Seasoning Cast Iron

Created 17 Jan 2013 16:09, Updated 02 Sep 2014 20:05

Chemistry of Seasoning Cast Iron

I don't really have too many other places to put this that make sense, so I have deemed this as a good place that makes sense.

A Science-Based Technique for Seasoning Cast Iron

The Cast Iron Collector

I now have one vintage cast iron skillet, which I purchased on eBay, cleaned, and re-seasoned. I cleaned it according to the information at Cast Iron Collector, and then seasoned it the first time according to directions on the Science-Based Technique blog post. Then I stripped the inside of the pan again and seasoned it a second time using the technique detailed by The Cast Iron Collector. (The first time I seasoned it, I sensibly planned ahead so my oven was super hot when it was cold outside. The second time, not so much.)

I found the seasoning seemed to work better using the second method with Crisco shortening. It's possible I didn't get the skillet fully stripped the first time around, or that I wasn't careful enough about wiping the excess oil off during the seasoning process. I just know that it never really seemed well seasoned the first time and foods I cooked in the skillet came away black, so I re-did the process. Now it appears to be pretty good. I finally made some corn bread in it, and that worked great. After the cornbread was baked, even though some of it stuck in the pan, I was able to clean it out completely using just a dry paper towel. Then I smeared a thin coating of oil on it again and set it aside. I'll keep using it and see what happens.

I have told my mother that I'll be happy to provide a home for her cast iron someday. I look forward to having at that, since it's been well used and undoubtedly could stand to be stripped and re-seasoned. Then I can practice some more.

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