Simple rules for cast iron care
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- Fund carbon removal, offsets, climate policy & conservation-all in one subscription! Get started at www.wren.co/st....
Taking good care of your cast iron (or carbon steel!) cookware starts with understanding the chemistry it relies on.
𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 (𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲) 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀:
-www.castironcol...
-cookingissues....
-www.scienceofc...
-chem.libretext...
𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝘄-𝘁𝗼𝘀:
-www.cooksillus...
-www.cooksillus...
-www.seriouseat...
-www.seriouseat...
- • How to Season Cast Iro...
𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰:
-Will Dichtel, Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University
-Michael Kessler, Dean & Professor at the College of Engineering at North Dakota State University
MinuteFood is created by Kate Yoshida, Arcadi Garcia & Bill Mead, and produced by Neptune Studios LLC.
Merch | store.dftba.co...
TikTok | / minutefood_
Twitter | / minutefood
Instagram | / minutefood_
Facebook | / minutefood
As a chef I stand by this video completely. If you care for your cast iron pans like this, you'll enjoy them for the rest of your life.
And your children and their children can use the same pan. If cared for properly they will last an extremely long time, and they can take a fair amount of abuse too.
@@weepingangel2564 I came here to write exactly that. About future generations, too, using the pan. 🙂
I have my grandmother's cast iron (for the past 20 years). They're in great shape and they will go on to my teenager as they move on in life. Cast iron is life.
Tri-ply will last a lifetime as well and be better in every way when it comes to cooking.
My grandma did, my dad did, and now I do too!
I stopped worrying so much about using soap occasionally on my pan and using normal oil opposed to flax seed oil. Glad to see science backing up why it has been working so much better for me now.
Canola oil is the one to use, that's what Lodge includes in their care kit. Other oils will probably work with varying degrees of success, but canola oil is both cheap and effective at seasoning cast iron.
I polished my cast iron smooth on the inside. Organic flax seed oil works fine for me. Supposedly the best stuff is good grade linseed oil but that’s not easy to get in the US.
Flaxseed becomes too brittle at higher temps & flakes off, can’t avoid it if you do steaks & other high heat foods. From my research, refined avocado oil has the highest smoke point & strength.
@@YaH_Gives_Wisdom I can guess the reason why your flaxseed coating peeled off the surface. Usually, it happens if you haven't thoroughly cleaned your pan from the previous build-up. For seasoning a pan with flaxseed, I heat it over an open flame. Chemical substances don't clean the pores of the cast iron, and then the layer peels off from the pan. This is from personal experience.
@@andriidorohov2044 I would some what agree except this doesn’t happen with other oils like avocado. Also, I tried flaxseed with a completely brand new pan & same result, so I have to conclude it is the flaxseed. Avocado has never flaked for me.
The biggest mistake people make with cast iron pans is throwing them away because they see rust. This is the most definite no-no. Most damage is fixable. Either fix them yourself or give the pans away to people who will fix them.
Agreed. Any mistakes can be fixed, so people shouldn’t really worry about ruining a cast iron pan.
Treat it like what it is: a hunk of metal. If you treat it nice, it will do great. If you treat it bad, don’t worry, you can always buff it out and start again.
A lot of people throw them away during the initial patina/seasoning as well because it gives off a bronze hue. So many new or novice cast iron owners I interacted with think it's rust when in reality it's the start of a great seasoning
Shush... This is how I've scored incredible bargains on high-quality vintage pans. So many morons send their rusty pans to thrift stores. You'd be amazed. I've bought 90-year-old Wagners and Griswolds for as little as $5. Last week I scored a vintage 70-year-old Lodge 9-inch skillets for $10. This was back in the day when Lodge made pans with absolutely smooth cooking surfaces. 🤫
@@JacksonWalter735 that’s good to know, I’ve got a couple of carbon steel pans (which I bought because I wanted to be able to scrape and serve with a spatula) and I’d noticed a fine bronze coloured speckling on the surface. It claimed to be pre seasoned and said to just make sure to spread the fat around while using it to keep it good, but maybe I’ll spend a while seeing if I can build it up further.
@@kaitlyn__L yes that is the way. I literally just finished making eggs in a Debuyer crepe pan I got off of Facebook for a few bucks because they thought it was rusting. I uploaded that short to my channel and you can see how it's still bronze with a few black spots. It will darken over time, but it's still nonstick while being bronze 🤷
I have 3 go to cast iron cooking pans, one being a square skillet. They all used to belong to my great grandmother. Needless to say the seasoning on them is incredible, I use soap and scour them all the time. I can cook bacon, scrape the bottom of the four inch putty knife, and fry eggs completely non stick in all of them. Nothing like a couple of fresh eggs fried in bacon grease in an over 100 year old cast iron skillet.
Yup. I have a 1930's lodge I have had to strip and I cannot, cannot, cannot get the last layer off. I've been spraying and sanding and washing and baking for weeks now and I just now got 95 percent of it off.
People fret far too much over cast iron...the real secret is...the more you use them, the better they get. you can watch all the videos you want about care and seasoning...and your egg will still get destroyed in a fresh skillet. Cook a few steaks on that bad boy...and notice the difference. I flip eggs on mine like it was a teflon pan...
Danos noticias de tus arterias 😂
Cook a Cajun roux in one …. Instant seasoning
Soap had lye. Most dishwashing liquids are detergents not soaps. Detergents and soaps are different from each other. But, I think the main reason for the no soap rule is that someone has experienced a poorly rinsed pan. "Don't soak cast iron" is a good idea. It is better to be safe than sorry. But, where is the dividing line time wise between a rinse and a soak?
