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 1: Flax 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.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
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 just had to let you know that your "description" of your problems was really funny. Actually LOL'd. :-) Maybe the coconut oil is not good for seasoning. I used canola and it worked well for me.
They are as good as or better than any non-stick pan I've used for cooking eggs and pan frying, and they have also been good for baking - I've made some great cornbread and pizza - great, even heating with no problems sticking.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Iron-Skillet-Seasoning-Modification/
My question is how can I make the inside of the new pans smooth like the old ones without buying expensive tools to do it?
I guess it depends on what you are cooking (a large chicken?) but I have yet to find something I can't bake, fry, cook or sear in cast iron. Unlike non-stick, they can go from stove to grill to oven, everywhere but the dish washer.
Once butter, oil, etc, the fats have infused the iron, they polymerize and prevent the oxidation of the metal. It won't leak, smell or go rancid as the high heat burns away the products that go rancid.
And since it was only developed in 1938, non stick does not have the history or information behind it that cast iron has which has been in use for at least since the 18th century.
It is food grad linseed oil, which is what oil paints are made of. Although it does season the pan, it leaves a weird taste on the food and make the pans smell a bit off.
There are hundreds of methods on seasoning cast iron, but each one uses the same way - it's heat, grease, repetition, and cool down. that's it. Whether you use vegetable shortening (which I recommend), lard, or Flaxseed oil, it's all the same principles.
Warm the pan on top of the stove, grease the inside of the pan using vegetable shortening and a cotton cloth, then increase the temperature to about 7 and allow to smoke for 10 - 12 seconds, wipe the inside of the pan again, and put in the oven to cool down. It's that simple and this will give you a good pan in which to cook.
Here's a good link I found:
http://www.purely-cast-iron.com/cast-iron-seasoning.html
Robert
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).
I thought that they were only extracted and kept tanked under argon etc., until bottling.
And there are lots of things that FEED on nitrogen and nitrogen compounds.
I am not saying this is totally correct as I know heaps but I can't be bothered to clarify stuff I have not dealt with in a long time....
But FUEL goes off in storage tanks, and the atmosphere is 80% nitrogen....
And this may in part come from the intiation of cross linking etc, from the oxygen etc.. but the only FUEL PRESERVATIVES are BIOCIDES.
Yeah from what I can gather Nitrogen is used to reduce the oxygen content to 3% and below.....to limit spoilage by oxidisation.
I have seen the wine makers shift to argon because it's heavier and it blankets the wine in the large tanks.
Anyway too much bullshit about seasoning cast iron cookware.
Just oil it and cook it.
And get a life.
uncle frogy
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.
You don't say.
All the pan bases I have ever seen are machined.
That is to make them FLAT for better contact with the heating surfaces on electric type stoves etc., and so they don't rock or wiggle on the pot supports of gas stoves.
There is NO secret - only your BS.
Hey, I'm happy people are using cast iron instead of some fancy ultra-slick junk that wears out in a year.
To me that reads base, which is as distinct as using a term such as, "a machined cooking surface" or "has been machined flat on the inside."
Point taken - I just have never seen a pan without the inside being machined.
Some of the skillets, or some of the big pots / ovens yes - but they have rippled surfaces for searing meat or are too deep for frying in the "frying pan" sense of the word.
Perhaps a redraft and a repost.
I will remove my own clutter..... MMmm perhaps not, the discussion is useful for clearer thinking and better use of language.
Compare the pictures I posted of pans with machined cooking surfaces with the pictures posted at the top of the instructable. The pans at the top don't have a machined cooking surface, they are exactly as they came from the molds, but possibly sanded flat on the stove side to sit flat on an electric burner. Granted, one has the "grill bars" that help lift greasy food up out of it's grease (and are great for pork chops or burgers), but the others are just sand cast.
I wanted to buy a nice pan for my step brother's house warming and can't find anyone still selling machined pans brand new. I had to buy a used one from eBarf and clean and reseason it myself. It was still cheaper than a new one. (But shipping wasn't cheap...)
No they don't - most of it the imprecision comes down to poorly thought out or poorly applied use of the language.
Hiding behind cliche's when one has been helped to clarify ones descriptiveness is a cop out as well.
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.
And don't ask how - it's time to exercise your imagination for a change.
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.
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.
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.
I've always chosen an oil with a high smoke point, so that it will carbonize, but not burn off... Next new pan I get, I'll try one of the drying oils for sure...!
My only comment is that little skillet is actually an ashtray :) It was a sample for salesmen to carry around, as I understand it.
One note of safety - the rag or paper towel used in spreading around the oil should be burned for disposal. Don't just throw them in the trash. Because of the chemical reaction of the drying oil, the rags can spontaneously combust. Not kidding.
Thanks - great instructable - I did read Cheryl Canter, but she doesn't really address this question.
if you are to impatient you can use a cooking brush to reapply when still warm, just remove from oven and place on an old cutting board or plywood.
if you don't use your cast-iron often place it in a paper bag and then inside a plastic bag, this is how i store my dutch oven when its not camping season.
As I have to switch between meat dishes and veg only dishes for the family vegetarian I have adopted the sacrilegious method of washing the pan with soapy water and scrubbing all meat bits out after bacon, burgers, etc. Then to re-season the pan I just make pancakes!
