DITTO!!! This is exactly how I have kept my cast for more than 33 years. Three pieces were passed to me from my grandmother and mother. Even in my ti me I didn't always have self cleaning ovens so I would put mine in the oven as high as it would go, 500 for 3.5 hours. Then we bought a self cleaning appliance. I have heard some folks say dont ever put them in water but that is not true. YOU ARE DEFINITELY ON POINT. My grandmother showed me how to care for it and now I have every piece of cast iron they make and cook in them everyday. I am so proud to see you sharing the right way to care for what consider my most prized pieces in the kitchen. ;)
I knew this stuff from my job. 😊 We use cast-iron woks for my job and the main rules for cleaning them is to scrub them down, dry them with heat, and rub them with sesame oil after drying. It makes Chinese food so much tastier
@@volcrazy89 I have been restoring and selling iron for 11 years.never had an issue if it's wiped correctly.There is 100 percent more than 1 way to do things.
Thanks so much for the Fact and Fiction section! I have a very well-seasoned cast iron pan that I've had most of my life, and I treat it the way you describe in the video. I use coconut oil to season mine in the oven, and if you turn the pan *upside down* in the oven when you do it (with something underneath to catch the dripping), then there will not be any oil pooling in the pan at all. Also cover the *entire* pan with oil, including the handle. This will help keep it from rusting. I wash mine with soap and water and a scrubby designed for teflon and it has never done a thing to the seasoning and has always cleaned up perfectly. Metal utensils also do not do a thing to the seasoning, unlike with teflon. Best of luck to all cast iron cooking enthusiasts!
If you wipe the pan down so that the coating is very thin, you don't have to worry about the oil pooling in the pan. If it's pooling then you used too much.
Use soap only once when you purchase the skillet and NEVER again. Fat is soluble in soap, and it will eat away at the fat seasoning you've been building up. My family has used cast iron forever, and i myself scramble two eggs in cast iron every morning. i rarely ever have to even rinse it after I cook - i usually just wipe it down with a rag when i'm done cooking and the pan is still hot, and it is as good as new without having to re-season every time.... you have to treat it like a BBQ grill and let it naturally build up that seasoning, while only scraping off the burnt stuff (no water - no soap, just scrape and wipe with a rag until it's smooth. if it's not shiny after scraping and ragging, just warm the skillet up a bit and give it a little coat of oil - you just want to keep moisture out, and that only takes a thin layer of fat (oil) to achieve. There really is no need to run water on a skillet because the fat that remains after cooking does not dissolve in water, and therefore you will not remove it just by running water; you will be exposing your iron to water for no real reason. Believe me, scrape if you have to, and re-season only when necessary. And like a BBQ grill, you also have to let it sit hot for a while before throwing food on it, to ensure all the bacteria is killed off that remains from the last cooking. if you start using it everyday, it will last forever, and your food will never stick, and it will always be cooked evenly, and there are just so many benifits. you can literally cook everything from french crepes to an apple pie in a single cast iron skillet.
it;s always funny how every one has their own things about cast iron and every one else is wrong, it's your cast iron do what works for you with it, if you do something wrong and screw it up clean it back down to the iron and start over you will not hurt it' i've been collecting cast iron for years and have tried just about every method to clean and season, some works on pans and will not work on other pans, keep a open mind and have fun with it
So; I re-seasoned a pre-seasoned Lodge skillet. I understand these get better with age, and you can season several times to build up a rock hard, non-stick coating. I made a couple of seasoned, basted ribeyes, about 3/4 to one inch thick; as this is my first C.I. skillet, I did overcook a bit (learning curve). I preheated the skillet 8-10 minutes on high, added butter, but there was a small amount of residue that stuck after cooking, which I gently scraped with a butter knife. I wiped it all down with several paper towels, but I did not wash it (cowboy cooks did not wash 'em, did they? So... if I DO wash it, do I just make sure it's really dry, and/or wipe down with some fresh oil before storing? (And the steak still turned out delicious!)
Best method I have found. After cooking. (the pan cools), I put in Kosher Salt. Heat that on the stove. After it is heated. I simply wipe the pan with towels or sponge and run hot water on the hot pan. Dry off pan on the stove and then apply oil on. For seasoning, which I do if the pan needs it, I tend to use Grapeseed Oil. In the oven, I turn the pan over on some foil.
@@nthdegree1269 I tried that - Got a big grinder of salt at the grocery store. Works surprisingly well! The comment by cybervore below mentions paper towels, & I did find it left some paper dust in the pan. I have a washable micro-fiber cloth I'll try with the course salt next time. I'd read grape seed, or even flax oil are best, because create a lot harder finish than say vegetable oil, or olive oil when they undergo polymerization
I inherited a cast iron skillet and griddle from my parents. I don't know how old they are (50 years at least )how it was seasoned. All know is that after every use all my Dad did was wipe then off with a lint free towel. That's it, nothing else and they are in great condition.
If paper towels crumb, you need to use a metal spatula to knock down those high points. Give it a try. When the paper towels don't crumb stuff doesn't stick and eggs slide around.
Well, if you buy some paper towels that are a little better quality, then you should have no problem. Sure, your napkin style super light weight paper towels are crappy. You get what you pay for.
Depends on the pan. Vintage cast iron, with a smooth inside finish, won't snag fibers from a paper towel unless you really press hard. Newer pans are sand-cast*, which gives them a pebbly surface. These pans will shred paper towels, if you wipe with any pressure at all. *Actually, older pans were also sand-cast, but very fine sand was sifted onto the flat surface of the mold. The process was done by hand, which is just too labor-intensive for today's mass production. (Maybe there's an opportunity for an "artisanal" cast iron business here!)
I re-seasoned all my cast iron pans a few years ago with flax seed oil. The whole process took about 5 hours per pan (small oven). This was absolutely not worth it. While the flax seed oil looked great when newly seasoned, it chipped so easily (even just sautéing something with minimal water was enough to cause the seasoning to flake). Once a chip happens the rest of the seasoning comes up very quickly. If you want to re-season your pans I'd stick with tried and true oils.
That probably implies that the polymer produced from flaxseed oil is harder but less plastic (i.e. more brittle). It seems like all the manufacturers suggest vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco), so that seems like a relatively safe bet. Additionally, as nick implied, using much thinner layers of oil, but many more repetitions, may also help in making it more resistant to chipping, since you'll have many layers of polymers (with each layer, presumably, being aligned at a different angle, kind of like plywood or MDF). Perhaps some combination of those two ideas could produce some sort of "ideal" seasoning.
I too tried flax oil (the good stuff, unrefined refrigerated oil before its expiry date) on a few cast iron & carbon steel pans. Several coats, looked nice & black but food tended to stick bad and the coating would flake off, especially if I had to scrape out stuck on food. I tried all sorts of methods but always same thing happened. Until I switched to a different oil. Used sunflower oil, as light of a coat as possible (wiped it until seemingly dry), oven at 485f to be above sunflower oils smoke point, and things were non stick right away with just one coat! My carbon steel especially has exceeded my expectations of being non-stick, and I was on verge of throwing them out!
i've wondered if mixing oils would get good results, like a flaxseed/grapeseed cocktail might have a good mix of each one's qualities. i'm not sure if pure flaxseed is working out well for me but i do think it needs to be applied jusssst right.. several rounds in the thinnest possible layers and at high temp but not too high (~500F) for at least 90 min, and not upside down, as the direct hot rising air seems to create a less well bonded layer. in any case i hear that flaxseed makes a better base coat seasoning but that other oils are more suitable to subsequently go on top
... I almost hate to agree with the internet but what was said here is very good advice,I have more than twenty pieces of cast iron cook ware and must say all this is good to pay attention to!
