Seasoning a Cast Iron Skillet

Most kitchen utensils require special care to extend their service life. Cast iron is considered a metal that only needs to be treated when it gets very dirty. This misconception ultimately leads to food burning in such pans and losing its taste.

Features of calcining a cast iron frying pan

The type of product matters when choosing the method of its processing. Standard products should be distinguished from a grill pan. The usual cast iron pan without a ceramic coating is difficult to disable.

Why You Should Season a New Cast Iron Skillet

Fire treatment is necessary for:

• increasing the service life of products;
• preparation of quality food;
• eliminating the risk of food burning;
• quality control of purchased goods.

Professional cooks and novices alike have to deal with cast iron products when cooking. They are practical and long-lasting if their maintenance is not a formality.

There are five reasons why it is absolutely necessary to season a frying pan:

1. Initial use. Many of us know that the first pancake is often a flop. The same risk exists when you do not want to season your cast iron cookware after purchasing it.
2. Getting rid of carbon deposits. Cast iron containers can last a long time, so they require regular cleaning. The remains of rancid fat on the walls of such utensils will turn quality products into inedible and harmful food during cooking.
3. Want to bake pancakes or thin fritters. Without calcining the cast iron product, it is difficult to avoid the dough sticking to the bottom of the pan during frying. The problem is easily solved: the frying pan is dried and cleaned during the firing.
4. Maintaining the product's appearance. Even new products need to be looked after. Cast iron has microscopic pores that get clogged with food during regular cooking. This can cause rust to appear, which will then destroy the durable product.
5. Checking the quality of the manufacturer. You won't surprise anyone with buying a fake. If you start to burn a low-quality product, its bottom and walls will be covered with cracks or the imaginary cast iron will swell with bubbles.

What are the purposes of processing cast iron cookware?

This process is necessary for:

• saving money at the risk of buying new products later;
• increasing the resistance to thermal deformation of cast iron;
• getting rid of industrial coatings that are harmful to health.

Stages of tempering cast iron pans

Such products do not require much effort during their processing. However, it would not hurt to voice the stages of hardening cast iron pans:

1. Preparatory. It is important to bring the product into proper condition before subjecting it to heat. A dirty or damp frying pan before tempering is a waste of time for the housewife and a zero end result after processing.
2. The main process. Its duration and instructions for implementation depend on the chosen method of calcining the cast iron product.
3. Consolidation of the result. Usually it is limited to washing dishes with or without detergent. Then the kitchen utensils should be thoroughly dried.

How to Prepare a Cast Iron Skillet for Searing

It is important to remove the factory grease from the product initially. It is necessary for the production of high-quality household utensils. It cannot be left unused when processing molding containers. Otherwise, it will be difficult to remove the finished product from the base.

It is also worth remembering that new cast iron cookware is treated with a special anti-corrosion layer. Such precautions are necessary to give the product a marketable appearance without rust.

The above-mentioned coatings must be removed during the production of kitchen utensils. If you ignore this advice, their components will end up in your food. Calcination will help you avoid this problem in order to destroy harmful microparticles. It is enough to wash the dishes, dry them, and use one of the many methods of heat treatment.

Warning! The firing process can hardly be called a pleasant event. It is recommended to open a window or turn on the exhaust hood during it.

How to temper a frying pan at home

It is possible to anneal cast iron products at home. If you follow all the instructions, its hardening will not take much time.

Before first use

A cast iron frying pan must be heat treated before first use. A manufacturing defect will be immediately identified during such a mini-test. If it is detected, the product must be returned immediately.

The natural non-stick layer after using the utensils has nothing in common with new products from the conveyor. Before the first use, the product must be calcined with salt, oil or vinegar solution, so as not to complain later about the money spent inappropriately.

How to Season an Old Frying Pan

A product that has been in use for a long time may become rusty. If the metal corrosion has not gone too far, the utensil can be saved. Rule number one in this case is to calcine the cast iron for a long time.