The high temps and copious quantities of butter I use blacken that sucker right up! Now I have no guilt when I have to scrub the iron and we all get to eat pancakes. Best of all this method only takes the time of a batch of pancakes and if no nasty burning oil or fat smells.
People are often instructed to turn the pan upside down because they almost always put too much oil in the pan. If you wipe the oil out of the pan (just leaving a *light* coating) there is no need to invert the pan. Inverting the pan may also be somewhat counterproductive. The goal is to fill the pits and then have the oil carbonize filling in those pits. If it's inverted the oil is more like to come out of those pits and collect on the high points. With enough coating those pits will eventually fill in but you'll end up with a rougher surface than you would otherwise.
Natural OK, but is it really fine in your kitchen ? I thought smoking oil was very toxic to breathe....
Anyway I'll try to only use my gas grill, outside, for seasoning...
Lots of info in a short amount of time, to the point. If by chance you maybe made a mistake somewhere, it was so small that it should have been over-looked on purpose. After all, this is not the "Gong Show". Most of the people that come to this website for information have and understanding that most of us are not pros but mere hobbyists. I want to thank you for taking the time to make this article for all to enjoy. I, like a lot of folks, when searching for information on a subject will go to several different resources on the web anyway. I now have a much better understanding of how to season cast iron than I did before!
Now if I could only get my wife to stop scrubbing my cast iron pans with soap and abrasive sponges!
second not as much fun method, if you have a self cleaning oven just put em in and let it run through a full cycle,
season amediately they will start to rust almost amediately.
The concept is basically the same, but no oven time and takes but a couple of minutes:
1- coat a clean, dry pan with a decent layer of regular cooking oil (not too thin/thick)
2- heat on range med/high until it starts to smoke for at least 10 seconds
3- reduce heat to normal cooking temperature
4- add fresh oil and cook your food.
It may take a couple of tries, but if you get the hang of it, you can cook eggs on such a surface without any stiction whatsoever.
Key of course is not using soap to wash out. Just wipe it down when cooled or douse with water and scrub with a natural bristle brush. Chinese restaurants do this for all their woks.
Dr Jon
Thanks so much for this idea.
One thing I have done when I thought the seasoning was wearing off, or needed a refresh, is to un-season the pan by putting it in the oven when I was running the self clean cycle. It's the same idea as the campfire method above, but good for people without a campfire handy.
I also do that with my barbecue grills (they are in sections so I can stack them in the oven) once a season.
Thanks!
I have been using cast iron for almost all my life. I starting learning to cook with my mom at 8 and loved it. By 10 I was making family dinners alone (mom in a near by room of course). and by 14 was making dinner most nights for the whole family. Cast iron was/is a HUGE part of my favorite cooking utensil. My mom as a gift gave me one of my great great gandmothers iron skillets when I moved out that is almost as precious to me as my kids (lol) then I have some newer ones (mostly flea market finds as I prefer the older cast iron to new). Now on with my comments that I hope help.
I wanted to comment first that someone said they use linseed oil PLEASE be very careful and really.. use flaxseed oil. Basically they are the same, BUT flaxseed is the edible version.. the keyword is edible.
Next, DON"T be afraid to use real fats in your cast iron. Spray cra..stuff.. doesn't provide the proper surface for these. Stick with a small amount of shortening or at least a dose of veggie oil. The pan will thank you in many ways including the bits of oil/fat it will absorb.
Also, if something sticks in yours; put a center palm (?Tbsp) of sea salt in the iron skillet with a few cups of water and let it boil for about 10-20 minutes (depending on how much/hard it is stuck) and let it cool. It will wipe right out. PLEASE do not do this on everything that sticks. If a little elbow grease can do it with a rag do that instead. The salt water will not destroy your skillet, but will rob it of some of the fats it has absorbed. Always make sure to dry your skillet and even put in the warm oven for a bit to help make sure it is dry.
Someone asked when to season. Really you should get in a routine of doing it every so often to keep it from ever losing the black. With the method from my above situation I have to do it every 1-2 months depending one how much and what I cook. Don't ever let rust build up or wait until you can see the bare metal. BTW that sea salt thing works to remove mild rust I have found too when I buy a mistreated at the flea market.
Lastly, I have read a few that have used this and said that they have had LOTS of smoke that was horrible. You need to look at the time you are cooking not the temp on that. The short extreme temp helps season.. the length of the time burns the oil. (see this: http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collectedinfo/oilsmokepoints.htm ), Notice at 225 deg Flaxseed oil is starting to burn. The 30 min is plenty of time at 500 deg to let the pores of the iron open and the faxseed oil to 'dry' in them and season the pan.
END: PLEASE PLEASE don't be offended if I contradicted anyone! I am giving my opinion and experience to this. Most came from my relatives (both sides) and a bit from personal experience/experiments that have worked (though not all have *sigh*) I am not trying to argue with anyone, just perhaps help someone that might be reading out.
The house didn't smell "a little funny": it was AWFUL, I'm talking choking fumes that lingered at the back of the throat for a couple of DAYS. Whatever this is it can't be good for you.
Do this when you can vent your kitchen with a huge fan. I'm not kidding; the smell is acrid and terrible. But the pans are now relatively well seasoned - they work best if heated up before food is put into them; there is still some sticking, but it's very minor compared to what it was before. I need to do a couple more coats to really get them done well.
Again, good tutorial!