Store it carefully: Store your skillet in a cool dark dry place or on the stovetop for regular use. If you have multiple cast iron pans, avoid the temptation of stacking them on top of each other for long periods of time as this can tarnish the seasoning. We also recommend hanging them proudly on your kitchen walls!
Caring for Cast Iron
With soap if it needs it. Scrubbing with the rougher side of a sponge if it needs that to remove food particles. Don't use steel wool, and do dry it completely. Then, put another tiny bit of oil in and rub it all over, wipe it away, and put it over a burner for a few minutes.
Clean your cast iron pan after every use. Most of the time, wiping it down with a paper towel will do the trick. However, if your skillet is still dirty, wash it briefly by hand in soapy water before patting it dry for storage.
Lightly coat every part of the cast iron, including the handle and bottom, with coconut oil or other oil with a high smoke point, such as flax or avocado. Do not use olive oil.
You should only need to fully re-season your cast-iron cookware one to two times a year, but you may also want to give it some extra seasoning love anytime you cook something that requires a heavy-duty cleaning.
Beyond friction, Bostik Glidecote and similar spray-on products help to ward off rust. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation of the product you're using, but I often spray the product onto a rag for best results. Spraying the product directly on cast iron often leaves spotty residue on the tool surface.
Common cooking oils like olive oil will gradually produce seasoning, but won't be as effective as grapeseed oil. Canola, other vegetable oils, and shortening are a little better.
Cast iron cookware is safe to use on ceramic-glass stoves and cooktops and shouldn't cause damage to the pan or cooking surface when you follow the right tips. Because cast iron is heavy, always place it gently on the cooktop and pick up, rather than slide, when you need to move it around.
The Cause: Occasionally food may stick to your cast iron cookware. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as not using enough fat or oil when cooking, using cookware that isn't well seasoned, or when breaking in new cookware that hasn't built up additional layers of seasoning.
The takeaway? It's safe to cook tomato- and wine-based sauces in cast iron, but you should save the vinegary pan sauces for stainless-steel pans—or dilute the vinegar (or citrus) with water or stock.
Eggs fall into the category of sticky foods that are not ideal for cast iron skillets that haven't built up their seasoning yet. While cast iron can become non-stick with sufficient use over time, a newer skillet will almost certainly cause your eggs to stick to its porous surface.
Cooking with a cast iron pan that has a little bit of surface rust on it isn't likely to hurt you. If your pan is seriously rusty or has visible rust flakes, you shouldn't cook with it until the rust is removed and the pan is washed and re-seasoned.
Cast iron shines when it comes to high-heat cooking, like searing steaks or charring vegetables, but it goes beyond that—you can use cast iron to sauté, bake bread, or even or make a table-worthy dessert.
All cast iron, whether natural or coated, has a much higher carbon concentration than other popular food-safe metals like stainless steel and aluminum. This means that natural cast iron is more susceptible to corrosion because when carbon combines with oxygen and water, rust forms.
With proper care cast iron cookware can withstand a lifetime of use. Actually several lifetimes as these cast iron pans and dutch ovens are often passed down from generation to generation. Taking care of cast iron cookware is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3.
Cast iron cookware's disadvantages include its heavy weight, the need for seasoning and maintenance, potential reaction with acidic foods, and lack of slickness for delicate cooking tasks.
All in all, you'll want to do this oiling-and-heating process three to four times, to set down a good initial layer of your own seasoning. Once you're done, just let the pan cool down. It's now ready for cooking.
When using carbon-steel and cast-iron pans, some people like to heat the dry pan first, then add the oil. This is because high heat causes the oil to oxidize and polymerize, allowing it to bond to the metal, filling in any small pits and divots—a process that seasons the pan, essentially giving it a nonstick surface.
Rub the salted potato vigorously over the rusty areas of the cast iron skillet or pan. The oxalic acid in the potato, combined with the abrasiveness of the salt, helps to lift and remove the rust without damaging the seasoning of the cast iron. After scrubbing, rinse the pan with water and dry it thoroughly.
Some activities may remove a bit of seasoning, such as cooking acidic foods, using excessive heat, or scrubbing with abrasive utensils or scouring pads. That's why our simple cleaning steps have you rub oil into your pan after each use to ensure the seasoning remains for quality cooking.
All cooking oils and fats can be used for seasoning cast iron, but based on availability, affordability, effectiveness, and having a high smoke point, Lodge recommends vegetable oil, melted shortening, or canola oil, like our Seasoning Spray.