I usually use a nice high smoking point olive oil. Coat it with a paper towel, then using another paper towel wipe out the oil. Throw it in the oven upside down (500F) for an hour. Let it cool in the oven; to where it’s warm or just slightly above that. Then repeat, oil coating/wiping, back in the oven another hour (3-5 times for flawless non stick). I usually use the same paper towel for re-coating the pan. You can use tongs too if you don’t wanna get oily hands.
gotta disagree with the animal fats being less effective than the vegetable oil. My experience has been that the vegetable oils always got sticky and didn't seem to go on smooth, and were easily chipped and never got that nice shine, no matter how much work I put in to it. I was shocked at how much differently the animal fat went onto the surface and stayed smooth as silk and super thin. The plant based also can go rancid and require reseasoning anyway, which doesn't happen with the animal fat. After having tried both, the difference between using bacon grease and any sort of vegetable base was so incredible I actually stripped down the pans to the bare metal with sandpaper for the purpose of starting over with bacon grease on the smooth surface and have never looked back. Now I only use the vegetable based stuff if there is NO animal fat available and it needs something to protect it from rusting out, because I always end up wanting to remove that layer anyway in the end. So if there is anything on it at all to hold off the rust, I will wait until I can go buy bacon and do it properly rather than put myself through the vegetable oil stickyness. It seems to hold up better and doesn't get gunky at all even with layer upon layer of oil.
and a very thin coating of it. The video seemed to be reporting on things the author read instead of what actually happens - if people put that thick of oil on it, they'll get bumps during seasoning. The oil coating should be there, but very thin.
And place it upside down, don't use a damn paper towel (use a lint-free cloth) when spreading oil (when scrubbing before a rinse, paper towel is fine), and keep it in the oven for an hour each time, not just 30 minutes.
Hmmn,, upside down because this allows the excess oil to run out rather then dry on the cooking surface. If you use very thin coats, virtually invisible, there is no real need to put into the oven upside down.
you layer the oil on in a thin enough coat that you won't have to tip it upside down. Also any good quality paper towel will not leave any lint / paper particles on the pan. The cheap stuff however will !
SeriousEats.com has great detailed articles on the process regardless of the condition of the pan. While flaxseed oil is the most reactive, it is relatively expensive. I found, second to that in reactivity is sunflower oil and It produced an incredibly slippery surface when I followed this process.
Very nice if you prefer rancid oil in your diet. Cast iron pans that are new or not used often have a problem with an uneven surface. Having used cast iron for decades the pan's surface actually become smooth from the constant washings, yes with soap and water. Once washed the pans must be heated again to dry once cooled you can safely put them away and you will have no rust problem.
Additional tip: after rubbing oil on, use a dry paper towel or cloth to wipe it OFF. Keep wiping until it loses most of its shine. And dont worry, a layer of oil will still be there even if you wiped most of it off. What this does is ensure that the layer of seasoning you're adding is as even on every part of the surface as possible, without any of it pooling at any spots. Uneven layers of oil will mean that some amount of sticky half-polymerized oil gets left on, and that'll end up snowballing into even more uneven seasoning down the line. The first time I got to work on my cast iron pan, I made this mistake of applying too much oil and not wiping it off and I ended up with a horribly uneven surface with frayed spots after several months. Fortunately, cast iron is extremely forgiving and after stripping off the seasoning with lye and a wire wheel brush, I got down to the bare iron and got to start from the ground-up. Awesome learning experience!
Hey there! I just got a cast iron and am wondering if you need to heat the pan after applying the last coat of oil until it smokes. I saw a video saying to do it, but I haven't seen it in others.
Don't use lye and a wire wheel.. overkill.. just spray some oven cleaner on the affected area, like Easyoff and let stand for thirty minutes then scrub with "warm" water and a regular scottchbrite pad.. it might not even need to be reseasoned after that.. and never season with vegetable oil. It can't take the heat. Seasoning temps are much higher than cooking temps are. (lard, bacon fat or Crisco can stand the high temps of seasoning) And no need to oil up your skillet before storage.. it will just attract dust and dirt, and could possibly go rancid.. just dry it good with a towel..
it is true what he says that everybody has a different opinion. I think it is based on our own experiences. For me soap doesn't work because it has had removed my patina several times. I got pissed off of course. But another time, I tried a diluted soap mixture with sponge and it was fine. Most of the time, I've used only a plastic Pan Scraper, sponge with barely any soap or none and hot water.... this method works for me.
this might be a silly question but when you oil it again after cooking how do you store it? What I'm saying is if its covered in oil do you hang that heavy ass pan up away from everything or wrap in a cloth towel and put it away? I just wouldn't want oil through out my cupboards. I guess I would store it in the oven when not in use.
Después se 15 años de uso, me puse a limpiar mi sartén de hierro. Estuve HORAS sacando la mugre con detergente, sal, aguarrás, esponja metálica y hasta un taladro eléctrico con un cepillo de alambre. Lo único que pareció funcionar fue lija al agua. Aunque no quedo 100% limpio, el resultado valió la pena. Para la próxima, usaré ácido.
Yeah, good info, but... Using oven metal shelves in an oven during the self-cleaning cycle is not advised. It turns out the high heat generated during the cleaning cycle is harmful to most oven shelves.
I miss my late husband the chemist and I his first degree in chemistry, used and I still use, mostly glass and stainless steel - chemistry-level pure....and even then, watch for glass cracks and chips AND all metals can toxic, so make sure it's quality. Today, for some years, I buy the GoodCook teflon at the supermarket for $20 and replace it twice a year, to skip toxic possibilities. The shiny colors and my old Cuisinart glass lid for it.YES! Safe happy and jolly on my range top. CAST IRON PAN ? I would not use a cast iron for food, if there was any choice at all! Germs - rancid oil smells, the need to season and re-season, and the weight to deal with daily - no. However I did enjoy cast iron love in my youth: my grandparents used cast iron and aluminum and glass and porcelain coated - norms of the day. And later I learned care for it with my parents - my Dad was like you guys, wanting his one or two cast iron pans for his kitchen and barbecue specialties. Manly. Cool! Mother and I would "boil the thing" and then re-season it for him, with unsaturated cooking oils. It was the best we could with our "rancid oil germs" fears. .
U MISSED MAIN REASON 4 USE( ok not main) It adds the daily allowance of iron we need.My mama has one for 40 years!!! It's so beautiful she drugs on burner worked great 4 all these yrs.So drying I recommend dry on medium heat burnet
Nice video. Odd how a few have decided the video is all wrong and are attacking those that do use flax oil to season their pans. When deciding what to do for my pans I referred to the manufacturer's literature. Flax oil was one of the suggested oils for my pans. It would seem several of these self-anointed experts think they know more then the folks that actually make the dang pans.
wilhard45 the people who said flax seed oil was best was a chemist, not a maker. Also it’s been proven flax seed oil is extremely brittle and flakes off. Also it works the same as other oils, but only things like Lard, Crisco, and coconut oil work. Those are all solid and chunky and have been recommended by makers for the past century. Now there is no recommendation because of that chemist, but flax seed oil is probably one of the worst things you can use to season a pan.
Everything you said was right on but when seasoning any cast-iron place the item upside down in the oven! If you don't the oil will pool in tiny little bubbles and make the pan look like textured drywall!
If you use paper towels they will leave behind lint and fibers, especially if it’s new or not properly seasoned. It’s way easier with a stiff brush and a cast iron scraper. Just scrape and use hot water after cooking with salt and it comes off easy, rinse and lightly coat.
I mean, you may not want to SEASON the pan with bacon fat, but cooking fatty foods like bacon on a new pan definitely helps build up the seasoning layer.
If you have a Cheap skillet, I recommend polished it, you will see a big difference, skillets in the old days used to be as smooth as a princess but :D
I just bought a pre-seasoned one, new. Still has to be seasoned. I seasoned it 3 times in a row. The first time I coated with vegetable oil, stuck it in NOT preheated oven, at 350 F, so it would WARM UP SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY, for 1 hour. Then I turned off the oven, opened the oven door slightly, and let the pan cool INSIDE the oven. Now Round 2 seasoning: I oiled it again inside out w/vegetable oil, and again stuck the pan in the oven first, and again ONLY then did I turn the oven to 400F (slow heating is better than fast heating.) -For another hour. After round 2, I turned off oven, opened the door slightly, and let cool completely. The the last 3rd seasoning: coated pan again, stuck into oven, then turned heat on 450F, for 1 hour. Note, how I increased the heat every time when I again seasoned. Also, put your pan UPSIDE-DOWN onto oven rack, cause the bottom needs to be seasoned without rack stripes! I treated my iron pans this way forever, they are all perfect shape. Oh, and NO SOAP! - You'll ruin the meticulously accumulated fat layers & you'll have to start from scratch again, with seasoning! Do as I told you and you will have your seasoned pan in greatest shape for generations.
