Why does food stick to a cast iron skillet?

Any kitchen utensil should perform its main function. A frying pan is designed to cook food on it while preserving the taste and quality of the products. A cast iron product in some cases does not cope with this task, because food sometimes burns on it.

What can you cook in a cast iron skillet

Cookware made from such material is highly durable. Its shelf life, if used correctly, is calculated in decades. Cast iron weighs a lot, but will ultimately last a long time.

You can cook any dish on such a frying pan. When heated well, pancakes and fritters are baked perfectly on it. Meat food is also easily cooked using a cast iron frying pan. You can fry vegetables, mushrooms and roast seeds on it.

Why does food burn on a cast iron pan and what to do about it

Such a product is durable, but it has a significant drawback. Burning on such a frying pan will hardly surprise anyone. After numerous fryings, food begins to stick to the bottom of the cast iron cookware as soon as it warms up.

This kind of trouble can arise for the following reasons:

1. Incorrect use. Food can burn even on a new cast iron frying pan if it was processed without taking into account the recommendations of specialists.
2. Care not according to instructions. Any coating will fail prematurely if the cookware is used and stored incorrectly.
3. Buying a fake. If you want to save money on kitchenware, the chance of getting a low-quality product increases. A defective product will also affect the longevity of its use.

How to Prevent an Aluminum Frying Pan from Sticking

Aluminum is an inexpensive and durable metal. However, food can burn on it too. To avoid this problem, you should do the following:

1. Primary cleaning. This should include washing the dishes with any non-abrasive product. Aluminum has small pores that are easily damaged when cleaning with a hard substance.
2. Using oil. It is better to buy a cotton extractor in this case. Oil should be poured into the frying pan so that it covers its entire bottom. A pinch of salt should be added to the viscous substance.
3. Calcination. It is done for half an hour. After that, the oil is drained and the frying pan is wiped with a paper napkin.

What to do with a Teflon frying pan so that food does not burn

This coating requires delicate care. What to do if a Teflon frying pan burns? In this case, vegetable oil will help. Teflon will last less than steel. However, its service life will increase after regularly greasing the bottom and walls of the frying pan with fat.

The thirtieth wash is a signal to feed the Teflon coating with vegetable oil. It should be heated, cooled and carefully rubbed into the walls of the aluminum frying pan.

Methods to Prevent a Frying Pan from Sticking

This method of cleaning the surface of kitchenware allows you to get rid of unpleasant odors. After such treatment, food stops burning and sticking to the cast iron product.

Firing on the stove or in the oven

The cast iron frying pan burns - what to do in this case? Firing on the stove or in the oven is done after cleaning the inside of the cookware. If there is burnt food on its walls, the frying pan is washed several times under running water.

There is no particular difference between firing on the stove or in the oven. It all depends on the degree of contamination of the kitchen utensils. In the oven, firing is done in a more delicate way than on direct fire. This type of treatment usually uses soda, which is boiled in water for 5 minutes.

Dry firing of cast iron products is possible. It is done after purchasing a new frying pan. Calcination lasts at least 10 minutes, after which the cookware can be used.

Burning with salt

A simple method of firing is carried out in stages.

1. Selecting salt. Coarse salt is not suitable for tempering a frying pan. In this case, using fine salt is encouraged. Its layer should completely cover the bottom of the cast iron cookware.
2. Calcination. The process will take about an hour if the pan is kept on low heat. The salt should be stirred periodically for greater effect of thermal treatment of the walls of the dish.
3. Rubbing. After the kitchen utensils have cooled completely, they need to be further processed. The calcined salt needs to be thoroughly rubbed over the entire inside of the frying pan. For this, you will need a soft cloth or napkin.

After burning with salt, the utensils cannot be washed for two days. After the said term, the frying pan is rinsed in cold water.

Quenching with oil

There are several methods of such processing that will help to avoid burning of food. The most effective of them looks like this.

1. Rubbing with fat. It is better to use a piece of lard or vegetable oil. This remedy will help if you then put the frying pan in the oven.
2. Heat treatment. Place the cast iron cookware on a grid or baking sheet. Hardening with oil should last no more than an hour at a temperature of 100 – 150 ºC.
3. Cleaning. The oil should be removed after processing. In this case, it is best to wipe the walls of the kitchen utensils with a napkin.
4. Cooling. After heat treatment, the frying pan should be placed in a cool place. It cannot be washed for three days after hardening with oil.

Why does a cast iron skillet turn black?

Reasons for the appearance of black spots on dishes.

1. Low-quality product. The surface of the frying pan may have been damaged during manufacturing. It is difficult to detect microcracks on it with the naked eye.
2. Fatty base residues. Machine oil is used during the manufacturing of products. In some cases, it remains on the surface of the product.
3. Improper care. Baking soda-based detergents are not always suitable for daily care of a cast iron skillet.

