Yet another cast iron thread...

[email hidden] (Deepak Saxena) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My main questions are regarding cleaning. Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff brush". Does
steel wool count? Or can I just use a generic scouring pad that's set aside specifically for the
cast iron (no soap). I didn't really have anything this morning so just used a spatula to scrape
stuff off, but that only worked a little.

That's up to you. I use either coarse salt or a dry metal scouring pad, depending, and sometimes add
a drop of oil to soften the material stuck on. Mind you, I'm not dealing with a cast iron pan,
rather a carbon steel one, but the principle is the same. I have used a dry scouring pad to clean
cast iron in the past. Wipe clean with a paper towel.

Quoted message said:

Also, do I really need to put a coat of oil on the pan everytime after I use it?

I would, with a new pan. But that's me. Others will disagree bitterly and call me a fussbudget :-)
Just spread half a teaspoon on the interior of the pan only. It can't hurt.

--
"I'm the master of low expectations."

GWB, aboard Air Force One, 04Jun2003

[email hidden] (Deepak Saxena) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Sorry to bring up yet another cast iron thread, but I just have a few quick, hopefully simple to
answer cast iron questions. I got a Lodge 6" skillet for my birthday back in september and finally
got around to seasoning it this weekend (veg. oil, 350F @ 1Hr). Used it this morning to make
scrambled eggs w/olive oil and it worked well, only a bit of sticking. My main questions are
regarding cleaning. Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff brush". Does steel wool count? Or
can I just use a generic scouring pad that's set aside specifically for the cast iron (no soap). I
didn't really have anything this morning so just used a spatula to scrape stuff off, but that only
worked a little. Also, do I really need to put a coat of oil on the pan everytime after I use it?

Like I said, quick and simple.

Tnx! ~Deepak

Yes re-oil after every use for at least a week. You need a thickish layer to help the no
stickproperties. You can use salt as a scrubbing agent if you need to. With a paper towel and some
salt scrub/scour the skillet prior to rinsing in water. That should remove any stuck on bits.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

On 01/06/2004 8:41 AM, in article
[email hidden], "Michel Boucher"
<[email hidden]> opined:

Quoted message said:

Others will disagree bitterly and call me a fussbudget :-) Just spread half a teaspoon on the
interior of the pan only. It can't hurt.

Consider yourself lucky if all you get called is a fussbudget.

Did you thank President Bush for your welfare check this week?

--
============================================================================
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one absolutely certain way of
bringing this nation to ruin...would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling
nationalities." Theodore Roosevelt. (Speech, New York, 1915)
============================================================================

When I have purchased a cast iron skillet and/or need to redo the seasoning:

Each time I use it and for sometime thereafter, when I have washed it (using a stiff plastic
vegetable brush if necessary) and drying it, I put a little olive oil (or whatever oil you wish to
use) on it and spread it around with a paper towel. Then I put it it in the oven for about a half-
hour at 325-350. If you do this for a while, then you won't have to worry much about it sticking as
much; therefore you won't have to worry about the cleaning of it.

I don't like to use steel wool/pads on my cast iron.

Hope this helps.
P.S. If you use the above advice, about the only thing that is guaranteed to take your nice
seasoning off is tomatoes -- and then they really taste yukky. This is one reason that I don't
cook a stew using tomatoes in cast iron.

Dee

"Deepak Saxena" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sorry to bring up yet another cast iron thread, but I just have a few quick, hopefully simple to
answer cast iron questions. I got a Lodge 6" skillet for my birthday back in september and finally
got around to seasoning it this weekend (veg. oil, 350F @ 1Hr). Used it this morning to make
scrambled eggs w/olive oil and it worked well, only a bit of sticking. My main questions are
regarding cleaning. Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff brush". Does steel wool count? Or
can I just use a generic scouring pad that's set aside specifically for the cast iron (no soap). I
didn't really have anything this morning so just used a spatula to scrape stuff off, but that only
worked a little. Also, do I really need to put a coat of oil on the pan everytime after I use it?

Like I said, quick and simple.

Tnx! ~Deepak

--
Deepak Saxena - [email hidden]