How to Care For and Maintain Your Cast Iron Skillet
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Caring for a cast-iron skillet is like caring for a car: Service it regularly and it will last forever; use it hard (or neglect it), and it will need more heavy-duty repair work.
All well-maintained cast-iron skillets will become more nonstick with time. While you might think this will take years, we found a significant difference in our pans after just a few weeks of regular use in the test kitchen. However, even new preseasoned skillets are not always 100% nonstick when you first cook with them, and a well-seasoned skillet will still become less nonstick without proper maintenance, so it’s important to treat your cast-iron skillet with care. Properly maintaining the seasoning on your skillet begins with properly cleaning it. Here are a few guidelines for keeping your pan in optimal shape. (These guidelines are for traditional cast-iron skillets; enameled skillets can be treated more like other pots and pans.)
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Thank you , and Happy New Year 2022 . amen
Can I just spray pam on the skillet instead of wiping it down with oil?
The million dollar question is what kind of oil is best for reseasoning? I keep finding countless videos on this and I was hoping America's Test Kitchen had some content on this. Hopefully you will because there's too much information on oil choice (olive, flax, coconut etc.). Thanks
Hi Dan, I got a brand new cast iron skillet. I washed it with warm water and oiled it. Something black comes off. I wipe it again and again still comes off. Is it ok? I've never used this type of pan before. I need your advice. It looks like carbon black bad to your health.
don't use olive oil!!
Wipe with paper towels? If you want the paper towel to absorb into the cast iron when it cools the go ahead because that is what will happen.
I thumb up anyone who tells the truth about dish soap and cast iron
What is the lint free alternative to paper towels? If you've ever been around regular paper towels from the grocery store they leave lint all over your kitchen counters. I don't keep them in my kitchen and I don't plan to. Do no professional cooks have an opposition to paper towels and the lint they leave behind?
How often do you do the oil thing? After every use?
Some people say that the oil will become bitter
I love my cast iron pans
demo demo demo!
Chain mail for scrubbing.
I use soap and a hard bristle brush for cleaning then I dry it with a kitchen towel. Use it pretty much daily for sealing meats and cooking eggs. Would never use it for acidic sauces however, feel like it would eat away at my 5 year old seasoning. I know you can use it for acidic sauces but I'd rather have them in my stainless steal pans simmering away for hours.
Last one… what kind of oil? Vegetable, peanut, olive?
It's much better to use coarse salt instead of dish soap. Soap can strip the seasoning. Warm the skillet, add a couple of tablespoons of coarse salt, scrub and it will clean up easily. Do not cook citrus or tomato related foods in cast iron. The acid strips the seasoning from your pan.
I bought a new unseasoned pan in 1987. After seasoning in the oven after the first couple of uses, I have never seasoned again. I use Dove every single time I wash (while piping hot, with hot water and Dove, rinse through) and then place it back on a high burner until dry. This unnecessary seasoning is what scares people away from using cast iron. It's a myth. I would love for the kitchen to test this more in depth.
If I get a pre-seasoned one do i have to re-season it? If so how often or when do I know it's time?
Use a silicone food brush to spread your high-heat cooking oil and avoid residue left from paper towels
Argh…..I smeared my cast iron in oven cleaner….last year……and forgot about it, it's still in a bag in my shed. Is it salvageable, or has the oven cleaner penetrated it too much?
I feel like not using soap is sketchy, but I guess I should start thinking about it like a grill not a pan.
It's sad they didn't say the best type of oil(s) to season the pan with.
Finally, a video that answers the one remaining question I've had for a while about cast iron: "do I do the oil thing EVERY time I use it? Or is it an 'every once in a while' thing?" Apparently the answer is "yes, every time." Thanks!
Don't use land fill paper towels. Use what your grandparents used, a cloth.
How I do it, turn burner up to hi add a dash of soap to hot water in a jar shake, add water to hot pan it boils instantly dump, wipe pan dry turn off burner place pan back on still hot burner and add a drop of oil Spread with paper towel and done. its clean and non stick ready to go. I have two cast iron pans used this technique and both remain non stick and rust free.
Round 3! LOL
I swear these videos are posted on a loop. STOP DOING REPEAT REVIEWS AND HOW TOS!
How I've always done it: when done cooking, with the pan still hot, rinse under running water. Angle the pan to avoid getting splashed. This will take the majority of food debris and oils out. Add 1-2 tbsp coarse salt to the now-cool pan as an abrasive and scrub out any remaining burnt-on bits. Rinse out the salt. Repeat the salt scrub if necessary, rinse, dry, done. It's way less effort than it sounds like.