Lodge cast iron tea kettle?

[Donnchadh_Sempill]

Today, I came across a Lodge cast iron tea kettle like the one pictured at a garage sale today, and was able to pick it up for $17. It's got some rust (easy enough to fix) and needs reseasoning. I do have a few questions about it, though.

A: Is this safe to use to boil water for coffee and tea? I've seen off-brand kettles like this in stores that sell fireplace equipment...for use as humidifiers...that have EXPLICITLY said "not for drinking water". But, I figure, this is from Lodge, and I know that bare cast iron is used for teapots in China/Japan. I assume it's food safe, but was hoping someone would know for sure.

B: I know you can season the outside as usual, but I'm sure that won't do any good on the inside. What's the best way to cure/season the inside? I've read several suggestions online, including: boil a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda in water, letting it set for an hour or so with strong black tea in it and just boiling water until dry so that lime scale builds up to protect the iron. I was considering doing all three (in the order listed), but would like some input from someone with experience.

Thanks for your help!

 

[eastomjac]

Rust can be a problem for cast iron tea kettles, but if the rust can be kept from these kettles, they will probably be the most durable of tea kettles (also compared to the other types I listed above). When boiling water using cast iron tea kettles, a sort of protective layer of minerals will build up on its base overtime. With this layer, these kettles will not easily develop rust.

my source; http://theresurgenceofcastironcookware.blogspot.com/2009/11/cast-iron-tea-kettles.html

 

[dpm802]

I would love to get something like that ... I do all my cooking on an induction hotplate, and while I have enough CI pots and pans, just plain boiling water for tea or coffee or instant soup has always been a problem.

I looked at some CI kettles in Teavana one day, but the had $130 price tags on them. No thanks, I'm not willing to go that high, especially not for something that only had about a half-quart capacity.

In Williams Sonoma, they had brand-new Le Creuset (or maybe they were Staub) iron kettles. These were larger capacity, and the price was around $95, still too rich for my blood. One really nice thing about these kettles is that they were enameled ... I don't remember if the inside were enameled or not.

Would it be possible to after-market enamel the inside of this Lodge kettle? That's the way I would go with it if such a thing were possible. Even if naked cast iron builds up a mineral coating over time, I don't think I'd be using mine often enough to prevent rust. You'd probably need to take a brand new kettle and use it every single day, and mine might only come in to play around once or twice a month, not enough to build up a mineral coating before the rust sets in.

 

[eastomjac]

you could probably get the inside powder coated with a food grade enamel,but it would be easier to just buy an enameled one

 

[sub vet]

I have an old cast iron tea kettle kicking around that had been used for years on the heater as a humidifier. After all those years of heating water it rusted, just surface rust but I sure wouldn't want to drink any of it. Cast iron has many good properties as cookware but boiling water isn't one. Get an enameled pot or better yet, stainless steel; either will heat faster, not rust and descale easier than cast iron.

 

[Donnchadh_Sempill]

Thanks for the info, guys! The rust cleaned off nicely with vinegar, and the tea bath gave it a nice patina inside and out. I'm gonna repeat the tea bath over the weekend, and get the outside seasoned.

 

[John Rose]

I don't really see the sense of a cast iron kettle (for hot beverages) anyway. Won't it take forever to heat up the water?

 

[Legion]

All you need to do is make a super strong brew (like 50% tea leaves, 50% water) and let it steep for a good while. That will convert the iron oxide to ferric tannate, which is quite stable, and harmless.

Knock the red rust off the outside with sand paper, and you are good to go.

They reckon that cast iron kettles are good for you because they put a little iron into your blood. I can accept that.

 

[Legion]

I don't really see the sense of a cast iron kettle (for hot beverages) anyway. Won't it take forever to heat up the water?

Iron is a good conductor, it wont take any longer than any other kettle. It will impart some iron into the water, which is good for you, and the iron retains heat, so the water will stay hot for longer.

 

[Donnchadh_Sempill]

All you need to do is make a super strong brew (like 50% tea leaves, 50% water) and let it steep for a good while. That will convert the iron oxide to ferric tannate, which is quite stable, and harmless.

Knock the red rust off the outside with sand paper, and you are good to go.

They reckon that cast iron kettles are good for you because they put a little iron into your blood. I can accept that.

She got one tea bath...looks really good. Giving her another on Sun. Will probably season the outside with oil as I usually do afterwards.

 

[Snappy Lunch]

I have an old cast iron tea kettle kicking around that had been used for years on the heater as a humidifier. After all those years of heating water it rusted, just surface rust but I sure wouldn't want to drink any of it. Cast iron has many good properties as cookware but boiling water isn't one. Get an enameled pot or better yet, stainless steel; either will heat faster, not rust and descale easier than cast iron.

I agree, I have one that stays on the Buck stove during the winter, that's about all it's good for. I do put a fresh coat of stove paint on the outside every so often.