Inherited a cast iron pan and dutch oven a few years ago. The previous owner had not taken care of them (they were stored in a shed with camping gear,) so they were just completely rusted.
A couple hours of scouring with steel wool to remove the rust, thorough washing, then a couple hours of careful seasoning, and they've been perfect ever since.
You can get scouring bits for hand drills to make that task easier
Good of you to recognize the quality under the rust and bring those gems back to life!
If you come across more rusty pants just throw them in a fire to burn off any of the built up carbon scale and rust. Keep them really hot but not glowing orange. Let it air cool and scrub with a steel scrubby with soap and water. Finally, season with bacon grease and wipe off as much as you can and you're good to go. I've restored many cast iron pieces this way over the last few decades. People just make it more complicated then it needs to be.
@@williamganley4739 Burn it off! Huh. I saw someone put a badly scaled pan in an electric oven and run it through the self-clean cycle which is evidently hotter than just baking at top temperature. That seemed to do the trick too.
When I was younger, I had a friend who worked on tugboats. The cook on the boat used plain salt to season the pans. When the pan is clean just rub table salt in the pan and just keep rubbing until you see a bit of a shine. Once that's done you can use it. When you're done with it just rinse it out and let air dry. I've been doing it this way for years and it works wonderfully. The only time you'd have to resalt is if you've washed with a degreaser like dawn. Otherwise it good to go!!
That’s really good to know, I watched an Adam Ragusea video on pans and he talked about seasoning cast iron pans, but didn’t go to deep on what the oil was doing when it became a seasoning, I liked how you explained how it almost turns into a plastic like material and that’s what gives it those properties.
Adam Ragusea is an ignorant hack
That video said that flaxseed was the best oil so Idk who is right
Do some detailed research :)
Flax seed is great because of a high smoke point, but it can flake easier than other oils.
Emphasis on can.
With normal usage, you shouldn't have any flaking and if you do, as said in this video, normal cooking repairs it no problem.
@@MarcTelang Do you really need "the best", though? You're getting different answers at different places because people have been using their pans differently throughout the centuries, and there's a hundred different ways to do it, and all are fine. You don't need "the best" way. People have used cast iron cookware in parts of the world where they even didn't know what flax is.
@@zorkan111 This is what put me off cast iron before, I though it was too much maintenance, like "omg don't wash it, don't touch it, don't use it"
it wasn't until I realized dude... people have been using cast iron before they had the internet, before we had cars, before plastics, before they even knew what germs were... I think you're going to manage this "technology".
Step 1: cook with it
Step 2: wash it
Step 3: if rusty.... proceed to step 2
If grandma from the age before they had railways can maintain a cast iron skillet, I think a 30 year old man in 2024 can do it too, without "failing" to the point where the food is inedible. I'm pretty sure grandma didn't use "top of the line best of the modern world oil" to get that perfect seasoning, I'm pretty sure most people used the pan to cook food, and if it was sticky at least you got so food.
Fun fact, this is the same way many blacksmiths, myself included, make our work weather resistant. Plant hangers, bird feeder hooks, door hinges and hardware, any metal work that's going to be outside can use the same technique of seasoning to prevent them from rusting from the elements. I'll often get a finished piece to a "black heat" by heating the metal to a cherry red color, and then allowing it to cool slightly until it's no longer glowing, but obviously still incredibly hot. Then I'll take a thick rag that's been dabbed in canola oil and gently rub the piece. This creates the same polymer layer as it would on a cast iron pan, and can let a piece of metal work last for years and years outside without much worry of damage.
It's still a good idea to occasionally clean and oil items that have been out in the rain, but my first scroll work plant hanger, which I made for my mother in law, has been up for about a decade without more than a couple small rust spots and next to no maintenance.
Totally the same thing you do to take care of an offset smoker. Rub the outside of the whole thing with a little (emphasis on a little! Don't want it to get gummy) oil every time you use it and it will stay rust free from quite some time.
Do you have any videos?
@@lethalslaughterband5498 I don't but my go to channels for all bbq awesomeness are HowToBBQRight, Chud's BBQ, Cooking With Ry, Big Lew BBQ, Baby Back Maniac, and a few more... I'm sure the algorithm will show you if you search those cats
Thanks
I use a mixture of linseed oil and beeswax. Also a farrier and blacksmith.
finally an answer that's backed up with a proper scientific explanation, I actually understand the process now instead of all these "this is how you do it because the person who told me was really confident about it"
It really is amazing how much confidence can sway the average person.
... ...
*Says so confidently*
😅 (Couldn't resist)
@@TragoudistrosMPH Take our former, now multiply-indicted former Giant Pile of Orange Shit; he bullshits people with ease. and they NEVER know.
I'm a guy and I have never been into kitchen stuff before, but since I bought my first cast iron pan last week, my sister is getting annoyed about how obsessed I have gotten in a short time over a cast iron pan 😂😂.
I truly want to master the art of seasoning the cast iron pan and its maintenance that keeps it brand new for generations to come. ✌🏼
That's a normal reaction to someone's fixation on something as insipid as an iron skillet.
