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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 8-27-2003
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Caring for cast iron
I like cooking with cast iron and I keep a couple in the cabin. I have always given them a light coating of oil, both sides, when I leave, thinking
this will keep them from rusting in the salty air. Last trip my buddy, who's a good cook, thought this unnecessary as they were well seasoned
already. What do you guys do who have cast iron cookware near the beach?
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Cypress
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Clean without soap and it'll be fine.
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BajaNuts
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well seasoned cast iron is a beautiful thing, and if a simple wipe down keeps them in great shape in the salt air, I'd keep doing it. Wouldn't want
to risk looking the seasoning.
And as Cypress said, no soap!
hint for new cast iron pans--- instructions say to wipe them down with oil, or fill half full with oil and bake in a low oven for 6 hours (or
something like that). If you have a connection with a restaurant that has a deep fryer, ask if you can drop the pan in their deep fryer for a couple
hours when their slow...presto! seasoned cast iron!
[Edited on 9-18-2009 by BajaNuts]
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Woooosh
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I clean mine with water only while it is still hot (chinese wok style with a straw brush) and dry it inside and out. Then I put a thin film of
cooking oil on it with a paper towel. The whole pan- not just the inside. Mine is over 60 years old and I swear I can still smell my moms cooking
when I use it.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNuts
If you have a connection with a restaurant that has a deep fryer, ask if you can drop the pan in their deep fryer for a couple hours when their
slow...presto! seasoned cast iron!
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True. I did that years back but, it doesn't take two hours. Two minutes is more than long enough. All you're doing is coating the
surface...filling in the pores so to speak.
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Barry A.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
I clean mine with water only while it is still hot (chinese wok style with a straw brush) and dry it inside and out. Then I put a thin film of
cooking oil on it with a paper towel. The whole pan- not just the inside. Mine is over 60 years old and I swear I can still smell my moms cooking
when I use it. |
I totally agree!!! Being a Garage Sale nut, I have a pretty complete collection of WAGNER and GRISWOLD cast-iron skillets and roaster pans, and they
absolutely cannot be beaten for excellent cooking. Had some for well over 50 years, and they are all in excellent condition. NEVER use soap on them,
tho-----only hot water, and paper towel wipe up to dry them.
Barry
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24baja
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We have several in BOLA and use sand to scour the rinse with clean water, heat on stove to dry, add touch of oil and salt to rub into the iron while
warm. Works great. (mine are from my mom and grandma, so 50 + years old)
[Edited on 9-18-2009 by 24baja]
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durrelllrobert
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Woooosh
I clean mine with water only while it is still hot (chinese wok style with a straw brush) and dry it inside and out. |
Had some for well over 50 years, and they are all in excellent condition. NEVER use soap on them, tho-----only hot water, and paper towel wipe up to
dry them.
Barry |
YEAH! I treat them just like my women 
Bob Durrell
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by durrelllrobert
YEAH! I treat them just like my women |
I don't know why that's funny but, it is.
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by durrelllrobert
YEAH! I treat them just like my women |
I don't know why that's funny but, it is. |
I think it's funny becasue I can picture my mom clobbering him over the head with her cast iron frying pan for saying it!
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Cypress
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Women and cast iron? I've been lucky.
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24baja
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Step a little closer to my skillet boys, let's have a chat about how to treat a woman!
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desertcpl
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here is a question.
last year i had a terrible water leak in the house,, I have a really nice set of cast iron cook wear,,
any way I didnt find the leak until I returned from a trip,
they are now very rusted all of them.. what do you suggest I do to restore them
thanks
ken/jane
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Gypsy Jan
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Hi desertcpl
Nobody else is stepping up to the pan at the moment.
Scrub your cast iron pans with salt and super fine steel wool. Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat until the rust is gone.
Dry thoroughly and season with oil according to whatever method you favour. Low heat on stove or in oven works for me
[Edited on 9-23-2009 by Gypsy Jan]
[Edited on 9-23-2009 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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Cypress
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Rub 'em down with oil, place in an oven at high temp. or in a campfire till they're smoking hot. Let 'em cool down slowly, clean without soap,
sandpaper will work, and repeat the heat treatment if needed.
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Woooosh
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I had the same problem with a cast iron fritter pan. It rusted from the salt air- even in the back of the cabinet. I couldn't get all the rust off
so I tossed it. I didn't trust that I got it all off and cast iron is cheap enough. My cast iron fry pan gets daily use and most everything else is
stainless, non-stick or silicone. Salt air is really tough on cast iron.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Gypsy Jan
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Ohhh Noes, Woosh
I wish that I had known you at that time.
Throwing away cast iron pans because of a little rust?
My heart (the part that connects to my stomach) says that I could have given CPR to your pans.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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Mood: no worry, no hurry....it's all good!
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desertcpl,
I have not dealt with cast iron in a salt environment, so I would defer to those who have.
It seems the basic premise for cast iron....once it has been compromised......is to get it down to the base metal and then re-season it.
steel wool, salt....whatever works..........
the common thread is OIL/BAKE it once it is clean to put that protective oil barrier on the metal.
ps- steel wool is different than S.O.S. pads (which have soap)...........
pps- I have a memory of visiting a cousin some 35 years ago, they lived kinda "out there" and I remember my mom fussing because she saw a cast iron
pan being used as a weight to hold down a blue tarp over something. The gist of it was...(" ack..what are they doing using a cast iron pan as a tarp
holder!?!?") Heck, for all I know, she heisted it on the way out just to save the pan!
It's amazing that something so basic as cast iron pans can have such a treasured place in the home and kitchen! And be such a prized commodity for
those who know!
[Edited on 9-24-2009 by BajaNuts]
[Edited on 9-24-2009 by BajaNuts]
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNuts
the common thread is OIL/BAKE it once it is clean to put that protective oil barrier on the metal.
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What a bunch of nonsense. It's like you guys are trying to protect Americana, history.
What you're jumping through your butts to do is replicate TEFLON.
Just buy what your needs require and quit trying to be efficient pioneers with your grandmothers skillets. It'll be a lot less weight in the ol'
covered wagon.
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
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Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
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Mood: no worry, no hurry....it's all good!
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this sounds like a good case for "MythBusters".
Can Teflon fry a chicken or bake a cobbler as good as granny's cast iron?
(QUICK!............someone call DiscoveryChannel!!!)
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