Got a question: I have a cast iron Dutch oven, but despite cleaning it, and using oil to wipe it down, when I use it again, particularly with liquids of any amount, turn to a grayish, almost black tint. What causes that? Any information to correct this would be appreciated. Thank you.
I concur with every recommendation in this video except for the last. You should not oil a clean pan before storage. Uncooked oil begins the process of becoming rancid when exposed to the air. It slowly putrefies into that nearly impossible to remove resin-like substance you will be familiar with on the necks of your oil containers. This is precisely the consequence that will frustrate the true seasoning that you have so thoughtfully presented in this video. That warm storage drawer beneath the oven is the perfect place to store a dry well seasoned pan. If you are ever so lucky to be selected by a cast iron to be its temporary guardian, do the right thing and season her in the oven a couple of times with flax-seed oil before the first use and then periodically thereafter. Then, well, you and her get it on......mmmmmm.
that's why you want to put the skillet back on the burner and heat the oil you just rubbed on up to smoke point. that will prevent it from becoming rancid
Incorrect. Several errors here, but rancidification often measured in IV, iodine value depends on the oil, temperature, time, exposure to air/oxygen. Our cast iron does not rust with the layer of polymerized oil bonded to the iron oxide pan. Our pans w coating of oil at our summer house might have a stale odor come Spring, so we wash them first in hot soapy water. Otherwise, all/ most, but a few oils, like Flax seed oil will take months to go rancid. Any oil coating not heated to the point of polymerization is very easy to remove.
The video says something like flaxseed oil should be great. However the cooking for engineers link in the description indicates flaxseed oil has a low smoke point of 225F, and in the video they say to put the oven to 450F. That seems contradictory
Flax oil does have a fairly low smoke point but remember two things. The oil layer should be very, very thin. Once the oil is absorbed by the metal and it becomes polymerized it no longer smokes. I get more smoke off of cooking chicken in the oven.
You are correct regarding the low smoke point vs. the high temps, Mike... but contrary to conventional wisdom, you actually DO want an oil with a low smoke point (specifically flaxseed oil) combined with high temperatures. You do indeed want your flaxseed oil to smoke. You simply want to make sure that you apply the flaxseed oil as lightly as you can (remove as much as possible after applied) to minimize the smoke. Flaxseed oil is a food safe DRYING (all caps just for emphasis) oil. The low smoke point + high temp improves and increases the polymerization process. It forms a harder seasoning layer as opposed to a sticky/gummy seasoning layer that is often produced when using vegetable oil. Flaxseed oil is definitively the ONLY oil you should use to season cookware because of these qualities (drying oil, low smoke point, much harder surface, etc.). Using flaxseed oil for seasoning cookware is almost like applying your own enameling to your cookware! So contrary to what you will hear everywhere else, low smoke point is actually a GOOD thing in this application. You aren't cooking with the oil right now, so you don't have to worry about the conventional "never cook with burnt oil" mantra. You are just seasoning with it in this application. It's OK to burn your flaxseed oil while seasoning. It truly helps with the seasoning process.
Idk if I agree with all the tidbits here. Self-cleaning oven temperature seems way too hot. Lodge-the largest and oldest maker of cast iron-recommends 350-400 for an hour.
Hello my friend i want to buy a cast iron skillet. is it a lodge cast iron or a old Griswold ? The difficulty is that iam from Greece and the shiping are expencive.The new Lodge is more economical
Kirk Leadbetter that’s what I do. Hot pan under hot water. Dry it, set it on hot burner for 3 to 5 minutes to make sure all the water is evaporated out of the pores, turn off burner and re-oil the pan.
Hey there! I just got a cast iron and am wondering if you need to heat the pan after applying the last coat of oil until it smokes. I saw a video saying to do it (by Tasty), but I haven't seen it in others. Thanks!
Polymerization makes sense only if drying oils are used. When using non-drying oils, instead of a resistant protective layer, you create something like jelly.
You can't season stainless steel as far as the cleaning method mentioned in the video probably I guess but there’s not likely to be any difference in the results between that and a sponge .
Mistakes detergent for soap, tells us cast iron has pores, wastes your oven being on for hours, doesn't tell you there are much better pans at the same price points (clad/ disk bottom) that can be seasoned simpler. - All that BS in just under 3 and a half minutes.
I just bought a Lodge 12" skillet yesterday. Has anyone tried using avocado oil? My bottle says it can be heated up to 500 degrees Farenheit. Thanks for any input!!
You have to do the whole pan when seasoning, Well at least the inside. If you do not do the sides they will stick, Also if you do not do the outside of the pan it is prone to degrading more then the inside. I always season my whole pan. Other than that yep pretty accurate.
Awesome. I love my cast iron and this is some great info. the Soap info was something i did not know, I thought it messed with the seasoning. what about foods that are highly acidic? I was told tomatoes and tomato sauces are a no go,
Terry Bradford The soap myth originated back decades and decades ago when most soaps were made of lye, and lye soaps will definitely break down the polymerized oils. But nowadays dish soaps do not contain lye and do not break down the seasoning.
I just made sloppy joes a couple days ago. the only downside was having to re season. I was mainly worried about the cast iron giving the food an off taste because of the acid in tomatoes and how it will mess with the seasoned coating. but more good info, Spaghetti isnt as forgiving as sloppy joes, lol.
Byron Arachnicus since Crisco pretty much a solid at room temperature it has more saturated fat than unsaturated fat and therefore will not polymerize as readily as a liquid oil like flax etc
Flax is terrible for seasoning. It cracks and flakes off with use. Most people that use flax eventually strip and re season with something that works like Crisco or lard.
I personally hate cooking eggs in my cast iron. Everything else it is my go to though. After every cook I rub it with a wet sponge and water, throw it right back on the burner and then throw oil into it until it is smoking.
the different opinions on how to season, how to wash, how to continue to use it is why I haven't bought one in 50 years of my life...today I bought one and watched this video and Martha Stewart and read the info that came with my pan...all different opinions lol.
The text on the screen says to repeat the seasoning three times, but the narration says to do it twice and then three more times for a total of five times. Which one is it?
im really scared to get my first cast iron pan, thinkin ill ruin it. whats the best way to clean it after some big messy cooking session? simply salt and water?
Been using cast iron forever love them once you get it seasoned so simple hot water hot pan oil enjoy and if you really want to know check with cowboy agai Kenn
They Talk about seasoning as if it’s only about the coating of the pan. A proper seasoned skillet has been heated up and cool down over many many cycles. By seasoning the metal you are making it less brittle and less prone to cracking or breaking. Animal fat might be less reactive but it produces a harder coating. (Beef fat for example). Some people go as far as smoothing the end there cooking surface is with sandpaper or some other abrasive material before season coating.
Does this pan really make food so much more amazing to be worth it to go to all this trouble/work for the pans upkeep??? I want to know before i buy one. How much more special will my eggs, etc taste than they already do?
I bought a lodge brand (a very nice brand for cast iron) at Walmart for around 25usd. I bet you wont see much of a difference in eggs but if you are seering or frying anything it will be a lot better. Also you can put them in the oven so you can make hashes and bread and those types of things. I love my cast iron
but the thing is every time you cook, you have to wash your pans in between dishes, so it washed off the oil. Plus the oil that bonded to the pan will burnt which produce a lot more harmful substances than nonstick
I'll go ahead and say on my brand new (rough as hell) cast iron, my quality paper towels did shred. So did my dish rag... haha. Just had to apply reeeeeealllllly light pressure while oiling. Second round. Much better. Third round, paper towels move across fairly smooth. At this point I cooked up some Jimmy Dean sausage patties, rinsed with hot water and paper towels, dried, and popped it right back in the oven for round 4 with more oil. I can see paper towels can work just fine.
