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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.
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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.
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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!
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
Why don't you go LOOK IT UP? - I mean you ARE on the internet?
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.
"How do you know when to re-season the pans?"
In the same way that you know when to take your hand out of a hot fire.
uncle frogy
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.
Most of the REAL cooks just start cooking - the wankers get off on "magical mystical treatments of the pan."
Gotta heat the pan with your bum pointed towards Mecca, then plunge it into Himalayan ice water, then you stand on your head and repeat "Oh mystic god of the iron wok - grant me fertility, immortality and non stock iron cookware" 522 times.....
No darling.... just scrub the pan with a scouring pad in hot water with detergent - so it is actually clean and then give it a good wipe with any food oil or butter etc., and just start cooking.
Avoid ACIDIC or really WET and SALTY foods, or cooking them for LONG periods in it...
Like chopped tinned tomatoes etc...
Other than that - knock the bullshit off and just get on with it.
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.