Print PDF
Favorite
Email
I try to use cast iron cookware whenever possible. It has excellent heat dispersion properties, life long build quality, and an inherent ability to cook foods with exceptional control at both high and low heats. It works on all kinds of stoves, electric, gas, induction - even a fire pit while camping.
The only snag about cast iron (if you can really call it that) is the seasoning process. "Seasoning" cast iron refers to a process of building up some amount of material, which I'll call a finish on the pan that aids in cooking, creates a semi-nonstick surface on the pan, and protects the cast iron pan against any possible rust.
There are lots of theories on seasoning cast iron, from complex rounds of heating and oiling with different types of vegetable and animal fats, to doing nothing at all. Having tried many of these seasoning processes myself, I feel inspired to write about the flax seed oil method. It's the most durable and straight forward seasoning process that I've found, and the science behind the process agrees.
The only snag about cast iron (if you can really call it that) is the seasoning process. "Seasoning" cast iron refers to a process of building up some amount of material, which I'll call a finish on the pan that aids in cooking, creates a semi-nonstick surface on the pan, and protects the cast iron pan against any possible rust.
There are lots of theories on seasoning cast iron, from complex rounds of heating and oiling with different types of vegetable and animal fats, to doing nothing at all. Having tried many of these seasoning processes myself, I feel inspired to write about the flax seed oil method. It's the most durable and straight forward seasoning process that I've found, and the science behind the process agrees.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Flax Seed Oil
You can find flax seed oil in the refrigerator aisle at the grocery or health food store. Flax seed oil is the edible version of linseed oil, a very durable, hard drying finish that painters and woodworkers have been using for a very long time. As Cheryl Canter writes on her site: "The seasoning on cast iron is formed by fat polymerization, fat polymerization is maximized with a drying oil, and flaxseed oil is the only drying oil that’s edible."
What that translates to in practical terms is a durable finish, that even after just a few coats and short term heating results in a deep glassy black seasoning on the cast iron that has held up to months of my daily usage and cooking abuse.
As with any other cast iron pan seasoning, You don't want to use soap on the pan when cleaning it, but with this method, I've found that using a mildly abrasive sponge when doing the dishes doesn't seem to affect the finish at all.
What that translates to in practical terms is a durable finish, that even after just a few coats and short term heating results in a deep glassy black seasoning on the cast iron that has held up to months of my daily usage and cooking abuse.
As with any other cast iron pan seasoning, You don't want to use soap on the pan when cleaning it, but with this method, I've found that using a mildly abrasive sponge when doing the dishes doesn't seem to affect the finish at all.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
I cooked on medium and no smoke or sticking! INCREDIBLE! Better than a non stick pan and less worry about teflon flakes in the food.
when its time to re-season the pan I will appreciate having your instructable to refer to,Thanks so much!
I guess she has never heard of Walnut, Hemp Seed, or Poppy Seed Oil.
This is a good way to season cast iron cookware. I use a metal scrubber to scour out my pots and pans and it hasn't affected the finish. A couple of friends of mine use different techniques. One boils water in his for 20 minutes and then wipes out while still hot. The other scrubs it with a thick paste of salt on a paper towel.
To answer gingerkatt, you would do it when things start to stick or it gets harder to clean the pot out. If you tend to cook with oils in your food, that shouldn't be for a long time if ever.
This entire thread could have been avoided if a PM was sent to me instead of calling me out in the public. I would have made the correction in my text and the whole world would have been happier. Believe it or not, there are people out there on the internet that will stick up for others, even if those others aren't "playing nice" when their comments are written poorly. My suggestion is to assume that people are inherently nice and don't mean things to be cruel unless they are blatantly being so.
'We have a "be nice" comment policy. Please be positive and constructive with your comments or risk being banned from our site. '
but you do make a good point, there are other alternatives, perhaps she has other unmentioned reasons?
I am of the opinion that the comment "I guess she never heard of..." would be taken as very sarcastic by most people.
Steve
There are a lot of ways to ensure that your message is not ambiquous, and that the readers get the same meaning that you were trying to convey.
Have a good day now. :-)
I guess you're being overly sensitive. -- i.e. I assume that is the reason.
In the originally quote the woman is stating her point as fact, when clearly she has never heard of those other oils, or bothered to look into them. (In the first case she is uninformed, in the second lazy.)
There is a significant difference to pointing something out, and pandering to the emotional reactions of others.
Policing percieved, "slightly" unkind responses is overkill.
When I read Jobar007's comment, I felt it was bad form to say the least. It is not too much to ask that people attempt to be kind with their comments. And if Jobar007 simply did not realize his comment could be taken as unkind... then he needs to learn to be more careful.
Some might think it's too picky. That it's asking everyone tip toe around each others feelings.
I say that unless you are confronting someone for something they did wrong... it's common courtesy to be careful with each others feelings. If someone calls it tip toeing, or kid gloves, or "overkill"... that's just an attempt to dismiss the person you offended, as if their feelings aren't worth bothering about.
I would much rather be pedantic than take the chance of a comment being taken as offensive.