I'm pretty sure the seasoning is a pyrolyzed carbon surface and not a polymerized surface. Fats undergo pyrolysis at a lower temperature in the presence of an iron catalyst then they otherwise would. Temperatures right around the seasoning temperatures. And despite what you read on an unscientific blog post, flax seed oil doesn't make for a great seasoning.
What is it about flax seed oil that is not great for seasoning, versus any other oil? I just used vegetable oil, which apparently is simply soybean oil. Not sure my seasoning is that great, and WAS about to try flax seed oil, since it's the hipster thing to do ... but please explain about why it isn't any good?
Primarily cost. Flax seed oil is pricy per oz. Sure you'll only use a fraction of an ounce but what are you going to do with the rest of the bottle? It goes rancid in a couple of months, even refrigerated. It's just wasteful. If you have some on hand though, go for it. I haven't used it myself but from what I've read it doesn't tend to bond very well (to the cast iron, adjacent layers of flax seasoning, or subsequent layers of "natural" seasoning I can't say) leading to eventual flaking. I just can't stand pseudoscience. The blog post that started all this flax seed nonsense is chock full of it and it keeps getting perpetuated. I don't know how the saturation of the fat changes the pyrolysis chemistry but my suspicion is that saturated fats make for a more durable, longer lasting seasoning. The reason I suspect this is that if you ask many people which piece of cast iron has the best layer of seasoning they will say it's the one they fry their bacon in.
+oboudreaux Wait wait wait... You: "Flax see oil doesn't make for a great seasoning..." Other: "What makes it not great for seasoning?" You: "From what I've read it doesn't tend to bond very well..." You: "I just can't stand pseudoscience. The blog post that started all this..." WHAT??? So you can't stand pseudoscience, and you can't stand posts on the internet that talk about this stuff, yet you get your own information from yet another blog post??? Or for all we know, out of your own ass. Well, I found where your getting your info from LOL, reddit. www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5owtnm/why_i_dont_recommend_flax_seed_oil/?st=j6cdcna0&sh=8e947a49 But this post has ZERO science to it. It's simply an opinion. And there are numerous people in the comments saying that their flax seed oil coating is not flaking at all, probably because they used the right kind. Reasons 1 and 4 on the reddit article are the SAME FUCKING REASON. Reason 2 is simply because he's lazy and doesn't think you need to do that. Reason 3 is his own opinion, that flax seed oil is too expensive to be worth it. Compare to the post that he references: sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/ This post has TONS of good logical reasons as to why it works, and exactly what to do. And look around the rest of the internet, there are TONS of people using this method and saying how good it really is. There are TONS of large organizations with people that have PhD's in chemistry looking at this method, and ALL of them say it's good stuff. Maybe you should get less of your information from and unknown person on Reddit.
@@arvi8843 Crisco is a tried and true blend for seasoning. If you'd rather season with higher quality oils, then grapeseed or avocado are my choices. Flaxseed isn't all it's cracked up to be in my opinion.
Many soaps contain detergents that will hinder the non stick quality of well seasoned cast iron. Therefore, some soaps may be OK for cast iron, but why bother figuring that out when the seasoning process is done properly? Just let your skillet cool after user, wipe excess grease and oils out, then run under hot water and use a nice (dedicated) nylon brush for the final clean, then dry it. I have an inexpensive brush that I use only for cleaning my cast iron. I wash my brush in the dishwasher to keep it clean.
Is putting the pan in the oven to season it compulsory? Can I just leave it on the hot stove???? I live where electric is extremely expensive, but gas is cheaper. I heard a fellow say you must season your pan EVERY TIME YOU COOK. Is this true?! Our electric bill would be out the roof if this is neccessary! (And my husband would kill me) ::))
In my experience, doing multiple oven seasonings seems quite pointless. I did like 6 seasonings with my newest pan, and it was sticky like stainless after. Took a good 4 weeks to get it fairly non-stick. Now +6 months I can do american style omelettes without sticking. Just use your pan, and it should turn out great with time.
DITTO!!! This is exactly how I have kept my cast for more than 33 years. Three pieces were passed to me from my grandmother and mother. Even in my ti me I didn't always have self cleaning ovens so I would put mine in the oven as high as it would go, 500 for 3.5 hours. Then we bought a self cleaning appliance. I have heard some folks say dont ever put them in water but that is not true. YOU ARE DEFINITELY ON POINT. My grandmother showed me how to care for it and now I have every piece of cast iron they make and cook in them everyday. I am so proud to see you sharing the right way to care for what consider my most prized pieces in the kitchen. ;)
Took mine out west while I was living out of a small camper. Had to really pick and choose what to bring but this was definitely a must!
I knew this stuff from my job. 😊 We use cast-iron woks for my job and the main rules for cleaning them is to scrub them down, dry them with heat, and rub them with sesame oil after drying. It makes Chinese food so much tastier
You simply cannot have fried rice without wok hei. It's the seekrit ingredient.
The internet stole my soul but it gave me Overwatch lzzlI[@w
When you're seasoning it in the oven you should've put it upside down. You're going to get weird sticky or hard carbonized pools
Thank you for being named Chantel. Same way I named my daughter. Beautiful name. 😏
Not true if you wipe enough oil off before it goes in.
@@katyaks8770 You're 100% supposed to put it in upside down.
@@volcrazy89 I have been restoring and selling iron for 11 years.never had an issue if it's wiped correctly.There is 100 percent more than 1 way to do things.
@@katyaks8770 but what's the point of putting it right side up and accidentally getting those pools when you could just flip it with no consequence?
Thanks so much for the Fact and Fiction section! I have a very well-seasoned cast iron pan that I've had most of my life, and I treat it the way you describe in the video. I use coconut oil to season mine in the oven, and if you turn the pan *upside down* in the oven when you do it (with something underneath to catch the dripping), then there will not be any oil pooling in the pan at all. Also cover the *entire* pan with oil, including the handle. This will help keep it from rusting. I wash mine with soap and water and a scrubby designed for teflon and it has never done a thing to the seasoning and has always cleaned up perfectly. Metal utensils also do not do a thing to the seasoning, unlike with teflon. Best of luck to all cast iron cooking enthusiasts!
If you wipe the pan down so that the coating is very thin, you don't have to worry about the oil pooling in the pan. If it's pooling then you used too much.
If you are putting so much oil that there is dripping you are doing it wrong.
Clean you're pan while it's still warm to avoid having to soak it later.
I use 30 wt motor oil.
I use 90 wt gear oil. Amazing results!!!!
Use soap only once when you purchase the skillet and NEVER again. Fat is soluble in soap, and it will eat away at the fat seasoning you've been building up. My family has used cast iron forever, and i myself scramble two eggs in cast iron every morning. i rarely ever have to even rinse it after I cook - i usually just wipe it down with a rag when i'm done cooking and the pan is still hot, and it is as good as new without having to re-season every time.... you have to treat it like a BBQ grill and let it naturally build up that seasoning, while only scraping off the burnt stuff (no water - no soap, just scrape and wipe with a rag until it's smooth. if it's not shiny after scraping and ragging, just warm the skillet up a bit and give it a little coat of oil - you just want to keep moisture out, and that only takes a thin layer of fat (oil) to achieve. There really is no need to run water on a skillet because the fat that remains after cooking does not dissolve in water, and therefore you will not remove it just by running water; you will be exposing your iron to water for no real reason. Believe me, scrape if you have to, and re-season only when necessary. And like a BBQ grill, you also have to let it sit hot for a while before throwing food on it, to ensure all the bacteria is killed off that remains from the last cooking. if you start using it everyday, it will last forever, and your food will never stick, and it will always be cooked evenly, and there are just so many benifits. you can literally cook everything from french crepes to an apple pie in a single cast iron skillet.
it;s always funny how every one has their own things about cast iron and every one else is wrong, it's your cast iron do what works for you with it, if you do something wrong and screw it up clean it back down to the iron and start over you will not hurt it' i've been collecting cast iron for years and have tried just about every method to clean and season, some works on pans and will not work on other pans, keep a open mind and have fun with it
Mike Eddleman do you have a favorite method? Do you agree with this video? I'm getting so many differing opinions and tips...
