What is the best cleaning solution for cast iron? Water! You don't need (and should not use) soap to clean a cast iron. Simply use water and a scrub brush, or for a big mess use some course salt and oil to scrub away to residue and then rinse with water.
You should absolutely clean cast iron cookware. Just don't use anything abrasive like steel wool. Also don't soak for very long. And use a standard dish detergent like Dawn. The notion of not cleaning is decades outdated and comes from when soaps were lye-based (lye will break down the seasoning).
🤔 Myth: You can't use soap to clean cast iron. 🤯 Fact: You can use mild dish soap to clean cast iron. The seasoning on our cast iron is fairly resilient and can withstand a little bit of soap, water, and a good scrub with a brush.
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.
Seasoning a cast-iron skillet has nothing to do with herbs and spices; it's all about using oil to build up a nonstick surface and prevent rusting. While you should clean the skillet after each use, seasoning is only necessary occasionally, usually when you see signs the seasoning is wearing thin.
Using soap will not ruin your pan. It is totally fine on enameled cast iron, and on plain cast iron, too. It's not going to destroy your seasoning. With enameled cast iron, you're done: Wash and dry.
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.
Copenhaver notes that a well-seasoned cast-iron pan is extremely durable and can handle reasonable amounts of acidic cooking without noticeable change, but prolonged exposure can do some damage to a seasoning layer. The most common acidic food you might not want to cook in your cast-iron skillet is tomatoes.
If that happens, your cast iron may end up *gasp* with some rust. For a small amount of rust, just scour it with a scrubber and water like normal and rub with oil. But if you've got a bigger problem, luckily, a little white vinegar and elbow grease are usually enough to whip that pan back into shape.
Start with Vegetables
Any seared, sautéed, or pan-roasted vegetable recipe is a great place to start breaking in your skillet. Vegetables won't stick to your cooking surface like fatty proteins, and are easy to spread out over the entire cooking surface, helping to build even seasoning.
You let your skillet soak.
Soaking your cast iron skillet in your sink is a recipe for rust, as is washing it in the dishwasher. Instead, clean it ASAP, even using simple soap and water if you must.
The only way to clean a cast iron skillet 😌 no 👎🏾 soap only oil (I use olive oil) & salt put in the oven bout 5-10 mins and wipe off with clean dish rag ( I use paper towels)😌 real cooks know 🥰 repeat if still stained!!
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.
To clean, just use mild dish soap (that's right, it's okay to use a little soap!) and a scouring pad or a cast iron pan cleaning brush. Wash it, scrub it, rinse it, then wipe it out well and season it with a few drops of oil and store with a paper towel covering the cooking surface.
Cooking on unseasoned cast iron can result in sticking, rusting, and a myriad of other issues (some of which are outlined above). Lucky for cast-iron newbies, most skillets sold these days come pre-seasoned. Take your store-bought seasoning a step further though and add your own before you call it good to go.
Older dish soaps were made with lye, which would strip seasoning and even damage pans—but it is perfectly fine to wash cast iron with soap these days.
Contrary to popular belief, you can use a small amount of soap to clean cast iron cookware! Large amounts of soap can strip the seasoning off your pan, but you can easily re-season your pan as needed. Can I use steel wool or a metal scrubber to clean my cast iron pan? No!
In many cases, you should avoid cooking acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, lemon juice, wine, and vinegar in your cast-iron skillet.
Chainmail Scrubber
Brandon Moore, founder of Lancaster Cast Iron, says using a chainmail scrubber is the best way to clean a cast iron pan. He notes that it's especially good for “food that is stuck to your cookware. It's stout enough to remove stuck-on food, but not so rough that it removes the seasoning.”