From the Survival Blog
Dear XXXX,
Hi - first off, I am in NO way an
expert or even knowledgeable enough about this matter to offer advice.
After reading Chemistry of Cast
Iron Seasoning in Odds 'n Sods,I became interested in the subject as I
generally just use grapeseed oil to season my pans. The very first article I
pulled up not only refuted the information in the article above, but it also
suggested that taking the advice of the article above could be dangerous.
Here is the relevant extract:
'Perhaps no other related topic is so rife with garbage on the internet than
the seasoning of cast iron pans. It is cancerous with political correctness and
completely removed from practicality. I think the worst that I have read was
someone selling new pans and (proudly) saying he seasoned them with flax seed
oil. Flax seed oil? That is just about the most unstable polyunsaturated oil
there is. It is so unstable -- read easy to oxidize -- one never cooks with it,
ever. To subject it to high heat for seasoning can create dangerous compounds
and guarantees lousy performance. It is difficult to express just how stupid
that is. I've also read where people spray a pan with no-stick spray then throw
the pan in the oven at 500F for three hours, a pointless expensive exercise
that might burn the house down.'
Here is the full article. I haven't the foggiest notion who
is right and who is wrong on this matter, but I thought it worthy of being
brought to your attention. - J.B.
HJL Replies: I'm almost
embarrassed to admit how we treat our cast iron. We have two pieces that have
been handed down at least three generations. The standard procedure is to use
whatever oil is at hand-- canola(rape seed), olive, lard, butter, whatever. The
meal is prepared and then the pan is merely wiped out with a paper towel while
still warm. Since the pan is used on a daily basis, it never imparts a bad
taste. Occasionally someone will cook something in it that ruins the season or
cooks a strong flavored food which requires soap and steel wool to clean. In
these cases, it generally has to be re-seasoned and the most common method is
to wipe it down with canola oil and heat it on the stove top or oven. We
generally just heat it until the oil is right below the point where it smokes
and then let it cool down on the stove. About every 5 years or so, we begin to
notice a black crud forming on the rim above the level that food is generally
at. When it becomes noticeable, I just take the pan out into the yard and use a
100,000 BTU weed burner to heat it to the point that the carbon crud burns off,
then let it cool down overnight and re-season it in the morning. There are many
who would say that we are abusing our cast iron, but it's tough to argue with a
process and pan that are 100 years old. My wife informs me that making her
southern cornbread is an excellent way to keep the skillet seasoned. She pours
about 1/4" of canola oil into the skillet and pre-heats it to 425 degrees
before pouring the batter (made without any oil) into the hot oil. The
cornbread is then crispy, southern-fried and your skillet is a pleasure to work
with.
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