So; I re-seasoned a pre-seasoned Lodge skillet. I understand these get better with age, and you can season several times to build up a rock hard, non-stick coating. I made a couple of seasoned, basted ribeyes, about 3/4 to one inch thick; as this is my first C.I. skillet, I did overcook a bit (learning curve). I preheated the skillet 8-10 minutes on high, added butter, but there was a small amount of residue that stuck after cooking, which I gently scraped with a butter knife. I wiped it all down with several paper towels, but I did not wash it (cowboy cooks did not wash 'em, did they? So... if I DO wash it, do I just make sure it's really dry, and/or wipe down with some fresh oil before storing? (And the steak still turned out delicious!)
Also; is it better to preheat on the stove top, or in the oven? And would you recommend finishing in the oven, after searing?
Best method I have found. After cooking. (the pan cools), I put in Kosher Salt. Heat that on the stove. After it is heated. I simply wipe the pan with towels or sponge and run hot water on the hot pan. Dry off pan on the stove and then apply oil on. For seasoning, which I do if the pan needs it, I tend to use Grapeseed Oil. In the oven, I turn the pan over on some foil.
@@nthdegree1269 I tried that - Got a big grinder of salt at the grocery store. Works surprisingly well! The comment by cybervore below mentions paper towels, & I did find it left some paper dust in the pan. I have a washable micro-fiber cloth I'll try with the course salt next time. I'd read grape seed, or even flax oil
are best, because create a lot harder finish than say vegetable oil, or olive oil when they undergo polymerization
Thanks for this video I just bought my first cast iron skillet and I needed to know how to take care on my skillet
Cowboy kent rollins. Tell you everything you need to know about everything cast iron
Yo, when dat pink Himalayan salt vid coming out?
We have a “ERIE” No. 9 cast iron skillet made around 1905. We use it everyday, they last a long time if you take care of them properly!!
I inherited a cast iron skillet and griddle from my parents. I don't know how old they are (50 years at least )how it was seasoned. All know is that after every use all my Dad did was wipe then off with a lint free towel. That's it, nothing else and they are in great condition.
If this does not work, you always can use the cast iron pan as a self defense weapon.
Makes a good shield too, PAN SHOT
Jajajajajajajajaaj...
That would make is a super scary assault skillet...Think of the Children!!!!
This comment reminds me of rapunzel in tangled lol (my daughter watches this movie alot)
Use as a target practice..
Great info! But, NO PAPER TOWELS! Use a good, fiber free cloth. Nothing worse than trying to pick paper towel fibers out of a seasoned pan!
If paper towels crumb, you need to use a metal spatula to knock down those high points. Give it a try. When the paper towels don't crumb stuff doesn't stick and eggs slide around.
Well, if you buy some paper towels that are a little better quality, then you should have no problem. Sure, your napkin style super light weight paper towels are crappy. You get what you pay for.
Right this is where those Micro Fiber Lint Free cloth's come in Handy etc.
I use scott lint free shop towels
Depends on the pan. Vintage cast iron, with a smooth inside finish, won't snag fibers from a paper towel unless you really press hard. Newer pans are sand-cast*, which gives them a pebbly surface. These pans will shred paper towels, if you wipe with any pressure at all.
*Actually, older pans were also sand-cast, but very fine sand was sifted onto the flat surface of the mold. The process was done by hand, which is just too labor-intensive for today's mass production. (Maybe there's an opportunity for an "artisanal" cast iron business here!)
I re-seasoned all my cast iron pans a few years ago with flax seed oil. The whole process took about 5 hours per pan (small oven). This was absolutely not worth it. While the flax seed oil looked great when newly seasoned, it chipped so easily (even just sautéing something with minimal water was enough to cause the seasoning to flake). Once a chip happens the rest of the seasoning comes up very quickly.
If you want to re-season your pans I'd stick with tried and true oils.
That probably implies that the polymer produced from flaxseed oil is harder but less plastic (i.e. more brittle). It seems like all the manufacturers suggest vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco), so that seems like a relatively safe bet.
Additionally, as nick implied, using much thinner layers of oil, but many more repetitions, may also help in making it more resistant to chipping, since you'll have many layers of polymers (with each layer, presumably, being aligned at a different angle, kind of like plywood or MDF).
Perhaps some combination of those two ideas could produce some sort of "ideal" seasoning.
Wow, how can seasoning chip? I've never even heard of that before.
La Tui Grapeseed seems to work better.
I too tried flax oil (the good stuff, unrefined refrigerated oil before its expiry date) on a few cast iron & carbon steel pans. Several coats, looked nice & black but food tended to stick bad and the coating would flake off, especially if I had to scrape out stuck on food. I tried all sorts of methods but always same thing happened. Until I switched to a different oil. Used sunflower oil, as light of a coat as possible (wiped it until seemingly dry), oven at 485f to be above sunflower oils smoke point, and things were non stick right away with just one coat! My carbon steel especially has exceeded my expectations of being non-stick, and I was on verge of throwing them out!
i've wondered if mixing oils would get good results, like a flaxseed/grapeseed cocktail might have a good mix of each one's qualities. i'm not sure if pure flaxseed is working out well for me but i do think it needs to be applied jusssst right.. several rounds in the thinnest possible layers and at high temp but not too high (~500F) for at least 90 min, and not upside down, as the direct hot rising air seems to create a less well bonded layer. in any case i hear that flaxseed makes a better base coat seasoning but that other oils are more suitable to subsequently go on top
... I almost hate to agree with the internet but what was said here is very good advice,I have more than twenty pieces of cast iron cook ware and must say all this is good to pay attention to!
EVERYTHING i needed to know about cast iron, in 3 MINUTES! you have a subscriber in me
i wish this really was once and for all. wish you had not taken for granted that everyone has a self-cleaning oven or grill.
I usually use a nice high smoking point olive oil. Coat it with a paper towel, then using another paper towel wipe out the oil. Throw it in the oven upside down (500F) for an hour. Let it cool in the oven; to where it’s warm or just slightly above that.
Then repeat, oil coating/wiping, back in the oven another hour (3-5 times for flawless non stick). I usually use the same paper towel for re-coating the pan. You can use tongs too if you don’t wanna get oily hands.
gotta disagree with the animal fats being less effective than the vegetable oil. My experience has been that the vegetable oils always got sticky and didn't seem to go on smooth, and were easily chipped and never got that nice shine, no matter how much work I put in to it. I was shocked at how much differently the animal fat went onto the surface and stayed smooth as silk and super thin. The plant based also can go rancid and require reseasoning anyway, which doesn't happen with the animal fat. After having tried both, the difference between using bacon grease and any sort of vegetable base was so incredible I actually stripped down the pans to the bare metal with sandpaper for the purpose of starting over with bacon grease on the smooth surface and have never looked back. Now I only use the vegetable based stuff if there is NO animal fat available and it needs something to protect it from rusting out, because I always end up wanting to remove that layer anyway in the end. So if there is anything on it at all to hold off the rust, I will wait until I can go buy bacon and do it properly rather than put myself through the vegetable oil stickyness. It seems to hold up better and doesn't get gunky at all even with layer upon layer of oil.
Set pan upside down in oven for seasoning
You meant to say: coat the ENTIRE pan in a good oil, not just inside.
and a very thin coating of it. The video seemed to be reporting on things the author read instead of what actually happens - if people put that thick of oil on it, they'll get bumps during seasoning. The oil coating should be there, but very thin.
And place it upside down, don't use a damn paper towel (use a lint-free cloth) when spreading oil (when scrubbing before a rinse, paper towel is fine), and keep it in the oven for an hour each time, not just 30 minutes.
Hmmn,, upside down because this allows the excess oil to run out rather then dry on the cooking surface. If you use very thin coats, virtually invisible, there is no real need to put into the oven upside down.
you layer the oil on in a thin enough coat that you won't have to tip it upside down. Also any good quality paper towel will not leave any lint / paper particles on the pan. The cheap stuff however will !