The process can take a considerable amount of time until the utensils are completely free of rust. A hard metal sponge will come in handy if the inside of the pan has particularly problematic areas. After such aggressive treatment, the product must be re-fired.

Don't wait for old dishes to cool down. You should immediately coat them with oil to create a protective surface film.

How to process correctly during operation

After the initial preparation of the dishes for use, you should think about a competent approach to their processing during operation. There are no special recommendations in this case. The process is limited to four rules: avoiding sharp objects when stirring, drying, calcining, and processing with oil.

How to prepare enamel and non-stick cookware

Enamel can hardly be called a material with increased resistance to deformation. Non-stick coating also does not always please with its long service life.

The conclusion in this case is clear - you can't calcine such dishes. It is enough to rinse them in warm water with a mild detergent.

How to Burn an Aluminum Frying Pan

Products made of this metal are beautiful if properly cared for. In terms of durability, they are definitely inferior to cast iron models. However, if the pores of the metal are regularly sealed, it can last a long time.

The most traditional way of burning aluminum kitchenware involves using salt of any grind. You can do without it by using plain water:

1. Boiling. The liquid should be thermally treated for five minutes. After this time, it is drained.
2. Natural drying. There is no need to wipe the aluminum pan after boiling water in it. It is better to leave it to dry in a warm place.
3. Applying oil. The bottom and sides of the dishes should be treated with a fat base. It should not be washed off for a couple of days.

Chemical cleaning agents will not be needed after this treatment.

Methods of processing a cast iron skillet

There are many ways to bring cast iron cookware into proper condition. Each of them is left to the discretion of the housewife who purchased such a frying pan.

Calcination with salt before using for the first time

The method voiced has been used since ancient times, because it is easy to perform. The only condition is that the frying pan must be monitored during its processing.

Preparing utensils for calcination:

1. Washing. You can't do without a special product in this case. There should be no foam left on the surface of the dishes after washing.
2. Drying. You cannot calcine wet cast iron, because the procedure will have to be repeated later.
3. Check: A perfectly clean frying pan surface is the key to successful frying of the dishes.

The procedure for calcining utensils:

1. Using salt. The substance should be evenly distributed over the bottom of the dish. A centimeter layer is enough for the calcination procedure. When choosing a product, you do not need its iodized version.

   

2. Calcination. The procedure lasts 15-20 minutes with the possibility of an unpleasant smell in the kitchen. Do not put the frying pan on high heat to speed up the processing.

   

3. Grease the bottom and sides with oil. It is enough to use a small amount of viscous liquid, which should be heated for 15 minutes. If there is no vegetable oil at home, you can use lard or any fat of animal origin.

   

4. Washing. There is no need to use detergent during this procedure. It is enough to rinse the pan and blot it with a napkin.

Roasting with oil

An effective method is easy to implement:

1. Using oil. Do not skimp on the amount of the base for tempering the frying pan. It is best to choose refined oil, which is odorless. You can use its unrefined version if this fact does not cause inconvenience to the hostess.
2. Warming up. It is enough to keep the oil on the stove for 30 minutes. There is no need to make a big fire, because the oil will quickly boil away.
3. Washing. Oil is difficult to remove without detergent. In this case, use soap foam.

Oven processing

This method of calcination can hardly be called the most effective. It is suitable for housewives who do not want to use salt and oil.

To temper it, you need to:

• clean the dishes with a mild detergent;
• lightly soak sterile gauze in vegetable oil;
• wipe the cast iron skillet thoroughly;
• lubricate the utensils with gauze without using too much oil;
• place the dish upside down in the oven at 180 °C;
• heat the pan for an hour;
• turn off the oven and wait until the dishes have cooled completely.

Tempering on the plate

It is necessary to distinguish between calcining cast iron on gas and using electric burners. In the first case, it is necessary to monitor the process more carefully if the heat treatment is carried out using oil.

The stages of tempering on the stove are not much different from the same method of firing in the oven. The product must be processed until its bottom and walls acquire a gray color. This usually takes from 10 to 15 minutes.

