Got my first cast iron pans

[Shave_Rat]

I have one cast iron pan that I have only used a couple times in the first few weeks of the five years I have owned it. Apparently I didnt do it right. Would some one point me to an idiots guide to using cast iron, cast iron that I let get rust on?

If it's only lightly rusted, I've had luck using kosher salt to scrub the pan free of it, so it removes as little as possible of the seasoning. If not, you can use something more robust like steel wool, then season it again.

As for using it to cook, I don't do anything different while cooking on cast iron than I do any other pans, really. Just a different care treatment afterwards for cleaning.

 

[CurtisB81]

I love lodge, it's better then any other company out there..I've look at enamel cast iron and you have to worry about chipping the enamel part of it..Lodge is 99% bomb proof..You can pass it long to you grandkids, if there into cooking and it gets better with use..They say, some of the iron gets into the food isn't a bad thing, as most people are low in the iron..But my mom, has forbid me from buying anymore as I'm running out of area in the house..

 

[hotwheels]

Very, very thin (wipe it down with a paper towel). Best to do this while it is still hot. Otherwise, you'll end up with a sticky, potentially rancid mess.

I am wondering about this. If you apply any vegetable oil, no matter what the amount, it will eventually turn rancid. Rancis oil contains free radicals, thus promotes cancer.

Here is what I have been doing, and I live to tell. After using a well-seasoned pan, I wash it with a mild detergent, rinse well and dry immediately with paper towels. That's it.

If after a while I feel the seasoning is wearing off, I season the pan again. Seasoning does not turn rancid. It appears to be an inert layer of resinous compounds that are left when oil is heated to high temperatures for a long time. Any chemists here?

 

[hotwheels]

I have one cast iron pan that I have only used a couple times in the first few weeks of the five years I have owned it. Apparently I didnt do it right. Would some one point me to an idiots guide to using cast iron, cast iron that I let get rust on?

Bathe your rusty pan in a citric acid solution or brush with phosphoric acid (You can even use Coca Cola since it contains enough phosphoric acid to destroy your teeth). Once the rust is gone, scrub the pan with fine steel wool, dry it and season it properly.

 

[Wid]

A quick soak in a 50/50 mixture vinegar/water will take the rust right off. Cheap and effective.

 

[Donnchadh_Sempill]

This works like a charm. Don't let is soak too long (20 mins or so with som scrubbing) or you can pit your cast iron.
QUOTE=Wid;8610623]A quick soak in a 50/50 mixture vinegar/water will take the rust right off. Cheap and effective.[/QUOTE]

 

[CurtisB81]

I've heard but don't know if it true,is to season with flax seed oil or canola seed oil..

 

[Wid]

Any oil will do. I use Crisco quite a bit and Pam too but really anything you have on hand is good. What's more important is to find the smoke point of what oil you're using and use heat just a little higher than that.

 

[TexLaw]

I've heard but don't know if it true,is to season with flax seed oil or canola seed oil..

Yes, anything will do, but flaxseed oil is best, as it. creates the hardest coating.

 

[hotwheels]

Oils that are high in polyunsaturated fat, which means they have a high iodine value (not iodine content), also known as "drying oils" (base for oil paint), are the best oils for seasoning, because they polymerize better. The darkening you see on a properly seasoned pan is the polymerized oil, which has anti-stick properties, and, being a water and scratch-resistant varnish (oxygen barrier), protects the iron from rusting. Soy bean oil, flax (linseed) seed oil and canola oil, are all very good for seasoning.

1. Choose an oil that is high in polyunsaturated fat
2. Rub a very thin layer of such an oil on your cast iron/steel/aluminum cookware
3. Heat in a preheated oven to a bit above smoke point for one hour - you will notice a yellowish/honey-colored disocoloration
4. Let cool
5. Repeat process about 10 times - the discoloroation will get ever darker until the finish looks almost black - the finish will be slick to the touch

Toxicity:

Oil that gets heated to the smoke point develops toxic/carcinogenic compounds. The seasoning is well-bonded to the pan and contamination through contact via food being cooked should be minimal. However, the process of seasoning the cookware is most likely very toxic since you may breathe in large quantities of smoke. So open your windows and make sure you got good ventilation going. Once the pan is seasoned, it should not outgas noticeable quantities of toxic compounds.

That's how I understand it, but a professional chemist's input would be appreciated.

 

[TexLaw]

When I season, I wipe on a thin layer with a clean rag or dish towel. Then, I put whatever I'm seasoning into the oven, bottom up to avoid pooling, and then crank the oven up to its highest temperature (555F, in my case).

Twenty minutes after it hits that temperature, I turn off the oven and let everything sit for around fifteen or twenty minutes or so. That gives it plenty of time to quit smoking and to be a little easier to handle. Then, I remove the cookware to the stove.

If I'm going to do another round, I let the stuff sit for another fifteen or twenty minutes or so (again, to make it easier to handle) and repeat.

All the "twenty minutes" are not as important as heating the cookware above the smoke point until it's done smoking and then safely handling it.

 

[kelbro]

I do about the same as TexLaw roughly once a year. Crisco works. Canola works better. Outside on the gas grill works very well. No smoke in the house.

Wipe down with a very, very light coat of olive oil after cooking and rinsing in hot water. You don't have to worry about the oil going rancid when you use the pan often enough.

 

[Fgl28]

On New Years Day I always reseason the cast iron. It seems to help.