SeriousEats.com has great detailed articles on the process regardless of the condition of the pan. While flaxseed oil is the most reactive, it is relatively expensive. I found, second to that in reactivity is sunflower oil and It produced an incredibly slippery surface when I followed this process.
This totally worked for me. Thanks for making an easy to follow vid.
So cool! I am going to do this and let you know how it went. But, I am excited by this instruction. Glad I happened to choose it!
Soooow...how you doing?
I like this, but I recommend hand rubbing the oil onto the pan. paper towels ALWAYS leave tissue residue which you do NOT want baked into your finish.
Very nice if you prefer rancid oil in your diet. Cast iron pans that are new or not used often have a problem with an uneven surface. Having used cast iron for decades the pan's surface actually become smooth from the constant washings, yes with soap and water. Once washed the pans must be heated again to dry once cooled you can safely put them away and you will have no rust problem.
Additional tip: after rubbing oil on, use a dry paper towel or cloth to wipe it OFF. Keep wiping until it loses most of its shine. And dont worry, a layer of oil will still be there even if you wiped most of it off. What this does is ensure that the layer of seasoning you're adding is as even on every part of the surface as possible, without any of it pooling at any spots. Uneven layers of oil will mean that some amount of sticky half-polymerized oil gets left on, and that'll end up snowballing into even more uneven seasoning down the line. The first time I got to work on my cast iron pan, I made this mistake of applying too much oil and not wiping it off and I ended up with a horribly uneven surface with frayed spots after several months. Fortunately, cast iron is extremely forgiving and after stripping off the seasoning with lye and a wire wheel brush, I got down to the bare iron and got to start from the ground-up. Awesome learning experience!
It wasn't too much oil.... It was the wrong kind and too high a temperature.
Hey there! I just got a cast iron and am wondering if you need to heat the pan after applying the last coat of oil until it smokes. I saw a video saying to do it, but I haven't seen it in others.
Don't use lye and a wire wheel.. overkill.. just spray some oven cleaner on the affected area, like Easyoff and let stand for thirty minutes then scrub with "warm" water and a regular scottchbrite pad.. it might not even need to be reseasoned after that.. and never season with vegetable oil. It can't take the heat. Seasoning temps are much higher than cooking temps are. (lard, bacon fat or Crisco can stand the high temps of seasoning) And no need to oil up your skillet before storage.. it will just attract dust and dirt, and could possibly go rancid.. just dry it good with a towel..
toby with a why- Yes.👍
it is true what he says that everybody has a different opinion. I think it is based on our own experiences. For me soap doesn't work because it has had removed my patina several times. I got pissed off of course. But another time, I tried a diluted soap mixture with sponge and it was fine. Most of the time, I've used only a plastic Pan Scraper, sponge with barely any soap or none and hot water.... this method works for me.
this might be a silly question but when you oil it again after cooking how do you store it? What I'm saying is if its covered in oil do you hang that heavy ass pan up away from everything or wrap in a cloth towel and put it away? I just wouldn't want oil through out my cupboards. I guess I would store it in the oven when not in use.
Thank you.. quick, thorough, and to the point.
Why did I watch that other video that was 45 minutes 🤬
My cast iron game is on point!
great quick and easy instructions
thank you
Después se 15 años de uso, me puse a limpiar mi sartén de hierro. Estuve HORAS sacando la mugre con detergente, sal, aguarrás, esponja metálica y hasta un taladro eléctrico con un cepillo de alambre. Lo único que pareció funcionar fue lija al agua. Aunque no quedo 100% limpio, el resultado valió la pena. Para la próxima, usaré ácido.
Yeah, good info, but...
Using oven metal shelves in an oven during the self-cleaning cycle is not advised.
It turns out the high heat generated during the cleaning cycle is harmful to most oven shelves.
What are you supposed to use? Wooden shelves LOL
I miss my late husband the chemist and I his first degree in chemistry, used and I still use, mostly glass and stainless steel - chemistry-level pure....and even then, watch for glass cracks and chips AND all metals can toxic, so make sure it's quality. Today, for some years, I buy the GoodCook teflon at the supermarket for $20 and replace it twice a year, to skip toxic possibilities. The shiny colors and my old Cuisinart glass lid for it.YES! Safe happy and jolly on my range top.
CAST IRON PAN ? I would not use a cast iron for food, if there was any choice at all! Germs - rancid oil smells, the need to season and re-season, and the weight to deal with daily - no.
However I did enjoy cast iron love in my youth: my grandparents used cast iron and aluminum and glass and porcelain coated - norms of the day. And later I learned care for it with my parents - my Dad was like you guys, wanting his one or two cast iron pans for his kitchen and barbecue specialties. Manly. Cool! Mother and I would "boil the thing" and then re-season it for him, with unsaturated cooking oils. It was the best we could with our "rancid oil germs" fears.
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U MISSED MAIN REASON 4 USE( ok not main)
It adds the daily allowance of iron we need.My mama has one for 40 years!!! It's so beautiful she drugs on burner worked great 4 all these yrs.So drying I recommend dry on medium heat burnet
Use salt and a half of the potato 🥔 the starch from the potato and the salt in an act causing an acid affect
Nice video. Odd how a few have decided the video is all wrong and are attacking those that do use flax oil to season their pans. When deciding what to do for my pans I referred to the manufacturer's literature. Flax oil was one of the suggested oils for my pans. It would seem several of these self-anointed experts think they know more then the folks that actually make the dang pans.
When you have beautifully seasoned pans handed down to you, a bird in hand is worth 10 in the bush. Lard and Crisco!
wilhard45 the people who said flax seed oil was best was a chemist, not a maker. Also it’s been proven flax seed oil is extremely brittle and flakes off. Also it works the same as other oils, but only things like Lard, Crisco, and coconut oil work. Those are all solid and chunky and have been recommended by makers for the past century. Now there is no recommendation because of that chemist, but flax seed oil is probably one of the worst things you can use to season a pan.
Everything you said was right on but when seasoning any cast-iron place the item upside down in the oven! If you don't the oil will pool in tiny little bubbles and make the pan look like textured drywall!
If you use paper towels they will leave behind lint and fibers, especially if it’s new or not properly seasoned. It’s way easier with a stiff brush and a cast iron scraper. Just scrape and use hot water after cooking with salt and it comes off easy, rinse and lightly coat.
I mean, you may not want to SEASON the pan with bacon fat, but cooking fatty foods like bacon on a new pan definitely helps build up the seasoning layer.
do we also season the outer surface of the pan? i mean, it can get rusty too right?
Yes season cast iron 100%
If you have a Cheap skillet, I recommend polished it, you will see a big difference, skillets in the old days used to be as smooth as a princess but :D
I just bought a pre-seasoned one, new. Still has to be seasoned. I seasoned it 3 times in a row. The first time I coated with vegetable oil, stuck it in NOT preheated oven, at 350 F, so it would WARM UP SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY, for 1 hour. Then I turned off the oven, opened the oven door slightly, and let the pan cool INSIDE the oven. Now Round 2 seasoning: I oiled it again inside out w/vegetable oil, and again stuck the pan in the oven first, and again ONLY then did I turn the oven to 400F (slow heating is better than fast heating.) -For another hour. After round 2, I turned off oven, opened the door slightly, and let cool completely. The the last 3rd seasoning: coated pan again, stuck into oven, then turned heat on 450F, for 1 hour. Note, how I increased the heat every time when I again seasoned. Also, put your pan UPSIDE-DOWN onto oven rack, cause the bottom needs to be seasoned without rack stripes! I treated my iron pans this way forever, they are all perfect shape. Oh, and NO SOAP! - You'll ruin the meticulously accumulated fat layers & you'll have to start from scratch again, with seasoning! Do as I told you and you will have your seasoned pan in greatest shape for generations.
How do you clean it without soap? Just bought my first cast iron
No Soap....Soap is just fine.... welcome to CZcams.
Simple and to the point. Thanks
Got a question: I have a cast iron Dutch oven, but despite cleaning it, and using oil to wipe it down, when I use it again, particularly with liquids of any amount, turn to a grayish, almost black tint. What causes that? Any information to correct this would be appreciated. Thank you.
