this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2024
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[–] [email protected] 159 points 7 months ago (2 children)

And this post will be exhibit A in the divorce proceedings

[–] [email protected] 34 points 7 months ago (18 children)

I knew nothing about cast iron pan care when I met my SO and I did his dishes for him one day and washed it with soap and water. I still hate the damn things and think they're filthy and nasty.

[–] [email protected] 119 points 7 months ago (14 children)

It's fine to wash them with modern dish soaps. The reason people say not to is because dish soaps used to have lye in them, which would destroy the seasoning. Just make sure you wipe the water off instead of letting it air dry or it can rust.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I just put it back on the stove on full heat for a minute to dry off the water.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago

Spray a little high smoke point oil on it and wipe it down with a towel while it's hot

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago (5 children)

I keep reading the word seasoning, and for non native speakers this is hard. What are you all meaning? You put some garlic, salt and pepper on the pan and let it be?

[–] [email protected] 25 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

English is dumb. We got the term "seasoned" to mean like a veteran fighter, something aging properly and using salt and spice from the French "assaisoner" which means "to ripen / to improve with time" which we expanded upon by being like "when things become tastier" which is how we started applying it to using spices and salt...

In this case it means sort of speed running getting the oil sheen a cast iron cooking implement used to naturally get by just using it over and over when cooking over wood or peat hence "ripening" the pan. Way back in the day in England and France they didn't really use soap for dishes. You washed them with water and left them outside in UV light to sterilize them so all iron cooking things tended to naturally develop that nice carbon coat. Time and use made them better hence "seasoned".

[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Seasoning in this specific context means the residue of the food oil which forms a surface coating when heated up to a certain temperature. It protects the surface from rusting.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago

It does protect from rust somewhat(water can still cause rust if left on it) but the big deal is it makes the cookware non-stick without Teflon.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago

Oh shit I didn’t know that!

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's actually fine to use soap and water, otherwise it is in fact, filthy and nasty. Don't believe the indoctrinated

[–] [email protected] 32 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's both true and not true. Using something like dawn or similar is fine, using a lye soap will fuck your shit up.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for the details on this, luckily modern soap doesn't have lye anymore.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You're not lyeing to us, are you? ;)

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago (2 children)

MinuteFood on youtube did a video just yesterday talking about the science of cast iron, and why they're not dirty like many people seem to think.

https://youtu.be/w0R1jVN3LaY?si=HguOYRn19Hn6HyP6

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago

Divorce? People have been murdered for less…

[–] [email protected] 119 points 7 months ago (4 children)

First of all a properly seasoned cast iron pan can and should be washed with modern dishwashing liquid. If the seasoning comes off with 'hand friendly ' soap it was garbage seasoning anyway.

Second, this looks perfectly ready for seasoning. Nothing wrong with that. Just get the outdoor grill going grab some short chain oil and get to work.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Short chain oil!? At first I thought you were bs'ing about seasoning a pan with gear oil.

That sent me down a novel rabbit hole. Thanks for your input!

[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I don't get the joke. I just tried Google and it had nothing for seasoning cast iron with chain or gear oil. Is this a thing?

[–] [email protected] 84 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The chains being referred to here are molecular chains, not mechanical ones.

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[–] [email protected] 104 points 6 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 92 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

coat that sucker with avocado oil and bring it up to 200°C for a few minutes. Allow it to cool, repeat until the sides don't hold any oil, then switch to crisco solid shortening for a few rounds.

[–] [email protected] 70 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I love that everyone is showing up to give real advice to this post.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's the goal of the original picture, people can't help but give cast iron advice.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago (2 children)

What does the avocado oil base do? I’ve never seasoned a cast iron pan from scratch before.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 6 months ago

You can use various different food oils, the important part is that it can leave a (food safe) polymerized coat that binds to the surface, protecting it from rusting as well as making it non-stick

[–] [email protected] 83 points 6 months ago (8 children)

There's a lot of answers here, but I don't think anyone said the magic words. To reseason cast iron, you need an oil high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Those are the kind that can chain together, and form a good polymer coating.

The thing that trips me up most about this subject is that 140 years ago, pork fat was very good for seasoning cast iron. Today, it isn't, because the composition of the fat has changed significantly.

The best seasoning coats will be thin, not appear or feel oily, give the pan a dark color slightly more glossy than an eggshell, and resist mild detergents, metal spatulas, and heat high enough to sear a steak on. If you have a layer of loose stuff in the pan, that's just a layer of gunk, and is probably adding some weird flavors to anything you cook.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago (2 children)

The thing that trips me up most about this subject is that 140 years ago, pork fat was very good for seasoning cast iron. Today, it isn't, because the composition of the fat has changed significantly.

That sounds very interesting! Is it because of the way pigs are raised now compared to back then? They eat way fewer babies now, I bet.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 7 months ago

I bet she was so grateful. It takes a ton of scrubbing.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 33 points 6 months ago (2 children)

The amount of disgusting freaks that don't know you need to wash this and reapply the seasoning with oil in the oven is insane to me.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Needs washed, but you can just heat the oil on the stove if you've seasoned the thing in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I learned from a chef that an oven would work better due to the even heat applied all over but in a pinch or if you don't want to do all that, the stove top could be fine.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Dude, you're not supposed to scrape off the seasoning every time you wash the pan. I reapply a bit of oil maybe once or twice a year. I normally just wash it some soap and water after cooking.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 months ago

Hey everybody posting advice, go liven up this community!
https://lemmy.world/c/castiron
[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I only go to Reddit for two things: cast iron and pf2e. Slidey eggs never gets old

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I only go to lemmy for two things. Tasty memes and to see people talk about Reddit.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago (5 children)
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[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago

So how's the divorce going?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)

make me think of this guy that transformed his iron pan into a mirror

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (8 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I think they meant the guy that seasoned his pan like 200(?) times before cooking in it on Reddit. That thing was SHINY when he was done

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Btw, copper sponge is really good for such things. Hard enough for cooked-in stuff but soft enough to not scratch.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

You mean "ex-wife"...😵

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I love my cast iron pan, but I really cannot get the perfect sheen that everyone else seems to get. The bottom of mine is non-stick now, and I season regularly, but the sides always seem to chip away eventually. Once the chipping starts, I have no idea how to stop other than to strip it entirely and start again.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Now don't dry it off and keep it in the cupboard for a few days

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