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Location: Finally made it to Florida and lovin' every minute!
22,677 posts, read 19,265,595 times
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Enjoy, cassy. I got 3 for Christmas.
That's right, no 'sketti sauce. I'd rinse them. You don't know who's been handling them. Use veggie oil. I'm not sure if you have to do it every time. Weren't there directions with yours? I had some with mine. I've heard the same about iron.
I'm sure you'll hear from others who are much more experienced with them than I am. I had cast iron years ago, but left them when I left first hubster. Enjoy!
I got the 5 qt chicken fryer w/ lid -
I've read that I can't make acidic stuff in them - like spaghtti sauce, etc. Is that true?
If you've got a good cure on it, a couple of tomatoes aren't going to hurt it at all. Would I reduce a tomato sauce all day in one? Probably not, but it's the wrong vessel for the job anyway.
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Also, can I wait until after we've eaten to rinse them out and dry them or does it need to be done before we eat?
Easier the sooner you do it.
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Do I apply oil EACH time I use them and if so, should it be olive oil or vegetable oil?
Yes, and either is fine.
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Oh, also, I read that cooking on cast iron gives you your daily amount of iron - is that true?
I don't think it is. If you've got a good cure on it, that's pretty much pure carbon - to get down to the iron, your cure would have to be removed in the process.
Last edited by arsbadmojo; 01-18-2009 at 07:45 AM..
Reason: clarification on oiling each time
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
2,218 posts, read 3,453,976 times
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I have been using a cast iron skillet that was once my dad's..this thing must be over 50 years old...and it is the most wonderful skillet I own. If you treat them with the little bit of care that they require, your children will hand them down to THEIR children!
Yes, I oil my skillet every time after use it. Just a drop or two of vegetable oil spread with a paper towel will do the trick. however, be sure that there is not so much oil that it is more than just a thin film. You only need a TINY bit. This keeps the pan from any rust and also it keeps it virtually non stick.
DO NOT put these items in the dishwasher..ever. Just once will wreck the "seasoning" of the metal and it will be unsatisfactory for good cooking. Simply rinse it out after each use, scour it with salt if you do have anything stick, then rinse again and oil it.
Absolutely its true..dont use it for any acid (tomato, citrus, etc) foods. But for all other uses, you will find these pans to be extremely useful vessels indeed.
My spaghetti sauce just wouldn't taste right if it weren't made in my cast iron skillet. However, it's got a REALLY good seasoning, and I treat it right.
I dry it on the burner, turned very low, after washing, and wipe it with an oiled paper towel after it's good and dry.
If I make spaghetti sauce in it, I make sure to deep fry something in it soon thereafter and leave the oil in overnight (just stick it in the oven to keep any critters out of it). That does as much to maintain the seasoning as anything else. I actually have several pieces, including one that I can trace back at least to my grandmother (I'm pushing 60 and was born when my mother, the youngest of 9, was 36), and perhaps to her mother.
NO dishwasher, ever! (My son kicked out a roommate over a repeated failure to understand this basic premise with HIS cast iron.)
Man I LOVE my cast iron cookware. I have years of seasoning on all of it and am very fussy about that. Unfortunatly my wife don't seem to get it.. As someone else said, hand wash, burner dry and wipe it down with an oiled rag of some type while the pan is still hot. That allows the oil to penetrate the the metal and it will seal in as it cools. There is NOTHING better for cooking than CI IMHO. It's great stuff, but it does take time to cure right and you have to take care of it right.
I had the 15 inch skillet but I got rid of it because its hugeness wasn't worth dealing with for storage etc.
I'm happy now with my 12 inch skillet, though I'd consider the 13.25 someday.
I actually reviewed that skillet when I got it before I decided it was just too big for us.
Here's what I said about cleaning:
Pour in a bit of water while the skillet is hot. Use tongs with paper towels or a dish towel to remove any stuck on bits from the bottom. If there are any left, pour in a little more water and repeat.
Then dry the pan and pour a little veg oil (sometimes I use shortening) in and rub into the entire skillet with a paper towel. Wipe off any excess. Once the pan is well-seasoned from many times cooking in it, I don't even oil the pan every time, just when it looks like it needs it. I always follow the number 1 commandment of cast iron though - don't leave any water hanging around inside, keep it DRY!
As long as we're talking about cast iron and how to care for it, I'd like to ask a question. I recently acquired a couple of old cast iron skillets. Neither appear to have been well cared for over the years. How can they be restored? Can I burn off what's on them now and start all over with seasoning them properly? What is the best way to try and salvage these oldies?
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