Cast iron and intriuge

I went for a visit to my grandmother's house last weekend. She's moving to Florida after thanksgiving, so she sent me home with some stuff. Grandma's house toys for the kids, her much coveted record collection (because I call, damnit!), and a box of assorted kitchen stuff.

In said box was a skillet. Of the cast iron sort. *Seasoned* with care and love through the years. It had seen the birth of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. It had been the cause of many, many an inpromptu Sunday dinner.

I got it home and promptly washed it.

Oh, the scandal. The horror! You'd have thought I killed somebody!

How the F was I supposed to know?

 

omg you washed a skillet.. no my dear you should bake a skillet in the oven, Cook some bacon up in it and it should be good as new.. even the outside of it should feel greasy.
You should also sleep with it under your pillow, They are much more effective than a handguns..

 

It's one of my fondest wishes to sleep with a greasy skillet under my pillow, dear. ^_^

 

Yeah, just grease it up.

 

blech. said cast iron cookwear makes me want to vomit. if you don't wash it, it's not coming in my house.

besides, how many generations of animal flesh have sizzled their way into the metal. UGH.

 

I have a seasoned cast iron set, and I wash mine. I mean, you don't have to scrub it down hard, but you clean it.

 

blech. something about it just makes my skin crawl.

 

Actually, using cast iron is healthier than the regular teflon non-stick pans. Health Canada is in the process of banning teflon from cooking pans because of the known toxins and cancer-causing chemicals contained in them. Plus, they are entirely gross when they start to flake off... EW.

Chem free, please and thanks.

 

Check it:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...20/non_stick_chemicals_canada_060620/20060620

 

the government wants to tell me what I can cook with now??

ya, fuck that. and fuck them.

 

yeah, i generally try to stay away from teflon. i use it sometimes, but certainly not for everything.

 

We use cast iron and pyrex for cooking. And stainless steel. No aluminum or teflon...

Don't feel bad for washing the pan Amanda, I would have washed it with the intention of re-seasoning it anyway. I just get grossed out from not quite knowing where something has been.
You can find seasoning instructions all over the internet.

 

just a clarification from someone who has nothing but cast iron cookware,
you do and can wash cast iron,its not recommended that you use soap on them on a regular basis when doing so though..

that being said,if its already well seasoned using dish soap isnt going to hurt it at all as long as you cook with it on a regular basis.just dont use any kind of metal scrub pad on them EVER though.

if you see it showing signs of drying out then it wouldnt hurt to reseason it,but like i said its all we use around here and we dont have any problems with them..

the real key to keeping cast iron well seasoned is to use it regularly.they dont take sitting unused well..

 

This is what I saw on the cooking channel and what I have been doing.

Heat the used skillet a little, sprinkle in some sea or kosher salt, use paper towels or a cloth with a utensil or your hand, and rub the salt around.

It may be extreme, but I enjoy it.

 

you can also coat it in a mixture of cooking oils, and bake it.

that's how I season my woks and cast iron. it works well for me, it's fast, and I get to play with fire.

if you get the chance this coming summer, oil them up, and throw them into the barbecue too.

 

we have a really glossy skillet. it's positively crusty on the outside, but the inside is like polished glass.

dave put my dutch oven in the dishwasher, though. i have to scrub off all the rust and start over with it. oh well.

 

My grandmother left her cast iron skillets for my older cousin. She never picked them up, and I found where my grandfather put them in a box out on his back porch. After he died I took them. My cousin was bitching about the pans, my aunt knew I took them and told her that they must have gotten thrown out.

I've yet to clean them up though. They have a couple of rust spots, but I'm sure I can fix that.

 

ketchup for the rust,..

 

dont use abrasive tools, or metal utensils while cooking and cleaning them.
IF you scratch the Teflon that's when it becomes a problem..

 

my dutch oven and lid are both completely rust encrusted. how much ketchup? lol. i think i'm gonna have to scrub them down with some steel wool and completely reseason them. i had to season them when i got them new, i'll just start over.


a stiff brush is good enough for a cleaning.