Lodge pre-seasoned cast iron

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I just received a Lodge cast iron pan of the pre-seasoned variety. I
was wondering if there were other folks who've been using these
pre-seasoned pans and how they've found them to be. I'm new to these,
and to cast iron in general.

I can see two spots on the pan, near the handle and on the top of the
rim, where the pre-seaonson coating doesn't seem to have landed, or
has been chipped off. Should I be concerned? I'm wondering if this
coating settles in once the pan is heated a few times, or if I should
be worried about it slowly coming off in my bacon and eggs...

Many thanks for any help!

sally

Pre-seasoned cast iron is fine, but keep in mind the pots/pans still require
seasoning on your part. That seasoned coating isn't going to stay there
indefinitely, rather it is so you can avoid doing step 1 of seasoning
yourself. Did the pans come with instructions? Mine did but I don't still
have the instructions. At any rate, after the first use, wipe the pan out
with a paper towel and use a bit of salt if necessary to get off any
stuck-on bits. Do NOT add water (iron rusts), *definitely not* dish soap
and do not put these in the dishwasher. After the first use, put some oil
in the pan and heat it in the oven. Then wipe out the oil and store the pan
away. As you do this with each subsequent use, the pan will build up its
own seasoning and become virtually non-stick.

Jill

Thanks Jill - this is a big help! (Esp. the advice about using salt...)

Sally

Quoted message said:

Thanks Jill - this is a big help! (Esp. the advice about using salt...)

Sally

I do even less that Jill. I consider every time I cook, I'm reseasoning
the cast iron. I always use oil or fat when I use the frypan. So I
don't put oil it and put it back in the oven after each use. I clean it
with a special Scotch-Brite that never sees soap (except for an
occasional cleaning and thorough rinsing) and salt and water. I just
dry it and put it away.
Everyone has their own way of maintaining their CI. The important thing
is to maintain it! When I bought mine at a garage sale, it was totally
dried out, useless. No wonder someone sold it. I just seasoned it and
started using it, works great! Just find a way that works for you,
Jill's or mine or someone else's.

salgud said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks Jill - this is a big help! (Esp. the advice about using
salt...)

Sally

I do even less that Jill. I consider every time I cook, I'm
reseasoning the cast iron. I always use oil or fat when I use the
frypan. So I
don't put oil it and put it back in the oven after each use. I clean
it with a special Scotch-Brite that never sees soap (except for an
occasional cleaning and thorough rinsing) and salt and water. I just
dry it and put it away.

The OP did mention cooking eggs (after, I would assume, the bacon) so that
might mean draining off most of the fat, and requiring the scrubbing (with
the aforementioned salt) and possibly then adding more oil to season the
pan.

Quoted message said:

Everyone has their own way of maintaining their CI. The important
thing is to maintain it! When I bought mine at a garage sale, it was
totally dried out, useless. No wonder someone sold it. I just
seasoned it and started using it, works great! Just find a way that
works for you, Jill's or mine or someone else's.

Absolutely. Whatever works best. Just skip water and soap and keep it
seasoned with repeated use. I love my cast iron!

Jill

jmcquown said:

salgud said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks Jill - this is a big help! (Esp. the advice about using
salt...)

Sally

I do even less that Jill. I consider every time I cook, I'm
reseasoning the cast iron. I always use oil or fat when I use the
frypan. So I
don't put oil it and put it back in the oven after each use. I clean
it with a special Scotch-Brite that never sees soap (except for an
occasional cleaning and thorough rinsing) and salt and water. I just
dry it and put it away.

The OP did mention cooking eggs (after, I would assume, the bacon) so that
might mean draining off most of the fat, and requiring the scrubbing (with
the aforementioned salt) and possibly then adding more oil to season the
pan.

When I cook eggs, I just clean it out with salt, wipe it dry and put it
away. For me, the re-seasoning it gets in normal use gets it through
eggs, which I cook with a little butter, and anything else that might
slightly deteriorate the seasoning. But if you like doing it, keep
doing it. Everyone is different.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Everyone has their own way of maintaining their CI. The important
thing is to maintain it! When I bought mine at a garage sale, it was
totally dried out, useless. No wonder someone sold it. I just
seasoned it and started using it, works great! Just find a way that
works for you, Jill's or mine or someone else's.

