc...

[PeterCreyf]

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! :)

I'm a business owner who uses many cast iron waffle irons. Cast iron needs to be seasoned in order to use it well. Seasoning cast iron is done by putting some oil (not too much!) on the surface and cook it at a high temp (about 450-500 °F or 200-250 °C). The oil changes and will form a sort of non-stick coating on the cast iron. You will not find commercial pans, waffle irons or whatever that have Teflon (copyright Dupont) on them, as once this has been scratched, you would need to remove the whole coating and have it re-done. Too $$$ and too much work. So commercial equipment is at many times made from cast iron (also because of its great heating distribution specifications), and before usage, seasoned. That is what we do with our equipment.

Soap will adversely affect the seasoning coating, and will indeed undo the unstickiness that typically comes from the seasoning. You can however very well wash it with soap, and then apply a new coat of oil on it. Very doable. You may end up creating a too thick seasoning layer after many, many usages, but I wouldn't worry about that.

Something totally different that most people don't know. First, bacterial growth only occurs in a range of temps, humidity, acidity and such that is necessary for this. In an oily environment, bacteries don't grow that well. On the contrary. So to wipe a pan with oil, and let it sit will not create a bacterial superstore. Secondly, when you heat up that pan, every single bacterie will be"killed" due to the heat - obviously. Third, people in the US are obsessed with bacteries. Ever think about that cheese only exist because of bacterial growth, same for all yeast based products (yeast are bacteria),. The worst thing in my opinion for people at home is to use Lysol and such for everything such as door knobs,. Life does NOT require Lysol as their ads suggest. I can keep going on and on about this subject but this is not the time nor place for that. In a business, that is different as for instance in my own business, I don't know if people have a good immune system or not (mine is super because I never worry about bacteries at home) and it is not my place to educate people on that right there. So we do sanitize everything, make sure all is clean and so forth.

My advise to you would be to do either way I suggested. Leave the pan with the grease. It won't hurt you. Would you want to wash it, then re-season it, perhaps even only from time to time. There are only a few bacteries one should be really careful about, such as e-colli, bottulism, salmonella, etc. Raw eggs (especially duck eggs, and other wild game), raw fish that is not from a reputable purveyor or shop (I love good sushi, but it has to come from people who know how to handle raw fish), or not-so-fresh fish,. are your typical things to avoid.

Good cooking!

Peter

[PeterCreyf]

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! :)

I'm a business owner who used many cast iron waffle irons. Cast iron needs to be seasoned in order to use it well. Seasoning cast iron is done by putting some oil (not too much!) on the surface and cook it at a high temp (about 450-500 °F or 200-250 °C). The oil changes and will form a sort of non-stick coating on the cast iron. You will not find commercial pans, waffle irons or whatever that have Teflon (copyright Dupont) on them, as once this has been scratched, you would need to remove the whole coating and have it re-done. Too $$$ and too much work. So commercial equipment is at many times made from cast iron (also because of its great heating distribution specifications), and before usage, seasoned. That is what we do with our equipment.

Soap will adversely affect the seasoning coating, and will indeed undo the unstickiness that typically comes from the seasoning. You can however very well wash it with soap, and then apply a new coat of oil on it. Very doable. You may end up creating a too thick seasoning layer after many, many usages, but I wouldn't worry about that.

Something totally different that most people don't know. First, bacterial growth only occurs in a range of temps, humidity, acidity and such that is necessary for this. In an oily environment, bacteries don't grow that well. On the contrary. So to wipe a pan with oil, and let it sit will not create a bacterial superstore. Secondly, when you heat up that pan, every single bacterie will be"killed" due to the heat - obviously. Third, people in the US are obsessed with bacteries. Ever think about that cheese only exist because of bacterial growth, some for all yeast based products,. The worst thing in my opinion for people at home is to use Lysol and such for everything such as door knobs,. Life does NOT require Lysol as their ads suggest. I can keep going on and on about this subject but this is not the time nor place for that. In a business, that is different as for instance in my own business, I don't know if people have a good immune system or not (mine is super because I never worry about bacteries at home) and it is not my place to educate people on that right there. So we do sanitize everything, make sure all is clean and so forth.

My advise to you would be to do either way I suggested. Leave the pan with the grease. It won't hurt you. Would you want to wash it, then re-season it, perhaps even only from time to time. There are only a few bacteries one should be really careful about, such as e-colli, bottulism, salmonella, etc. Raw eggs (especially duck eggs, and other wild game), raw fish or not-so-fresh fish,. are your typical things to avoid.

Good cooking!

Peter

[Clough]

The following in quoted from the above post.

Originally Posted by PeterCreyf

The oil changes and will form a sort of non-stick coating on the cast iron. You will not find commercial pans, waffle irons or whatever that have Teflon (copyright Dupont) on them, as once this has been scratched, you would need to remove the whole coating and have it re-done. Too $$$ and too much work. So commercial equipment is at many times made from cast iron (also because of its great heating distribution specifications), and before usage, seasoned. That is what we do with our equipment.

So, the oil helps to make the surface non-stick. I didn't know that. Thank you!

It looks like that even cast iron skillets that one uses to make quick breads like waffles and pancakes should also be seasoned.

Are you also saying that the cast iron that one buys is pre-seasoned by a manufacturer before people purchase them?

[Clough]

So, is cast iron preferable to use over aluminum or steel in the making of quick breads such as waffles or pancakes?

Does cast iron distribute the heat better than aluminum or steel?

[PeterCreyf]

To answer your questions and reply...

Yes, oil makes it non stick. When you heat oil, it changes. It first becomes thinner (more liquid) but when you keep heating it, it becomes thicker and it even will create a sort of layer onto where it is (in this case the cast iron). If the layer is too thick, it won't work as this layer should be thin. When too thick, it will come off the cast iron very easily, such as when you rub over it (when it is cold obviously or you will burn your hands). To season a pan, or whatever, lightly brush it on there, making sure there is only a thin layer on there. You can actually repeat this step 2-3 times if necessary.

Then there is also something many people don't know. If you do not season a pan, you can work with it too, but it takes more knowledge and skill. First the cast iron needs to be very hot, and the meat will have to almost be black on the part where it touches the metal. The meat will come off then, but it will still stick more than if seasoned. I suggest seasoning anyway.

Some cast iron is pre-seasoned, most actually as this is a sort of painstakingly process and one that can easily be done wrong. The problem is that if the seasoning is gone or damaged, you have to removed the old seasoning (use commercial grease removers such as barbon-off, or even any oven cleaner will do). Then you end up with just bare metal. Make sure that if you do use a chemical remover, that you rinse the pan very well. You will then also very likely have to re-season at least twice.

A cast iron pan (most skillet pans) are much better than anything else. I love cast iron. It cooks - especially meat - so much better. Your meat actually does come out different and tastier than with a teflon coated pan.

Last but not least, if you mess up your seasoning, no worries... you can always undo this by removing this layer. See above. And then re-season.

Good luck, and bon appétit !

Peter

[tickle]

Yes its all true as wondergirl said, regarding cast iron frying pan. I have done that camping too ! I don't wash my cast iron frying pan, I just rinse out under very very hot water and wipe clean. Of course I scour it if it there is anything sticking to the surface. Season with cooking oil from time to time.

I find a cast iron best for browning meat. Good all around cooking surface.