Welcome to the Cast Iron Family and even tho u posted this 11months ago! I’m hoping that uve gotten even MORE Obsessed over Cast Iron Pans AND hope you’ve brought more and added to Your Family 🥰 I started cooking & Loving cast iron about 18yrs when attending culinary Arts. Since then I’ve brought Dutch ovens, grill pans, fry pans, etc. I still own a couple stainless steel pieces but most of my pot wear is CAST IRON🍳 🙌🏽
@Telephonebill51 totally agreed ! 😅 Like I'm fascinated by how something so raw, such as a cast iron skillet, beats modern technology like tri-ply, by miles. The only thing we gotta make sure of is that it's seasoned properly and heated to a controlled temperature 🤟🏻
@anitagrice8956 at this moment, my biggest challenge is to get the right temperature on an electric stove because that's all I have where I live. Just a slight more turn to the heat regulator, and I end up burning the food, lol! And obviously then it becomes tricky to move the skillet because it's heavy and hot as a furnace. I saw a cast iron pot set at Costco, and now that would be my next investment for cooking curries instead of the regular stainless steel.
I have a cast iron skillet that has to be at least 100 years old. It was passed down from my grandmother to my mother and then to me. Since I received this skillet as a young newlywed, and I am almost 80 now it could very well be even older. I do follow the rules in this video and still love my frying pan. It’s the best for frying meat!
I’m a 32 year old adult and I cannot believe how helpful and informative this video was to me
You'll get older and learn more then!
what does your age have to do with anything here?
@@TahitianTreatt leave it to the internet for interactions like this! Haha. I involved age because the longer you live, the more exposure to experiences you have. I was surprised that I didn’t know all the awesome things in the video
As someone who has made a chemistry project about the aging of food oils with varying degrees of saturation to compare how quickly they age, I can attest that we could not get the seasoning out of the beakers we used any more, even when scrubbing with the rough side of a sponge in hot, soapy water. Things like acetone or alcohol had no visible effect on it, either, nor did scraping it with a metal spatula. In the end, we had to throw the beakers away.
Just for reference: We chose coconut oil as a mostly saturated oil, olive oil as a mostly singular unsaturated oil, sunflower oil as a mostly double unsaturated oil and linseed oil as a mostly triple unsaturated oil. Only the coconut oil did not create a polymer layer during our tests because it barely has any unsaturated fatty acids.
How did the olive oil do against the two seed oils?
One thing you could have tried is to fill the beakers with an NaOH solution. This dissolves seasoning quite well.
У нас в лаборатории "кипячение" грязной стеклянной посуды в неконцентрированной азотной кислоте решало любые проблемы с загрязнениями органического характера.
I clean and re-season cast iron for myself and two estate sale companies. It isn't uncommon to get a pan from the mid to late 1800s that can be made as good as new. They are not disposable pans if they've been cared for, that means no wire brushes, heat damage, or cracks. Medium rust can be dealt with, I've seen people give up on perfectly good pans and can't believe it when I finish grandma's old skillet. I enjoy seeing their face when they first see it. Priceless
do a few videos
@@Lina-ws3by You know I've thought about that. I'm retired and frankly don't want a job or the experience of working with youtube. I find most of my pieces at estate sales then restore them but there's only so much to see. It's the same with every piece so I wouldn't expect many subscribers. There's only so many of us that are this mentally disturbed. In our defense we don't hurt anyone or cause problems.
What you would see at Cast Iron Restoration is an electrolysis tank used in every cleaning. (I don't touch aluminum, cast iron cleaning is easy but that stuff). No vinegar or acid rust removers. No power tools or heat used for cleaning. Repairing a warped bottom skillet. Making spatulas from new Lodge skillets. And the main thing you'd notice is a butt ugly old guy doing an awful filming and editing job. You'd quit half way thru and think "this ole fart has cast iron for brains". The bad part is I'd have to agree. Watch a few ring finder videos, that's about how they look. I like to get their piece after they've tried and given up. Then they can't believe it came clean and it's free. I usually won't charge an older person or friends. I compiled all the restoration prices I could find on the internet. The average price to restore a #8 skillet is $30. Some of these people may not have an extra $30? The Lord has blessed me throughout my life and I don't have to charge them. We all win! If you've made it till now bless your heart. You must be as bored as I am...
Every once in a while, I take my cast iron pans to the shooting range. Then, I shoot them with my 9mm pistols. It makes a wonderful KLANG and it let's my pans know whos boss.
😂😂😂
This is way better than the pretending to be a carrot in the garden post
I have been bitten by the cast iron bug for years now. It's been a roller coaster ride. I have a nice collection, still working on creating the PAN CAVE in my MANCAVE, lol. Over time I have 3-4 favorite pans that I use on a regular basis. The seasoning is so nice the clean up is a piece of cake (excuse the pun). My 2 cents on seasoning is have patience ! I agree with the you tube channel owner about everything she said. Remember No one will fight over Teflon cook ware, but they will fight over well maintained castiron. I will get off my soapbox now. I have to get back to seasoning a late 1800s antique roaster given to me. Cheers TS
I just discovered this channel and I love it so much. You combine two things I care deeply about. And thank you for debunking soap (and flax)! I can’t tell you how many people still believe that myth!
Flaxseed oil is known for its ability to form more durable polymers compared to sunflower oil. This is due to its high content of alpha-linolenic acid, which tends to create more stable and stronger polymer bonds during the oxidation process. It's a chemical aspect. Now, as for why seasoning pans with flaxseed oil might be considered a myth, it's because some argue that the process isn't as effective as believed. I'm still figuring out what to use for my pans myself.
The great thing about cast iron is once you get used to it, it's not that difficult to take care of. I wash it, I scrub it, I use soap and sometimes I let it soak. It's fine. If I see that the seasoning is thinning, I give it a few coats and it's good as new.