How to clean a frying pan from blackness

If you already have an existing problem, you can try two methods to get rid of carbon deposits.

Citric acid

There are two recipes for using this substance.

1. Soap + citric acid. 4 teaspoons of the caustic substance should be diluted in 2 liters of water. The resulting mixture should be boiled and kept on low heat for half an hour. Then the dishes are washed with a solution of laundry soap at the rate of half a bar per liter of water. You can use any product to remove citric acid. However, for greater effect, it is worth using laundry soap.
2. Vinegar + citric acid. The walls of the frying pan are treated with the resulting mixture using gloves. It is prepared from 2 liters of water, 100 g of citric acid and 150 ml of vinegar. The liquid should be boiled, the frying pan should be immersed in it for half an hour, and then the dishes should be washed under running water.

Mustard powder

You can treat the walls of the frying pan with this caustic substance. It can really clean its inside and outside without damaging the coating of the product.

Recipe for carbon deposit remover:

1. Making the paste: Make it from 1 teaspoon of mustard powder and 100 ml of water.
2. Surface treatment. Using a soft brush, lubricate the problematic areas of the cookware with blackening. The paste should be thoroughly rubbed into the surface of the frying pan.

If there is old carbon deposits, this recipe will not help. You need to add a little vinegar to the paste. The resulting mixture should be applied to the black spots and not washed off for 5-6 hours. After this time, the dishes should be wiped with a soft sponge.

A solution of soda and vinegar

This composition is used if food starts to burn due to rust. The problem can be avoided as follows:

1. Selecting a container. Its size depends on the degree of damage to the walls of the cast iron pan. If a large part of it is damaged, then you will need a saucepan of impressive size.
2. Treatment with soda and vinegar. In a solution of 1 teaspoon of each ingredient per liter of water, the dishes should be soaked for three hours. If you reduce the treatment time, vinegar and soda will not be able to dissolve the rust.

Important! If you want to leave the product in the solution for four hours, there is a risk of damaging the cast iron base of the cookware.

Cleaning with glue and soap

Carbon deposits can be removed using a simple recipe.

1. Preparation of the composition. Its base is 0.5 kg of soda, 300 ml of office glue and crushed laundry soap. The ingredients need to be mixed and poured with 1 liter of water.
2. Warming up. The frying pan is placed in a larger container and put in the oven. The time it takes to process the dishes depends on how quickly the carbon deposits separate from the walls.
3. Rinsing. It is done in hot water using a brush with a soft base.

How to Restore a Cast Iron Skillet from Sticking

In rare cases, this metal fails completely. The aluminum and Teflon layer has a much shorter service life. Restoring a cast iron frying pan depends on the type of damage. In case of scratches, it is better to treat it with sunflower oil after each cooking. To remove carbon deposits, use soda, salt, citric acid or mustard powder.

How to care for a frying pan

Cast iron is a material resistant to any deformations, and with proper care you can fry on it for many years. You can extend its service life by following certain rules.

1. Calcination. It is done by heating in the oven at a temperature of up to 180 C. In this case, it is better to use oil to create a non-stick layer.
2. Washing. Do not process a new frying pan in cold water. Boiling water is also not suitable for preparing the dishes for use. It is necessary to wash the kitchen utensils in hot water with the addition of a soap base. The brush for such processing should not contain metal elements. It is better to opt for a soft sponge.

Maintenance of cast iron cookware is not limited to primary treatment. After use, it is recommended to follow the following tips.

1. Timely cleaning. A crust that forms on the surface of the cookware is a sign that the frying pan is not being properly cared for. Clean the cookware with a soft sponge and hot water after each cooking session.
2. Limit the use of soap. Water with a reasonable dosage will clean the surface of a cast iron pan. Bleach is not allowed when treating the dirty part of such cookware.
3. Dry regularly. Food can burn and stick to the sides of a cast iron pan if rust forms on the bottom. You can avoid this problem by drying your cookware after each use.
4. Skipping the dishwasher. The time saved will ultimately result in expensive equipment breaking down and damaging the surface of your cast iron skillet.
5. Using a wooden spatula. Some housewives believe that cast iron is scratch-resistant. This misconception leads to the food burning on the surface damaged by sharp objects.
6. Storage on a stand. It is better to keep the frying pan separately from the rest of the dishes. A stand made of wood or stainless steel will do.
7. Frequent use. Cast iron is a material that needs to be treated regularly with a fat base. This will make it last longer and prevent rust from forming.

What to do if your frying pan burns periodically? The main thing is not to rush if you want to buy a new product. A cast iron product will last for many years if you take proper care of it.

VIDEO: Creating a non-stick coating on a frying pan.