Please wash it out with soap and warm water.
pretty much verifys everything I have been doing with my cast iron for years :) .
One of the in-defth video on cast iron
I concur with every recommendation in this video except for the last. You should not oil a clean pan before storage. Uncooked oil begins the process of becoming rancid when exposed to the air. It slowly putrefies into that nearly impossible to remove resin-like substance you will be familiar with on the necks of your oil containers. This is precisely the consequence that will frustrate the true seasoning that you have so thoughtfully presented in this video. That warm storage drawer beneath the oven is the perfect place to store a dry well seasoned pan. If you are ever so lucky to be selected by a cast iron to be its temporary guardian, do the right thing and season her in the oven a couple of times with flax-seed oil before the first use and then periodically thereafter. Then, well, you and her get it on......mmmmmm.
Stephan Hewak just bring the oil up to its smoking point and it won't go rancid
Thank you. Yes I did miss the final heating before putaway.
that's why you want to put the skillet back on the burner and heat the oil you just rubbed on up to smoke point. that will prevent it from becoming rancid
Use a highly saturated oil and it won't go rancid. Coconut oil works nicely.
Incorrect. Several errors here, but rancidification often measured in IV, iodine value depends on the oil, temperature, time, exposure to air/oxygen. Our cast iron does not rust with the layer of polymerized oil bonded to the iron oxide pan. Our pans w coating of oil at our summer house might have a stale odor come Spring, so we wash them first in hot soapy water. Otherwise, all/ most, but a few oils, like Flax seed oil will take months to go rancid. Any oil coating not heated to the point of polymerization is very easy to remove.
The video says something like flaxseed oil should be great. However the cooking for engineers link in the description indicates flaxseed oil has a low smoke point of 225F, and in the video they say to put the oven to 450F. That seems contradictory
Mike Velasco maybe grapeseed oil?
Flax oil does have a fairly low smoke point but remember two things. The oil layer should be very, very thin. Once the oil is absorbed by the metal and it becomes polymerized it no longer smokes. I get more smoke off of cooking chicken in the oven.
You are correct regarding the low smoke point vs. the high temps, Mike... but contrary to conventional wisdom, you actually DO want an oil with a low smoke point (specifically flaxseed oil) combined with high temperatures. You do indeed want your flaxseed oil to smoke. You simply want to make sure that you apply the flaxseed oil as lightly as you can (remove as much as possible after applied) to minimize the smoke.
Flaxseed oil is a food safe DRYING (all caps just for emphasis) oil. The low smoke point + high temp improves and increases the polymerization process. It forms a harder seasoning layer as opposed to a sticky/gummy seasoning layer that is often produced when using vegetable oil. Flaxseed oil is definitively the ONLY oil you should use to season cookware because of these qualities (drying oil, low smoke point, much harder surface, etc.). Using flaxseed oil for seasoning cookware is almost like applying your own enameling to your cookware!
So contrary to what you will hear everywhere else, low smoke point is actually a GOOD thing in this application. You aren't cooking with the oil right now, so you don't have to worry about the conventional "never cook with burnt oil" mantra. You are just seasoning with it in this application. It's OK to burn your flaxseed oil while seasoning. It truly helps with the seasoning process.
The black hard layer on cast iron is a pyrolyzed carbon surface, not a polymer layer. Your entire premise is wrong.
I'll bet you are super fun at parties, oboudreaux. ;)
find a country woman over 70 and ask her. She can tell you how to take care of it in 2 minutes
Find a Jamaica woman and she'll do ya main gyal good
Plus she can make some good Jamaica Recipes in that Skillet for you also.
She’d probably tell the lard myth
Ray Britt That would b my mama
Right
Idk if I agree with all the tidbits here. Self-cleaning oven temperature seems way too hot. Lodge-the largest and oldest maker of cast iron-recommends 350-400 for an hour.
My Grandmother recommended heating to smoking hot before putting meats in. Is this best, or will it warp the pan?
I think it’s just about impossible to warp a cast iron skillet.
Hello my friend i want to buy a cast iron skillet. is it a lodge cast iron or a old Griswold ? The difficulty is that iam from Greece and the shiping are expencive.The new Lodge is more economical
Clean it while it's hot with just hot water. Works great.
Kirk Leadbetter that’s what I do. Hot pan under hot water. Dry it, set it on hot burner for 3 to 5 minutes to make sure all the water is evaporated out of the pores, turn off burner and re-oil the pan.
Hard nope! I don't want my skillet rusting!
I bought a new enamelled cast iron skillet with an uncoated rim.. does it need to be seasoned? Please help
Hey there! I just got a cast iron and am wondering if you need to heat the pan after applying the last coat of oil until it smokes. I saw a video saying to do it (by Tasty), but I haven't seen it in others. Thanks!
Polymerization makes sense only if drying oils are used. When using non-drying oils, instead of a resistant protective layer, you create something like jelly.
which oil should i use? flaxseed oil, sesame, mustard, butter????? should it be high in mono saturated fat or poly saturated fats ??
This is a great video - very informative. Can you do the same thing but for stainless steel?
You can't season stainless steel as far as the cleaning method mentioned in the video probably I guess but there’s not likely to be any difference in the results between that and a sponge .
Best video about cast iron tips
Mistakes detergent for soap, tells us cast iron has pores, wastes your oven being on for hours, doesn't tell you there are much better pans at the same price points (clad/ disk bottom) that can be seasoned simpler. - All that BS in just under 3 and a half minutes.
I just bought a Lodge 12" skillet yesterday. Has anyone tried using avocado oil? My bottle says it can be heated up to 500 degrees Farenheit. Thanks for any input!!
I use nothing but lard on my cast iron skillets; it works well for me. The rest of your advice is 💯.😊
The underneath of mine gets rusty sometimes and its not like i can oil it, what should i do??
@@Lootoodle or just put some oil on it and use it. The bottom of the pan will polymerize the oil just from being on a burner.
You have to do the whole pan when seasoning, Well at least the inside. If you do not do the sides they will stick, Also if you do not do the outside of the pan it is prone to degrading more then the inside. I always season my whole pan. Other than that yep pretty accurate.
Awesome. I love my cast iron and this is some great info. the Soap info was something i did not know, I thought it messed with the seasoning. what about foods that are highly acidic? I was told tomatoes and tomato sauces are a no go,
Terry Bradford try it out, if it messes it up, re-season it like in the video
Terry Bradford The soap myth originated back decades and decades ago when most soaps were made of lye, and lye soaps will definitely break down the polymerized oils. But nowadays dish soaps do not contain lye and do not break down the seasoning.
I made a baked spaghetti the other night in my 14 inch cast iron skillet and it did no harm.
I just made sloppy joes a couple days ago. the only downside was having to re season. I was mainly worried about the cast iron giving the food an off taste because of the acid in tomatoes and how it will mess with the seasoned coating. but more good info, Spaghetti isnt as forgiving as sloppy joes, lol.
If you are on FB send a request to join a group it's called (it's in all caps) Cast Iron Cooking & BBQIN.
Most people I know stopped using flax seed oil simply because it's not worth the money. Crisco works fine for seasoning.
Byron Arachnicus since Crisco pretty much a solid at room temperature it has more saturated fat than unsaturated fat and therefore will not polymerize as readily as a liquid oil like flax etc
Flax is terrible for seasoning. It cracks and flakes off with use. Most people that use flax eventually strip and re season with something that works like Crisco or lard.
MrSuperbee1 then try grape seed oil. Also high in unsaturated fat
No thanks. I would rather use something that I know works well than try a designer oil.
MrSuperbee1 “designer oil” 😂. You do you buddy
After covering it in oil to re-season, is it necessary to then heat the oil off on the hob?
How often does one need to season the pan completely with the oven method?
I personally hate cooking eggs in my cast iron. Everything else it is my go to though. After every cook I rub it with a wet sponge and water, throw it right back on the burner and then throw oil into it until it is smoking.
the different opinions on how to season, how to wash, how to continue to use it is why I haven't bought one in 50 years of my life...today I bought one and watched this video and Martha Stewart and read the info that came with my pan...all different opinions lol.
paul webber- I went with Martha's vid, better looking too
Saturated fats work way better on cast iron than oils that stay liquefied at room temperature..!