I tell people "it thrives on neglect". I have adhd and can't follow a strict complex routine with something like cookware. I only use cast iron to cook, basically do whatever with them, and they just stays smooth, glossy, black and slick decade after decade.
I literally do nothing to care for my pan outside of washing it and drying it. After 5 years of use the seasoning thats built up takes care of the pan for me at this point
I have a completely stick proof cast iron skillet. It has been in my husband's family over a hundred years with a great coating. Been washing with dish soap and drying in the oven for years. The seasoning hasn't been affected at all. Have bought more pans at garage and farm sales that often have great old pans too.
I dry mine on the stove. Just set to medium heat and takes less then a minute. I season on the stove too.
Thank you for taking the time to explain why soap isn't a big deal when washing cast iron. I've done it with my twenty year old skillet and catch heck from anti-soap zealots.
Your explanation and illustrations are terrific. The procedure shown in other videos on simply seasoning a pan was so confusing. Now I understand what to do even more than the instructions of how to do it because I now know WHY. Thank you!
I am at least the 3rd owner of a 16" cast iron pan. It was my grandmother's then my father's. I'm not positive it wasn't handed down to my grandmother. She passed in 1995, & I didn't get it from my father until 2013, when he moved in with my wife and I. It is actually getting a little thin in the middle. But I love that pan.
I bought my first cast iron pans from Lodge in 2016, suffered through the first week of not knowing how to season it, and then never looked back. Great stuff!
I got my cast iron pan from lodge too because it was cheap, then I used a palm sander to quickly sand through the coarse pre season with rough grit paper and then reseasoned. The results were the ability to fry an egg non stick style after just a few layers of seasoning.
A cast iron frying pan is hands down one of the best things I’ve brought. I initially brought it to cook on the fire out side and it’s made it’s way inside and gets used daily. Sometimes multiple times a day.
My old boss once found a rusted out cast iron dutch oven at the dump. He took it home and re-seasoned it. Good as new!
That’s disgusting. It’s seasoned with dead raccoon intestinal juices, decomposed garbage and 27 diseases…. Enjoy your breakfast, cheap ass 🤮
I would love if you covered induction cooking someday. From what I know it's more envirement friendly since it doesn't need gas and the rate of change of the heat is quite diffrent from traditional gas cooking and I would love to learn more about it.
Thanks - we'll put this on our list for the future!
@@MinuteFood You could say you're putting it on the burner. Sorry I don't want to make anyone salty so I'll sea myself out.
@@christianrolle2548 Putting it on the back burner to simmer for later? xD
@@kyokoyumi I think I’m already kind of heated, have had enough of getting roasted.
As long as the cast iron isn't heavier than what the induction cooktop can handle, cast iron is perfectly fine on it. But, you might want to put something down to keep the skillet from scratching the cook top.
When my mother inlaw passed away, she made sure I got her cast iron skillet. It's now about 120 years old (belonged to her grandmother!). One thing she taught me, is that if you do wash it in the sink using a mild dish soap, rinse it thoroughly, towel dry it and then put it on the stove burner super hot! It will dry it all the way through the metal. While still hot, rub a little light olive oil back in. Good as new!!!
Is Olive oil what is used to season by chance?
@@maylin1986 almost. It's the "light" version. About the 3rd press or 4th press. I have since changed over to canola oil. Also is zero taste (the light olive oil is pretty much zero taste as well).
So what you are saying is that the longer you use the pan the better it gets?
I have been collecting old rusty cast iron pans for a long time and have restored all of them . Everyone of my son's and daughter have one and taught how to take care of them . I still have my grandma's pans and deep fryers . Good vid .
Thank you! Turns out I got into cast iron just this week, and I've been digging through piles of websites trying to figure out from all the conflicting information what is the science behind it. I do wish that you had given instructions on how to season the cast iron, because what you were showing in the video was quite different than most of the videos I've seen so far. I'm also interested to know if the seasoning is safe? Part of the reason we got away from Teflon is concerns about cancer.
I've had success seasoning both in the oven and on the stovetop. If you're new to cast iron, I'd start with the oven, since there's a bit more room for error! We showed stovetop in the video since it's a bit easier than filming in the oven :) As far as safety, as long as you're airing out the kitchen when you season (it does get smoky) and using your pan properly (e.g. not cooking on a bare pan, since that could leach a lot of iron), cast iron is likely a much safer (and greener!) option than Teflon.
@@MinuteFood Thanks! Does the pan need to be warm/hot when you apply the oil? Is there any risk of the pan being in the oven for too long at temperature? And what temperature is too high in the oven? Thanks again!
@@davidalearmonth The pan does need to be hot when you apply the oil, mostly to make sure it's bone-dry first. Also if you're seasoning in the oven, you should coat the entire pan with oil, not just the cooking surface, to protect the whole thing from rust. You can't really leave the pan in the oven for too long (remember that the pan is going to spend a lot of time at temperature over its life as you cook with it), but an hour or two is plenty of time. Just don't leave the oven on and unattended, for safety's sake. And as far as temperature goes, just crank your oven to its highest setting. A home oven can't get hot enough to do any damage to sturdy cast iron (or the polymerized seasoning layer). And every time you cook with it, after you wash it, get it hot again and wipe it down with another thin layer of oil to protect it from rust. If you do that and use the pan often, you shouldn't even really need to worry about seasoning, since that layer of oil will polymerize a bit the next time you cook with it.