After the kitchen utensils have cooled, they should be rinsed first in hot water and then in cool water.

Combinations of methods

In general, it will be difficult to produce them. However, their periodic combination is theoretically and practically justified. Everything depends on the time that the housewife can devote to the process of additional protection and care of her kitchenware.

Experts offer their own way out of this situation in the form of a combination of oil and salt. Initially, the salt is calcined for 15 minutes over low heat. Then the used material is removed, and oil is poured into the frying pan after rinsing it with hot water. Heating the product should not exceed 15 minutes.

After removing the oil and its excess, place the pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes to create a non-stick film.

How long to preheat a frying pan

It all depends on the method by which the product was processed. A lot of time will be spent if the frying pan is in the oven. However, this method of processing can be called safe, because the hostess is not expected to have direct contact with fire.

The traditional approach of hardening with salt will not take more than 20 minutes. The method is safe and quick to perform, but not every housewife will be able to constantly monitor this process. In addition, the smell of salt, which will absorb the remains of food, will not be to everyone's liking.

When using vegetable oil, the process can be extended if the treatment is carried out twice. Experts say that this approach to solving the problem makes the protective layer of the frying pan more reliable. Therefore, the double hardening will take the housewife about an hour.

It is better to process the grill pan in the oven. The time spent will pay off, because the cookware will then serve for a long time.

Method of calcination over an open fire

How to burn a cast iron frying pan if you can't use a stove or oven for this purpose? It should be remembered that we are talking about a rather dangerous way to extend the shelf life of cast iron utensils.

You can use an open fire even during a hike. In such cases, do not take ceramic dishes or other delicate materials with you.

How to choose the right method

The solution to this issue depends on the model of the purchased product and some other nuances:

1. Absence/presence of a handle. The method of processing a frying pan in the oven directly depends on this factor. If there is no removable handle, you should forget about this method. The stove will work only in one case. It is convenient to temper models with wooden and glass ceramic handles on it.
2. The condition of the frying pan. In this case, it is worth assessing the degree of preservation of the old cookware and the possibilities of using the new utensils. A recently purchased product from a trusted manufacturer can be calcined in any convenient way.
3. Kitchen equipment. You may not have a range hood at home, which is worth remembering if you want to treat a cast iron pan with unrefined oil and salt.

Caring for your new cast iron skillet

The principle of caring for it is not much different from the actions in relation to old utensils. It can be characterized as follows:

1. Avoid storing food in the cookware. Cast iron has the ability to quickly absorb any odors. Regular hardening will solve the problem, but it is better not to take unnecessary risks.
2. Regular drying. Cast iron begins to rust if the product is not wiped with a rag after each wash. It would not hurt to additionally calcine it and treat it with a fat base.
3. Refusal to use a dishwasher. Again, we are talking about the same rust, which cannot always be removed by calcination.
4. Maintaining the temperature regime. You should not wash a cast iron frying pan immediately after cooking. The non-stick oil film may be damaged. It is enough to wait for the cookware to cool down and then clean it with a soft sponge.

   

5. Fall protection. Cast iron is a fairly strong material, but it is not eternal if seriously deformed. It is better to place your utensils in places where the cast iron frying pan will not fall.
6. Using special mixtures. They can be made and used at home. The most popular is a mixture of dry mustard and baking soda. You can not combine the named ingredients and use them separately. The protective layer of the product will not be damaged if the frying pan is soaked in such a composition.
7. Prohibition on pouring cold water. Some housewives are puzzled as to why their cast iron product cracks. You cannot pour cold water over the remains of hot food in such cookware to cool it.
8. Limitation in washing. This concerns kitchen utensils that are used only for preparing one dish. It is enough to clean them with a sponge and heat them for five minutes.

When preparing a cast iron frying pan for the first use and in the case of tempering old cookware, you should carefully study the advice given. They will help preserve the new product and restore the familiar utensils, which can be passed on to your daughters.

VIDEO: How to prepare a cast iron skillet for use.