Care & Feeding Of My Cast Iron
DH was really the master at using the pan, me, not so much. Back then I really knew how to cook 2 items, eggs and toast. And I could put milk on cereal. Oh yeah, and I could make instant ramen soup. That was the extent of my culinary experience. If fact, I would do most anything to get out of cooking. Even better, my DH makes fantastic food. I was well fed!
I used the cast iron skillet often, and then we moved. Moved to a place that had an electric stove. Holy cow, what little I did cook was coming out horrible, over cooked and burned. I could not adjust the heat. This was my first lesson in the differences between gas and electric ranges. Now that I had been spoiled by gas, I never wanted to go back.
Unfortunately this skillet was shoved away and not thought about for sometime. Non-stick teflon was all the rage, and it worked great with electric ranges. And the dear microwave. I could heat instant ramen soup in the microwave (lol).
Every once in a while, we’d break the skillet out to make cornbread in the oven, and seriously it was the best thing I had ever tasted. Something about the cast iron I guess.
We still had this lonely single skillet. This was the skillet that I learned about the care and feeding of cast iron. A couple years ago a friend and her hubby were discussing the proper way to clean their cast iron skillet and I had to laugh. The hubby insisted no soap was to be used on seasoned cast iron. My friend looked at me, I laughed, and said, he’s right!
These days you can now purchase pre-seasoned cast iron. Back when I started my obsession, I only remember one company just starting to offer pre-seasoned pieces. I own 2 pieces that are pre-seasoned. The rest I did myself. Looking back, I think this is some sort of strange bonding I do with my cast iron. It’s always good to know, because I have had to re-season a couple pieces.
Seasoning instructions:
These instructions are for maintaining a seasoning on Lodge products that are already seaasoned. I also follow these instructions for pieces that I have purchased that are not seasoned, but I often have to repeat the process until I am happy with the seasoning, and food no longer sticks to the surface. The skillet pictured above in completely non-stick and I love it!
While maintaining the seasoning by washing cast iron without soap, drying immediately, and rubbing on a coating of oil after each use, you may some point you may need to repeat the seasoning process. If food sticks to the surface, or you notice a dull, gray color, repeat the seasoning process:
Wash the cookware with hot, soapy water and a stiff brush. (This is one of the few times it is okay to use soap. You are preparing to re-season the cookware).
Rinse and dry completely.
Apply a thin, even coating of MELTED solid vegetable shortening to the cookware (inside and out).
Place aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any dripping.
Set oven temperature to 350 – 400 degrees F.
Place cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven.
Bake the cookware for at least one hour. After the hour, turn the oven off and let the cookware cool in the oven.
Store the cookware uncovered, in a dry place when cooled.