And the name calling is definitely offensive!
Nicely done article tho. Thanx!
I usually season it every two or three years, not because it needs it regularly but because it usually suffers some kind of abuse like having something salty left in it (usually soy sauce) overnight or if the patina gets too thick and I have to clean it in the self-cleaning oven and then reseason it.
I will agree that you never want to use a brillo or other abrasive cleaner (comet, chore boy, etc.) on your iron. It's not as much the metal but the "soap" is much too aggressive. If whatever is in there is that caked on, just soak overnight in the sink, clean in the morning and wipe dry without allowing water to pool on it.
Me, I just use olive oil to season it. Flax oil is "edible" but so is mineral oil and I wouldn't want to use that in my pan.
One thing that looks different from my pans is that the pans in the picture don't appear to have a machined inner bottom, they look more rough, direct from the mold. Perhaps that's just the camera, but when the bottom of your pan isn't flat, you need to fill all of the nooks and crannies with oil to keep stuff from sticking. You have to look a lot harder to find pans with machined bottoms.
None of this comment is meant to be disparaging to the original poster and I'm sure your process works well for you and your pans. But please be aware that too many people are scared away from iron because they think it's too temperamental. I put my iron pans and dutch oven into harms way (melting candy sugar, using soy sauce, scrubbing with dish soap, sauteeing directly on the grill, frying potatoes, caramelizing pork butts, all kind of hot, acidic, salty food and they come through it just fine with little more than an oil wipe down before use and another if it's looking "tired" after washing, followed by a quick heat on the burner to about 300 degrees, then let it cool off in place.
However, as long as pots are *thoroughly* rinsed in hot water, such films shouldn't form.
Since there's a risk in using soap, and little health risk in not using it (but otherwise following good black iron maintenance procedures), people say "no soap at all!". YMMV; sometimes I use soap for removing excess tar-like burnt oils, but usually I go soap-free on black iron.
I just caramelized some onions and then roast a chicken in my dutch oven last night. Everything just popped out nicely except for some chicken skin that was burnt on. I worked late so I didn't get a chance to do dishes, so It's soaking in the sink now.
Read a lot of suggestions on cleaning of cast iron. If you "de-glaze" the pan, like the chefs tell you to, it removes the stuck on food
.
I take the food out of the pan and immeditately run cold water from the faucet into the pan, held at a 45 degree angle. A cotton wash cloth works just fine. The cold water "chill shocks" the pan and the food just falls off. I then return the pan to the hot burner to dry. Grandma did it that way and never had any problem.
Thanks for these tips.
Those pans look beautifully seasoned, even better looking than the pans that come pre-seasoned. I've seasoned my pans using high smoke point oils, thinking that they'd give me a better seasoning, but I still ran into the same problems, where the seasoning seemed to be weak and prone to failing upon a single mistaken cleaning with detergent, or in the worst case, being run through the dishwasher (by roommates who had no idea how to care for cast iron).
On the "which oil to use?" front, I use Rice Bran oil, cheap, available at most supermarkets, high smoke point, no edible/inedible conflict & no taste - often used in Japanese cooking for deep-frying, tempura & the like.
I take it outside and overfill it with dead leaves and set it on fire, that gets most of the rust out, then I take it in and wash thoroughly with Dawn and a scrubber and then season with either of these, Olive,Canola or Vegetable oil's. Have never had a problem. Also when I store them in the bottom drawer of the stove I Iine each one with coffee filters and that keeps them clean. Give it a try it works GREAT.
I heat on the stove top and any oil that beads up is removed by wiping.
Then I continue heating until it smokes. When the smoking stops the oil is caramelized and will not come off easily. Try to clean a old Waffle Iron sometime. I just heated up a round griddle to 500 degrees and it is nicely black. I use it for toasting buns as it has no sides.
If they are recoated as needed and when used they will stay black.
I usually put a little oil in the pan just before I use it, and wipe it around.
Not washing dirty pans is unsanitary which is not allowed in Restaurant use.
happiness..
john
I can't imagine putting cast iron through a dishwasher, That's just... it hurts to think about.
Plagiarism isn't ethical.
Was Cheryl Canter the first person EVER to use Flax oil to season her pans? I seriously doubt it... the process has been around for a loooong time. You can no more call this "Cheryl Canter's methodology" than you can say that scrap-booking was invented by Martha Stewart.
If this -ible's text and explanation is not blatantly copied from the Cheryl's blog, then the link that rapier1 provided was nice gesture that she is not required to include.
Plagiarism is a very serious accusation. The offense is taken very seriously... and so you should be very careful and serious yourself when accusing someone of plagiarism. The fact that this -ible is not at all plagiarized, only makes the accuser look bad.
In which case the 'ible would be well done.
On the topic of the instructable: thank-you for putting this together here on Instructables. I hadn't really thought about it before but I'll bet my skillet would improve if i seasoned it properly and stopped washing it out with grease-cutting soap!
I like to use safflower oil for seasoning because it has a high smoke point, but will be interested to try walnut oil as it is a drying oil and has a high smoke point.