As an aside: If you have high carbon food burnt on a pot…the crusty stuff that just will not soften and soak off.
Try covering it about 1/2 inch with Hydrogen Peroxide, and 1tsp baking soda. Warm it up to start the reaction. It will break the bond of the crusty stuff to the pan. You can then just scrap it off with a wooden spoon–but most of it will just float off.
When you warm it start bubbling…and it will stink. So turn on the vent, move the bird, and open a window.
Maybe some boing boing chemist here will comment if that would be safe on Cast Iron. I would say no, but I’ve used it on enamel on cast iron and stainless steel.
This might be a good article if you purposely burn a pan dry with maybe some applesauce…and document the process.
Edit: I would not try this on a cast iron until I hear it would be okay–as it seems to react with carbon; which is what helps cast iron be non-stick.
I’d be more concerned about micro fractures, not the seasoning. Maybe you can test it if you have a microscope. Or one of those digital microscopes you can set on things. Either photo a known section and scrub and photo it again…or turn it over and find a ‘virgin’ area and scrub and take a look. Those little fractures are biggest thing that causes food to stick.
I vaguely remember reading a guide, about a year ago, that said avocado oil was THE best, but almost any oil can work. The main point I got from that guide was that, unlike all the other advice I had gotten before, the pan/pot/whatever has to be heated enough so as to smoke a little.
I occasionally see antique chain-mail pan scrubbers at flea markets and antique shops. They almost always have a metal handle that holds the triangular piece of the chain mail.
The guide I shared above, which I also recall Cory sharing here a while back, calls Avocado about the worst to use. No Omega 3s and ALA count is low. Flaxseed is what the author recommends.
I am planning to buy one or two Griswold pans, strip them and season meticulously then compare to the Lodge. I’ll photograph the whole thing.
You can practically scratch aluminum just by looking at it, it’s far softer than steel or cast iron. I do agree any metal on metal is going to cause scratches and wear, but if you are cooking with a decent amount of oil/fat then it shouldn’t be a deal.
Because, realistically, if metal on metal was that big of an issue no one would have metal utensils. And I use metal utensils on my nonstick Scanpan…
Yes, eventually. I’ve been there. 20 year old skillet I had to start completely over with.
All you need is a dedicated nylon bristle brush to knock off any solids. Dedicated so you know it doesn’t have detergent residue on it, that will also ruin your seasoning. Brush under hot water, dry, and store.
I got one of these, and it’s great. I used to use steel wool or other similar scrubbers, but the steel wool rusts rapidly, and the coarser steel scrubbers get saturated with grease and are impossible to clean. This is better, and I expect it to have payed for itself within a year.
Baking soda and warm water actually works fine without the peroxide. Though it can take a longer soak. The powdered/tablet detergent from your dishwasher also works.
In terms of cast iron, it isn’t carbon that creates the non-stick properties. But polymerized oil, though there’s probably a fair bit of carbon embedded in there. Its basically a hard baked on coating similar to what you get with linseed oil type furniture finishes (linseed and flax seed oils are the same oil essentially). I wouldn’t try any baking soda or peroxide based cleaning methods on cast iron or carbon steel. Both are bases, and bases are one of the two most commonly recommended ways to strip a pan. The other being heat (self clean cycle in the oven being the most common way). So its most likely going to damage, or completely remove, the season.
Thanks, my recollection was “…something, something, something, avocado oil…”
(WTF is avocado oil?) Wasn’t grape seed oil also recommended? I have a tin in my basement pantry.
I purchased a Lodge pan some years ago. The seasoning didn’t really last. Multiple seasoning attempts all failed to hold; I was using my mother’s recommendations: very slow oven, thin coating.
My latest go at seasoning - canola oil?, some bacon fat?, can’t remember - where I let the pan smoke a little has left a good, durable seasoning.
Canola is a good oil for seasoning. Grape seed, like avocado is very high temperature but, reading the post, that’s not what you want. You want omega 3s and high ALA counts. Lower temperature smoke point is great, and super thin coating. I wipe it on with a paper towel and then wipe it off with another, dry one, then heat.
I just remembered what I used to use before I had a chain mail scrubber, and it’s very convenient for things like camping. Keep the plastic mesh bags that oranges, onions, etc. come in. Cut them down to smaller sections, whatever size you like. They work well as scrubbers and you can throw them out when they get gross.
I use the chainmail scrubber and a plastic scraper. Works great. Plastic scraper first then the chainmail. Chainmail thick round links doesn’t scrape the pan and doesn’t require a lot of pressure either. After cleaning i put on low heat to get the water off then hit it with a real thin layer of oil.
I’ve used that technique at least three times to try to re-season an old pan of mine, and never got the results promised. I finally released that pan to the wilds of Goodwill in hopes someone else with better luck would adopt it, and bought a pre-seasoned one.
