Post Punk Kitchen Forum

You only have to season it 1-2 times and then after that you can just wipe it with a spritz or dab of oil when cleaning to keep it healthy. It's probably fine now for use, but I like to turn it upside down when doing it so I don't get any pools of oil when done. I'm pretty sure even if you have a shiny bottom that it will just bake in when on the stove top and not catch fire. So you should be set to go!

Someone in this thread earlier said not to use acidic things like tomatoes, but I've heard that acidic things draw out extra iron into your food so that's a plus! I think it was Isa actually, on these forums somewhere that I read that. Do you think the reason you would not want to use acidic things is because it takes away from the seasoning too much? Because I feel like its so easy to keep seasoned now that it wouldn't make a difference.

This, a year or so later, turned out to be perfectly true. I didn't do the insane seasoning process, just more coating with oil and high-heat cooking. I can now make crepes.

I've found acid doesn't cause any problem UNLESS you cook with acid and leave it in the pan after cooking for a few hours, where it does cause problems. Don't do that, please. Other than that, it's really no big deal, really!!
[i wash mine with soap and a sponge like all my other dishes, and if it's extra abused-looking because i forgot to wash it after something tomatoey, i coat it with oil again.]

I've quickly cooked tomatoey things in my cast iron and been ok, but one time I put lemon juice or vinegar in a metal bowl and there was a chemical reaction that made it taste like toxic metallic turpentine vomit. So I would avoid cooking highly acidic things, or leaving any acid in the pot for very long.

I am so glad to read this thread because I am going to need to learn to usse cast iron soon and it terrifies me.

I'm going to try the flax oil thing to reseason mine. I followed instructions in a Vegan Eats World recipe to roast peppers on high in a cast iron skillet, and now it has this gray circle in the middle. I reseasoned it with shortening, following Lodge's instructions, and it darkened, but didn't go away completely. I have a new cast iron grill pan that probably needs some seasoning too.

Ooooo, I just got a new cast iron for Christmas. I am a cast iron newbie, as I just bought my first 12in Emeril skillet a few months back. Husband got me the 10in Caphalon(sp) one because I was raving about how much I love the big one and wanted a smaller one. I do keep oven mits and hot pads all over the counter though so I don't forget to use them when touching the handles.

My first one left black specs in my food so I took a steel/copper scrubby and scrubbed like crazy. Then I just used canola oil in the oven right side up. Since then I warm it on the stove after cleaning and melt coconut oil in it and then wipe it out before storing. I can sauté onions perfectly without extra oil and they don't stick. I like using the coconut oil over the canola oil for some reason, seems to work better for me. Plus I had a huge tub of it left over from when I was using it as diaper cream for my little one (took it out and stored separately from the food use jar).

I seasoned my skillet with flax oil last night, and there was a little smoke in the kitchen, but nothing unbearable. I'm doing my grill pan right now, and it's so bad I can barely breathe in there. I had to close off the door to the living room and open two windows and the back door just to make the rest of the house tolerable. Is it because it's bigger, or did I use too much oil, or what? I wiped it as well as I could, but it's a little bit more difficult because of the raised grill.

Honestly I think flaxseed oil was a bad choice. It has a smoke point of 225! I think that's the lowest of all the oils I know. I always use shortening myself.

It worked fine on my skillet. I think it may have been that I didn't wipe enough of it off. There was quite a bit on my drip tray when I pulled it out of the oven. Looks/feels pretty good now that it's done though.

I cook tomato stuff all the time and often let it sit until it cools. Sometimes the edges of the pot sauce can turn a blacker color but I think it tastes all right.

My one suggestion regarding cast iron, if someone hasn't mentioned it already, is to always use a metal spatula lest you get what happened to me (and I couldn't figure out why for the longest time) a molten mound of old grease/seasoning pustulating in my cookware that was making my food taste like rancid oil and I finally figured out that I needed to scrape it off and start anew. And i googled the whole problem while this rancid oil mound was accreting and read that if you use a metal spatula always with your cookware (not the enameled kind--straight up cast iron surface) this will prevent that issue.

We got a regular Lodge cast iron grill pan, and an Emeril enameled one for Christmas. I thought enameled meant like these things: http://www.lodgemfg.com/enameled-cast-iron

But it's black and just feels like regular cast iron. Explain please! I'm confused.

^Yeah, when I think enameled cast iron, I think of the pic you posted in your link. I'm talking use a metal spatula in Lodge type cast iron pans that don't have any fancy enamels and whatnot. As for your Emeril pan, I dunno...maybe some care instruction pamphlet came with it and I'd check that. I only have the campfire Lodge kind of old school cast iron, myself.

I made pancakes on the stove in my pan on Saturday! No house fire! But I did have to actually clean the pan when I was done. I used some EB between each set of pancakes to make sure they wouldn't stick. And cause I like it when my pancakes are crispy on the edges. But even after I gave it a good wipe with a touch of soap and water it was still oily. So I don't think I washed away the seasoning.

So the idea is to not ever wash the skillet after it's seasoned, correct? Just wipe with water or a salt scrub to clean it? I'm gonna have a hard time getting used to that if so.

I never use soap on mine but I'm pretty gross anyway. My mother-in-law washed mine with soap before I could stop her the other day. Oh well. I just added more oil, and it stuck a bit but not too bad. I have two pans and a grill pan. One of my pans is my great-great-grandmother's and is well over 100 years old. How cool is that?

Yeah, it just says to wash it with soap and dry it. I can't really find any information about what the difference is though.

I'm seasoning my 3 cast iron pans this weekend. I'm on round number 4 right now. Those flax oil instructions say to do it six times. My goodness! it's quite a project, but they are looking good, so it's worth it.

I know people say not to use soap on cast iron, but I think that's pretty gross, so I do anyway. I use super hot water, a little soap, a good scrub, and then recoat lightly with oil.

I feel like being vegan makes the no-soap thing less gross. It doesn't bother me at all, but if I were cooking chicken in there or something I would be pretty freaked out about not using soap.

I'm starting to get discouraged because I feel like I'm the only person on earth who can't figure out their cast iron! I bought a griddle for making pancakes and it started out fine, but it seems like it is getting less seasoned with each use. Is that even possible? Each time I wash it (with no soap, just a scrub brush) I wipe it with oil and put in on the burners over low heat until dry, then store wrapped up until next time. It's looking "raw" now, though.

I'm afraid to season it in the oven because we had to tear our our microwave/vent fan combo due to electrical issues so there is currently no vent fan.

Not sure Mandy. I just wash with water, dry with a paper towel or towel if I have an icky one around and then wipe with oil and toss in my cabinet. Are you adding the oil when it is wet? I've never done that, I always dry first but others might do it in that order. Mine stays shiny when the last thing I add is oil.

Maybe you are scrubbing too much? What is your brush made of?

I actually leave a thin layer of oil in mine when it's being stored (I spray it on with a spray bottle), and then I wipe that off when I use it the next time.

Yeah, I'm wondering about the scrub brush too-- I just scrape food off with a pot scraper, rinse everything off, and heat to dry. Also, I oil the pan after the cast iron is totally dry. Sometimes I heat the dried, oiled pan again to help the seasoning, but I don't always bother.

This thread is helpful...I am a cast iron skillet virgin, so after reading this I went ahead and bought a pre-seasoned Lodge online. Was inexpensive, and has pretty great reviews.

I really hope I don't mess it up.

From what I read, that was the point...in this case you WANT that chemical reaction, unlike any other time.

I use a vegetable brush with nylon bristles. I'll try leaving more oil on during storage!