Absolutely. Whatever works best. Just skip water and soap and keep it
seasoned with repeated use. I love my cast iron!

Jill

Agreed!

Thanks again for all the advice and shared experience - one more newbie
question to trouble you with: I'm finding that whether I use a paper
towell or a cloth towell, I'm getting lots of fibers sticking to the
pan. Does this stop as the pan gets smoother or better seasoned?

sally

Thanks again for all the advice and shared experience - one more newbie
question to trouble you with: I'm finding that whether I use a paper
towell or a cloth towell, I'm getting lots of fibers sticking to the
pan. Does this stop as the pan gets smoother or better seasoned?

sally

Quoted message said:

Thanks again for all the advice and shared experience - one more newbie
question to trouble you with: I'm finding that whether I use a paper
towell or a cloth towell, I'm getting lots of fibers sticking to the
pan. Does this stop as the pan gets smoother or better seasoned?

sally

Strange. I don't recall having this problem. Is the surface of the pan
pretty smooth from the seasoning? It should be almost satiny (new
word?) when it's seasoned. Stuff shouldn't be sticking. Maybe Jill or
someone will have some experience with that. How did you season it?
What temp, how long, in over or on stovetop?

Quoted message said:

Thanks again for all the advice and shared experience - one more newbie
question to trouble you with: I'm finding that whether I use a paper
towell or a cloth towell, I'm getting lots of fibers sticking to the
pan. Does this stop as the pan gets smoother or better seasoned?

sally

Strange. I don't recall having this problem. Is the surface of the pan
pretty smooth from the seasoning? It should be almost satiny (new
word?) when it's seasoned. Stuff shouldn't be sticking. Maybe Jill or
someone will have some experience with that. How did you season it?
What temp, how long, in over or on stovetop?

Quoted message said:

Thanks again for all the advice and shared experience - one more
newbie question to trouble you with: I'm finding that whether I use a
paper towell or a cloth towell, I'm getting lots of fibers sticking
to the pan. Does this stop as the pan gets smoother or better
seasoned?

sally

I've not run into this problem. Did you wipe the pan when it was still
warm? Guess I should have mentioned to wipe it out before it gets stone
cold. If you used it for eggs, even with a regular non-stick pan, eggs can
sometimes be problematic. Try one of those nylon scrubbie things. Then
heat some oil and season it some more in the oven.

Jill

I was wiping it to dry it, actually. I think I'll just heat it up on
the burner to dry, and leave it at that. Meanwhile, I'm loving the pan!

sally

Quoted message said:

I was wiping it to dry it, actually. I think I'll just heat it up on
the burner to dry, and leave it at that. Meanwhile, I'm loving the
pan!

sally

Dry it from what?

Jill

Quoted message said:

Thanks again for all the advice and shared experience - one more newbie
question to trouble you with: I'm finding that whether I use a paper
towell or a cloth towell, I'm getting lots of fibers sticking to the
pan. Does this stop as the pan gets smoother or better seasoned?

I know what you're talking about... particularly on the outside of the pan,
which might remain rough, little bits may come off the paper towel. Don't
rub so hard! ;-) With time the inside of the pan should become satiny
smooth, as another poster mentioned.

I wouldn't worry about the water too much. I rinse my cast iron off under
hot water going over it with a plastic dobie pad. Then I dry it with a paper
towel. I often put it into my oven, an old one with a pilot light that stays
fairly warm to get rid of any last traces of moisture. If the pan has seen a
lot of use and has a decent coat of baked on oil/grease, that step really
isn't necessary. Just make sure it is completely dry before storing away
stacked with other pans.

I do have one pan that has never seen water, but that is a French carbon
steel omelette pan that has only had buter and eggs in it. I always just
wipe it out with a paper towel after use and hang it up.

I would make one note as to how completely one drys a cast iron pan before
putting it away... it might depend on climate. At my parent's house in
Florida, it seemed everything rusted, including the front of the
refrigerator which was enameled. Even canned goods would start to rust if
kept around a long time.