@@davidalearmonth I’m no expert with cast iron, but just focusing on the science talked about in the video: I would imagine oiling a warm or cold pan would make little difference. The idea is to eventually have the oil heat up to polymerize, and that’s at a much higher temperature than just a warm pan (I feel it would be dangerous to apply directly to a scorching hot pan, so even if that was better, I would not recommend). Using a warm pan might cut down on your waiting time, since the reaction temperature will be reached sooner after putting the oil on and popping the whole thing in an oven. But how much difference a few minutes less of heating up in this long process seems negligible, as this isnt a race.
One thing good thing warming the pan up would do is dry the pan. After you clean the pan with soap and water, it’s obviously wet (or at least damp). Warming the pan would drive off this water and prevent rust from forming as the pan sits. This would also prevent water from interfering with the coat of oil that you are applying, possibly avoiding an uneven seasoning.
@@OGSumo the idea is that beating the pan causes the metal to expand, and this allows the oil to “grab the pan” and really get into every nook and cranny
One thing: to avoid warping the pan, especially the larger sizes i.e. a #10, bring the pan up to temperature some what slowly. Do not just put a cold pan on high heat. The center of the pan will heat up and expand a tad causing stress with the cooler rim of the pan. Once a pan is warped there is no fixing it. Also after emptying the pan and while it is still hot, deglaze the pan by adding a small amount of water while scraping with a spatula. This will help get the crusty bit off.
Does this also apply to induction, or only gas?
@@Mario-fn7po Both I should think. Metal expands with heat like water does to a dry sponge. Best to put the pan on medium and do some prep. Check to see if the rime is hot before going too high. Given the cost of a good iron pan why risk it.
That’s one thing I miss about my traditional electric, slash a double edged sword of the instant heat of gas. It would take 5-10 minutes to heat up the hot plate anyway, let alone the pan, so you could safely set it at your desired final temp. Gas requires a lot more fiddling up and down the whole time.
An old roommate of mine busted a skillet of mine that way. Just broke in half.
@@kaitlyn__L oi
FINALLY someone shows the science of seasoning and how and why it works. Thank You!!!
After every single time I cook with my cast iron I use a chain mail scrubber with coarse kosher salt and a little water to scrub it well, then rinse it out with water, put it back on the burner to get all that water gone, let it cool slightly (but not completely) and apply a thin fresh layer of canola oil. My pan still looks brand new!
I just got my first cast iron skillet, and this video was a blessing.
My wife and I regularly use a cast iron skillet which my grandparent bought new when they got married back in 1915. My grandmother used it for around 50 years, then my mom used it another 30+ years. My wife and I use it now, but when we leave this world the old iron skillet will be good for another century or more.
BTW: The one granny got in 1915 is Lodge cast iron. The company had been around for ~19 years when she got married. The company is still around today, making quality cast iron. BUT, be prepared to grind their "pre-seasoning out and re-season the pan, since they leave such a rough surface that it is horrible to try to cook with. The cookware is heavier than most, and the best you will find.
I've inherited cast iron cookware from both my late father (who was a chef) and from my 90+ year old MIL. Some of these pieces are pushing the century mark and are still going strong. Since I have an induction stove, they are almost all I use and so get re-seasoned pretty much every day. They'll go to the kid once I'm gone and will be good to go for decades more.
They will last until an incompatible heating technology is invented if cared for properly. (And considering induction is compatible and will probably he the standard for the next hundred years I can't even imagine how to make a stovetop incompatable with cast iron)
Its far more likely someone doesn't properly care for them than they go obsolete due to incompatibility with future stovetops. (And people can restore them up until the rust into dust which for something as thick as a cast iron skillet would take like 200 + years exposed to the elements.
I got my first cast iron pan in 78, still cooking fine. I have 5 now, all different sizes and I bought some for my kids as well. Great video, remember that you also get your iron supplement cooking with these. They will not wear out, won't cause cancer but don't cook tomato in them, too acetic.
The most comprehensive common sense video on 'how to' with these pans. Thank you.
After I cook I clean it then dry it and oil it before heading it up again, never had a problem doing it that way, and according to this it really just creates more layers of seasoning
I used cast iron pan(?) and canola oil everyday and never realized they are so neatly combined. Great video!
Season with canola, but don't cook in it!
Salt makes a nice scrub on cast iron to help food rub off.
It also helps with getting rust off too
Great video 😀 I needed this because 10 years ago I got some cast-iron pots and pans for my 50th birthday and only used them once because they started to rust. They are clean today, but stored away. I didn't know about seasoning them with oil. Now I'm 60 this month I have the time to do this and get some good use out of my cookware. Thanks again.
This must be officially the most useful video on cast iron pans out there! Thank you!
I was cleaning out my aunts garage and found Grandmas cast iron. I was so happy to get pans with who knows how many years on them. Griswold no 5 and no 6. Wasn’t even rusted. They been stored in shed for close to a decade.
Man I love cast iron because it is essentially never toxic and very hard to break. Like I've used modern skillets and if they cool too fast they will warp and bend. Also, cast iron can use induction heating effectively, and that's a big plus as induction is significantly more efficient than gas or electric (personally I find the term electric a bit silly as induction also uses electricity but eh).
It just depends on the pan your getting and it's type. The more mass in your pan the easier it's going to be to retain heat and keep the heat even across the pan. IIRC Cast Iron's actually not the best about thermal heat transfer but it's mass basically counteracts that. You basically have to heat the entire mass of pan to heat the food and since it has so much mass it takes longer to give up it's heat which means more even heat across the pan.