The text on the screen says to repeat the seasoning three times, but the narration says to do it twice and then three more times for a total of five times. Which one is it?
Mark Rogers- Three times total.
im really scared to get my first cast iron pan, thinkin ill ruin it. whats the best way to clean it after some big messy cooking session? simply salt and water?
the incredible PsychoheaD it is not possible to ever ruin a cast iron pan. Do not worry at all.
Been using cast iron forever love them once you get it seasoned so simple hot water hot pan oil enjoy and if you really want to know check with cowboy agai Kenn
Don't you have to do a good job of wiping off each layer of oil before putting it in the oven during the seasoning process?
I want the dingbat at 0:08.
Same.
They Talk about seasoning as if it’s only about the coating of the pan. A proper seasoned skillet has been heated up and cool down over many many cycles. By seasoning the metal you are making it less brittle and less prone to cracking or breaking. Animal fat might be less reactive but it produces a harder coating. (Beef fat for example). Some people go as far as smoothing the end there cooking surface is with sandpaper or some other abrasive material before season coating.
Does this pan really make food so much more amazing to be worth it to go to all this trouble/work for the pans upkeep??? I want to know before i buy one. How much more special will my eggs, etc taste than they already do?
I bought a lodge brand (a very nice brand for cast iron) at Walmart for around 25usd. I bet you wont see much of a difference in eggs but if you are seering or frying anything it will be a lot better. Also you can put them in the oven so you can make hashes and bread and those types of things. I love my cast iron
So when done cooking. You DO wash with soap and water?
but the thing is every time you cook, you have to wash your pans in between dishes, so it washed off the oil. Plus the oil that bonded to the pan will burnt which produce a lot more harmful substances than nonstick
I never use soap for washing them only very hot water wipe dry put in heated oven after recoating with vegetable shortening
Don't even use paper towels on cast iron. The paper fibers become embedded in the seasoning, making it not smooth.
Donya Lane my grandmother always used paper towels on her cast iron pans, and never had a problem. Maybe dont use cheap paper towels.
You can use them once you have a good layer of fat and the pan is smooth.
Thats why I rub with a potato instead
I'll go ahead and say on my brand new (rough as hell) cast iron, my quality paper towels did shred. So did my dish rag... haha. Just had to apply reeeeeealllllly light pressure while oiling. Second round. Much better. Third round, paper towels move across fairly smooth. At this point I cooked up some Jimmy Dean sausage patties, rinsed with hot water and paper towels, dried, and popped it right back in the oven for round 4 with more oil. I can see paper towels can work just fine.
I’ve never had that problem and I use paper towels all the time on my cast iron
nice say is titanium pan any good?
Titanium is very light, but it's not any better for cooking than traditional stuff. Save your money.
I'm pretty sure the seasoning is a pyrolyzed carbon surface and not a polymerized surface. Fats undergo pyrolysis at a lower temperature in the presence of an iron catalyst then they otherwise would. Temperatures right around the seasoning temperatures. And despite what you read on an unscientific blog post, flax seed oil doesn't make for a great seasoning.
How odd because it is touted by cast iron manufacturers for seasoning their pans. Who knew they had no idea what they are doing.
wilhard45 not that odd that some person in marketing at a company is as susceptible to psudoscience as any other random person.
What is it about flax seed oil that is not great for seasoning, versus any other oil? I just used vegetable oil, which apparently is simply soybean oil. Not sure my seasoning is that great, and WAS about to try flax seed oil, since it's the hipster thing to do ... but please explain about why it isn't any good?
Primarily cost. Flax seed oil is pricy per oz. Sure you'll only use a fraction of an ounce but what are you going to do with the rest of the bottle? It goes rancid in a couple of months, even refrigerated. It's just wasteful. If you have some on hand though, go for it. I haven't used it myself but from what I've read it doesn't tend to bond very well (to the cast iron, adjacent layers of flax seasoning, or subsequent layers of "natural" seasoning I can't say) leading to eventual flaking.
I just can't stand pseudoscience. The blog post that started all this flax seed nonsense is chock full of it and it keeps getting perpetuated.
I don't know how the saturation of the fat changes the pyrolysis chemistry but my suspicion is that saturated fats make for a more durable, longer lasting seasoning. The reason I suspect this is that if you ask many people which piece of cast iron has the best layer of seasoning they will say it's the one they fry their bacon in.
+oboudreaux
Wait wait wait...
You: "Flax see oil doesn't make for a great seasoning..."
Other: "What makes it not great for seasoning?"
You: "From what I've read it doesn't tend to bond very well..."
You: "I just can't stand pseudoscience. The blog post that started all this..."
WHAT??? So you can't stand pseudoscience, and you can't stand posts on the internet that talk about this stuff, yet you get your own information from yet another blog post??? Or for all we know, out of your own ass.
Well, I found where your getting your info from LOL, reddit.
www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/5owtnm/why_i_dont_recommend_flax_seed_oil/?st=j6cdcna0&sh=8e947a49
But this post has ZERO science to it. It's simply an opinion. And there are numerous people in the comments saying that their flax seed oil coating is not flaking at all, probably because they used the right kind.
Reasons 1 and 4 on the reddit article are the SAME FUCKING REASON.
Reason 2 is simply because he's lazy and doesn't think you need to do that.
Reason 3 is his own opinion, that flax seed oil is too expensive to be worth it.
Compare to the post that he references:
sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
This post has TONS of good logical reasons as to why it works, and exactly what to do.
And look around the rest of the internet, there are TONS of people using this method and saying how good it really is. There are TONS of large organizations with people that have PhD's in chemistry looking at this method, and ALL of them say it's good stuff.
Maybe you should get less of your information from and unknown person on Reddit.
blemerization. sounds good to me. Cant wait for my new pan to get here.
Tip, when seasoning always put the pan in the oven upside down to avoid pooling.....
Damn I love a "stick free" pan, id hate a tree growing in it, this is genius 1:57
How about using coconut oil to season my pan?
It's okay if refined instead of virgin oil, but still not the best choice.
@@alexbowman7330 Thanks. What is the best choice for you?
@@arvi8843 Crisco is a tried and true blend for seasoning. If you'd rather season with higher quality oils, then grapeseed or avocado are my choices. Flaxseed isn't all it's cracked up to be in my opinion.
@@alexbowman7330 Nice! Thanks a lot for sharing. :)
I lost it at 1:54
Whys that?
A-15
"You're going to repeat this (attempting to grab the handle) three more times"
😆😆😆
I grabbed a cast iron skillet without proper mitts, once.
Many soaps contain detergents that will hinder the non stick quality of well seasoned cast iron. Therefore, some soaps may be OK for cast iron, but why bother figuring that out when the seasoning process is done properly? Just let your skillet cool after user, wipe excess grease and oils out, then run under hot water and use a nice (dedicated) nylon brush for the final clean, then dry it. I have an inexpensive brush that I use only for cleaning my cast iron. I wash my brush in the dishwasher to keep it clean.
I have one but it’s the worst, it always get rustic and sticks (yes I do dry and season it)
I use Congress juice to get that nice sheen.
But does it provide you with the mineral iron?
Is putting the pan in the oven to season it compulsory? Can I just leave it on the hot stove???? I live where electric is extremely expensive, but gas is cheaper. I heard a fellow say you must season your pan EVERY TIME YOU COOK. Is this true?! Our electric bill would be out the roof if this is neccessary! (And my husband would kill me) ::))
What if your oven doesn't have a self-cleaning setting?
I'm starting to wonder if flaxseed oil contains a ultra high amount of caffeine, that can be absorbed through the skin. After watching this video.
In my experience, doing multiple oven seasonings seems quite pointless.
I did like 6 seasonings with my newest pan, and it was sticky like stainless after. Took a good 4 weeks to get it fairly non-stick. Now +6 months I can do american style omelettes without sticking.
Just use your pan, and it should turn out great with time.