Cast-iron..Everything everything sticks

Little Kopit wrote:
People, use good natural oils to season your cast iron.

Olive oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil are so much better than artificial stuff. Yes, crisco and margarine are just as artifical as pam.

Natural oils make a better finish to your seasoning and don't stink up the house while the oven does it's thing.

:C

Agree. Pam ruins regular bakeware and non stick pans. I use homemade pan release on my baking pans (which does BTW have some Crisco on it but does not cause buildup on pans the way Pam does), and oil on my cast iron. My DO has a beautiful thick non-stick layer from good seasoning.
Instead of Pam when cooking, I brush one tsp of oil on my pan with a silicone brush. That's really all it takes and adds no appreciable calories of cooking for more than one person.

Little Kopit wrote:
People, use good natural oils to season your cast iron.

Olive oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil are so much better than artificial stuff. Yes, crisco and margarine are just as artifical as pam.

Natural oils make a better finish to your seasoning and don't stink up the house while the oven does it's thing.

:C

X2

Johnworth914 wrote:
NO One washes my cast iron but me.

No one uses or cleans ours except myself and my son.. He takes as good care of it as I do.

My grandmother and my mother always washed their cast iron skillets in soapy hot water. They just didn't ever let them soak. In the water, quick wash with the dish cloth and then right back out to be rinsed with hot water. Then set on the stove over a burner - let it heat and watch the moisture disappear. All dry with no moisture remaining in 30 seconds over a gas flame, let sit a few minutes and store.

I routinely give mine a quick wash with slightly soapy water. No sticking problems, but it has been in use for years ans is well seasoned. One rule we follow. NO One washes my cast iron but me.

I wash mine when it needs it, as did my mother, Gmother and GGmother. Season well.

My griddle never touches water, just because nothing sticks.. Wipe clean and done. I do wash all my other stuff.

Add oil before cooking, and add more after, wipe, and let heat a bit. I keep some of my newly seasoned pans in the oven, and so after each oven use they get a bit more seasoned. Once a week, I wipe them with oil, and put them back in the oven.. After awhile, nothing sticks at all..

I use plastic scrapers and plastic scrubbies.... Try not to scrub too hard.

the way it was explained to me by someone much smarter then myself is that you want to expand the molecules in the iron to open up the casting. Then insert your lubricant. Oil, lard, grease whatever. Then cool the the iron and 'trapping' the seasoning in. Then when you cook you heat the cast iron up to the point that it releases the lube and prevents the sticking. If you exceed the temperature of what you used to season or expand the metal beyond the temperature of which it contains lubricant, the food will stick and burn. I have found that a good way to season my cast iron initially is to heat it in the oven. Then coat it with a high temperature oil and let it cool. To keep it seasoned I (almost) NEVER us soap or anything that will cut the oil. Then after every cooking I deglaze the pan, rinse and wipe clean. Then apply a fresh coat of oil.

Go Dogs wrote:
I always season the preseasoned cast iron. Cast iron is great, but not for everyone. It has a learning curve and a committment process. Plenty of info on the Lodge webpage and YouTube. If you decide you don't like your cast iron, don't throw it away-give it to someone that appreciates it!

Plenty of great advice here. Let me reiterate that even though the new pan says "pre-seasoned", you still need to season it well with oil or lard before usage.

Everyone I have ever bought that said pre-seasoned, the label and instructions on it all said to season it yourself BEFORE using it.