But if you get a high quality pan you can get a lot of those qualities. For example if all-clad sells 5 ply stainless steel pans which are layers of stainless steel, aluminium, and and sometimes copper all sandwiched together to add that mass you need and also you gain some of the benefits of each material. The downside is a 10 inch fry pan will cost you around $180 vs a cast iron pan at $45.
It's an important distinction, but induction and regular electric do use electricity, but induction causes the molecules in the cookware itself to vibrate and generate heat internally, rather than a massive resistor cause that same vibration indirectly.
Too much people spreading/repeating wrong informations about what oil to use... I bought flaxseed oil just for the pan because it was recommended on several places...
It looked good until it started to pop off after just two or three times of usage...
It was a lot if work to remove the bad layer and redo it correctly, but now I'm really happy with the pan.
I wish I had seen this video earlier.
I've always used bacon grease to season my pans and it works great. 🤷♂️
A friend gave me a cast iron pan as a gift and I was scared of it because I had heard about how finicky and hard to maintain they were. I did something wrong the first time and it immediately rusted. I let it rust in a cupboard for about a year, and then I unexpectedly got the day off of work because of some bad weather and decided to make it my day project to fix it. I scoured all the rust off that sucker with vinegar and steel wool and seasoned it with corn oil like three times until it was perfectly black and glossy. I've been cooking EVERYTHING on it now and everything turns out beautiful and nothing sticks to it. I actually like cooking now because of it and look for new things I can cook in it.
This is by far the best and most descriptive breakdown of seasoning I have come across. Great work!!
If you are new to cast iron Kent Rollins has great videos on everything you need to know about cast iron.
Yeah, I'm about to follow his advice and take a little sander to my 10" Lodge that came with that horrible, rough pre-seasoning. Nothing I've done in over a year has helped it to become non-stick. My 60+ year old pans, on the other hand, are smooth as glass, and I've never had trouble with them. Time to strip the Lodge back to iron and building anew. I was thinking flax oil till I saw this. Guess I'm going with ol' reliable canola.
I find the easiest way to maintain my cast iron pans is to simply wash them with a small amount of water when still very hot. That's basically a deglaze. Just deglaze when hot, hit it with lots more water to rinse the deglaze and cool it, a quick and gentle scrub and then a wipe with a paper towel and it's ready for the next cook. It takes 15 seconds.
i boil some water in it for a few minutes then dump it outside, wash with a sponge under hot water then dry on stove and heat some oil until it smokes ....this pan is going to last forever ..
I have an 8 inch cast iron that I used to make an omelette for my wife every morning for 8 years. When I was done I would wipe it out with a wet paper towel while it was still hot. It's the best pan I own to this day.
Nice video, but the portion about adding iron to your diet is incorrect/misleading. This myth was disproven by America’s Test Kitchen. The video does a great explanation of the resilience of seasoning and how it acts as an effective barrier. This is exactly why an insignificant amount of iron will leech into your food.
Also, not addressed in the video or by ATK is that people cook vegetables, deep fried meats, fried eggs, etc., not acidic sauces as it can impart a metallic or “tinny” taste. This happens because it, like with aluminum cookware, would simmer acidic sauces like tomato sauce, for a long period of time. Just like what would happen with water, as pointed out in the video, it can eventually reach the underlying iron layer. It may not be significant enough to be a good source of iron for your diet, but my guess is that it is enough to alter the taste. This probably why enameled cast iron pots are often used instead.
I've used cast iron all my life.
I keep them seasoned.
I occasionally clean with dish detergent.
I keep them seasoned.
I clean with water.
I keep them seasoned.
I scrub them.
I keep them seasoned.
Ive soaked them.
I keep them seasoned.
Ive had them red hot in fires
I keep them seasoned.
Good explanation. I was leaning toward stainless steel for my new pans but decided to learn to use my 2 cast iron skillets instead after watching this.
You can season stainless steel just like cast iron but I believe flaxseed oil or grape seed oil is the best for stainless
@@zleggitt1989 This is incredibly interesting thank you, we actually do have a stainless steel pan so I will probably try this out sometimes. :)
I knew the process, but not the science.
Knowing the science makes it all so much easier to remember and makes it common sense.
Thank you, this is terrific
I had no idea. I've always been struggling with pans that became sticky and hard to cook in over time. I just assumed the "anti-stickiness" coating was wearing off and it was time for a new pan. I never considered improper seasoning.
Thanks for educational video! :)
I hope you are talking about cast iron pans, because it will not work on conventional pans that you see in markets. These ones do not work with seasoning dear
I've tried flaxseed oil, and when you reach high temperatures, it breaks down and start to flake off again.
This explains a lot.
My cast iron got seasoned years ago, before YT showed me how complicated it is, and that I needed a Master’s Degree to own it. Just don’t think it’s possible to get by with oil / grease free cooking in cast iron. Cook in it, clean it, wipe on the thinnest possible coat of any fat after it’s completely dry, and the rest will take care of itself. One of the few real no-nos while cooking is not engaging in a long simmer of an acid mixture like tomato sauce- but it really just isn’t that complicated.
Ok. As a self-proclaimed seasoning expert I came into this video think it was just another fluff video.
This is all true. Much respect to whoever did the research for the video.
Impressed.
Agree. I’d suggest avocado oil, also.
Flaxseed oil makes a great polymer at first, but it flakes off.
I'm old, thankfully, and I've used cast iron skillets, roasters, and griddles throughout my life. As the lady says, "...just use it...". If it gets a bit grungy I pour a little water while the pan is warm-hot and scrape out the grung with a spatula followed by wiping down with olive oil (the only cooking oil I have/use). I do have a stainless steel Revereware pan for the things like tomato sauce based stuff that is bound to make a grungy mess. I even managed to covert my Korean immigrant wife to cast iron, now that's a small miracle in itself ;-) .
Buy yourself a nice cast iron pan once in your life and save yourself from buying nonstick over and over and over again 👍
Honestly, I've never found nonstick cookware to be particularly nonstick.
Nonstick cookware don't hold up all that long, maybe a couple of years.
Just bought my first cast iron, thanks!
I love my cast.. especially my Dutch oven... best braise ever... took tears to season it to the point it is now... truly gets better with time
there's something about being in my late 30s where I have learned to love the process of taking care of my Lodge griddle and pan
This is how I clean mine. You do have to wash with soap sometimes. I tend to boil the pan then clean out. Then heat to dry. Once super hot take off heat and oil. Cool completely.
That was a great video!! I have been using cast iron and high carbon steel pans for years, and everything you said here was 100% accurate based on my experiences. I also experienced that the harder flax-seed oil seasonings flake away fast, and didn't understand why!
A sneaky way to achieve the same result is to put cast-iron pans on the barbecue, then oil thin layer, after thin layer, that keeps all the smells outside? Really fantastic video, certainly the best one I've encountered on the subject. It's worth subscribing to channels of this quality.............
Interesting that cast iron has more carbon in it than carbon steel. Since the definition of regular steel is iron with carbon.
Steel is processed differently than cast iron is. Cast iron is literally just iron that's been cast into a specific shape. Steel goes through the smelting process and from what I can tell, some carbon will be lost in the process. High carbon steel is steel with a higher carbon content than other steels.
Steel only has a tiny, tiny amount of carbon. It took many years to figure out how to heat raw iron enough to remove the carbon.
I find cast iron to be very low maintenance. Apart from the weight, it's my favorite type of pan.
While soap might not damage the pan, I rarely find I need it -- I just rinse the pan while it's still hot, reheat the empty pan on the stove a bit to make excess grease easier to wipe away and to make moisture evaporate. Storing it rather hot on a hook in the kitchen even means you never need to towel dry the pan.
“I’m not going to go into seasoning” -cheeky playful tone. Then proceeds to go into seasoning… that’s this whole video. You literally talk mostly about seasoning. Yet you say “I’m not gonna tell you HOW” nice, now you’ve made it confusing again
5 minutes and all of my questions answered, thanks
This was the best cast iron informational video out there! Thanks!
0:13 The bottom right is a "Does Bruno Mars is gay?" reference?
Haha, is that a game grumps reference?
This is the best video on CI/Carbon steel care I have ever seen. I've been doing this since way before the internet. The video gets the Myth out of the way right at the start: Steel/Iron is not magic. Certain foods will stick. Sugars and protiens are the main culprits. Meats that are cured have lots of sugar added, which burns onto the steel. The beauty is that it cleans up pretty easy.
If you insist on absolute Non-Stick, go with a throw-away.
I have only used soap a few times since almost every thing comes off under hot tap water and a plastic bristle brush - after wiping th epan out with a paper towel to remove excess. I dry with a paper towel and apply a thin layer of oil while th epan is warm, then they go outside to hang over my Blackstone griddle. I use the same carbon steel pans when camping - which is very frequent.
The Blackstone gets wiped with the same method - but - I never pour cold water on it to scrape it clean. I have found conclusively that cool or cold water will cause the hot griddle to flake off the seasoning, no matter what oil I used. I keep a coffee pot of water in the corner of the griddle to warm it while I'm cooking. Using warm/hot water does not shock the seasoning and crack it.
I season my pans with Polytetrafluoroethylene.
Hows the perfluorooctanoic acid?
What a refreshing presentation of cast-iron. I get so tired of videos that make using cast-iron out to be some third order water mystery.
There’s a reason why the term “cast-iron“ is used to denote something that is rugged and durable. Relax and don’t sweat it. Wash it with soap and water. If you forget and leave the burner on high, which I do periodically, and burn it down to the bare iron, it’s a trivial matter to oil it and heat it again and get the seasoning to come right back.
I learned from my mother that a good trick to clean a cast-iron pan when you know you’ve been cooking something that’s really sticky and hard to remove is to pour water on it while it’s still hot after you remove the food from it. It will hiss and a cloud steam will rise up, and the residue will soften making it easy to scrape it and clean it after you finish your dinner.
I found two cast-iron skillets that had been sitting in a rotting cabin in the rainforest for 15 years. They were bright red with rust. Took them home, washed them with soap and water and a scouring pad, wiped them with a little olive oil, and heated them on the burner. Been using them for 10 years now on a daily basis.
And they're great for fending off burglars, too! 🙏
l got skillets over a hundred years old my great grandmother and great grandfather used right on the very farm l own today. cast iron lasts forever and restoring old rusy pans is a great hobby.
I have been washing with dishsoap and drying my cast iron skillets for 40 years and they are great. Never say never.
Hats off for the quality and clarity of the information in this video.❤
The number one way to take care of cast iron is to USE IT. The best parts of my collection get used daily on stovetop, grill, oven, and even right in hot coals from a fire. Besides my iron, I have a stainless stock pot for boiling (corn, pasta, potatoes, soups, etc.) The rest of the time I'm using my iron. I even use my iron instead of cookie sheets (breads, cookies, caseroles, pies, meatloaf, pizza, etc. It takes some practice with time and temperature, but perfect crusts and browning can be repeated reliably in cast iron. You should see peoples eyes when you roll out a pie that was baked in a 10" or even a 12" skillet instead of a 9" pie pan. Most can't tell what's different unless you take it out of the pan in front of them, but the change in scale always impresses. As you gain experience, secrets like de-glazing and dry steaming which will make cleanup even easier while opening doors to possibilities that I could ramble on about for ages...
My clean up trick is to never let the pan get cold with food in it. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, get it in the sink with "hot as you can comfortably work in" water, a plastic or natural bristle brush (and if it needs it a tiny drop of soap). Carefully scrape if needed or a little salt scrubbed dry should get you out of even the worst of disasters. If you use soap - rinse, rinse, rinse and brush some more while rinsing. I find that I can taste the soap if I don't get rid of ALL of it. Dry thoroughly (in/over heat if possible) and finally the tiniest amount of oil over everything - just enough to tell you have done it and don't forget the handle(s) and the bottom. If a clean pan ever feels tacky or transfers oil back to your hands you're using too much (remember, many thin layers is the secret. I find that a variety of oils works best as each oil has its own strengths and weaknesses.
I bought a used cast iron pan 4 years ago and have used olive oil as a seasoning. Never had problems with using it. Sometimes i clean the pan with soap and season after that works like a dream.
As a chemistry teacher I humbly thank you!
I’ve owned the same cast iron pans for 30 years, beautiful deep black colour.
To season a pan I put it in the oven on low heat for hours and hours and hours.
I use vegetable lard and have never had an issue.
When I’m done cooking I let the pan cool a little and than use paper towel to rub out whatever I was cooking. I than sprinkle the pan with lots of table salt, let it sit and than I use a bamboo brush to scrub it.
Never soak.
Never use soap.
Can you fill me in, I've never heard of vegetable lard!! Are you sure that is exactly what you are using?? 5:32
It’s just Crisco, not really lard even though that’s what they call it. I’ll turn on the oven at like 225 and keep rubbing Crisco into the pan. I’ve never washed my pans, I’ll wipe the grease out and than coat it with course salt and use a bamboo brush to scour it.
Very concise, informative and scientific at the same time
I think with a lot of false information out there cast iron can be intimidating but this does a good job at dispelling the rumors.
After washing my cast iron pan I dry it by hand and then I apply a very thin layer of vegetable or canola oil to protect it from oxidization. When I bought my cast iron pan four years ago it was kind of a light grey color and its surface had a slight pebbly texture to it. Today it's black and as smooth as glass. I use it strictly for frying meats, including bacon of course.
Good video. Could have done without the “carbon impact” message at the end🙄. I’ll start paying attention to my carbon footprint when Leo DiCaprio and Al Gore stop flying around world on private jets.
If your iron is rough just use a good quality sand paper to smooth it. Once it's relativeky smooth switch to steel wool. I have the 2 iron skillets my grandmother got for a wedding gift in 1919. Do what you want, but they've never been touched by soap. Hot water and a steel or copper scrubbing pad. A little grease and cornbread falls right out when done. They're so smooth you can use them for a mirror when greased.
Could do without the moralising lecture at the end...
The best seasoning oil I have found is flaxseed oil. It is tantamount to linseed or tung oil in its hardening, which is used in finishing wood. If done properly it will not flake. Thin coats. Also direct fire such as on a gas stove or in hot coal works better I think than oven seasoning. You will have to flip the pan however, and burn both sides. I heat it until it's smoking well. No matter which method you use, don't forget to open doors or windows and turn on the fan. And yes you will have to season several times before you get a good coat. You will still have small rises or bumps in the finished product. So something I have not tried yet, to get an ultra smooth surface,is to do a light sanding at least on the inner surface. For that I believe you will be adding a lot of seasoning.
Was good for the first 5 minutes. Then it gets into the environmentalist wacko propaganda. THE EARTH CANNOT BE DAMAGED BY HUMANS!!!!
Eh gotta get some money thru sponsors right
This video was a bit all over the place, but the information is solid. I got my first Cast Iron pan (25cm) and fell in love with it. 3 oven seasonings and then a new layer of oil right after cleaning and drying it off and it's basically non-stick. Just got a Carbon Steel wok (35cm) and after a stovetop seasoning, it works great. Love the fact that I no longer have to switch out my teflon cookware yearly
Wow, this is the first time I'm seeing the need for seasoning and how it works through actual science. It all becomes clear what I must do to treat my cast irons well. Thank you for this!
Great video, ez and quickly understanding. If anyone wondering, polymer in this video are not plastic. Even though all plastic are polymer.
This is a great informational video and explains the polymerisation process better than any other cast iron pan video I have seen.
Even a very very cheap cast iron pan on sale somewhere will outlast any non stick/coated cookware. Th versatility is amazing. You can cook over any heat source from fire to smart stoves.
Right on. (I like canola) It cracks me up to see so many people that can't cope with even the easiest maintenance and prep.
Thanks for clarifying about soap. There are a lot of people who are really against using soap on cast iron. My seasoning has never gone away, and my food has never tasted like so
2:05 THIS explains why the flaxseed oil I used to season a restored skillet flaked off! For months I was scratching my head wondering why. Now I know. Thanks!