Simple Cast Iron Question...I hope

Alfred622 wrote:
Personally, I would NOT store cast iron in a zip lock plastic bag. Reason is moisture condensation which could impart rust. Much better would be a paper bag (we've used paper grocery bags for years) or cloth that breathes. Just my 2-cents!

Yes. We store ours with paper towels hit lightly with Pam or the like. I would never put mine in anything that sealed them off from air circulation.

Wife gave me a stack of old pillow cases to use. It also gave her a great excuse to shop for new linens.:B

I store my camp oven in the trailer's oven.. Oven rarely gets used, and the feet of the dutch oven gets into the slots of the rack so it doesn't slide around while driving.

I usually just stack my skillets with cloths between and put them underneath the sink.. Not particularly sanitary, but I get them really hot before I use them.

We store our oiled iron in bags made from flannel dish cloths. They can "breath" and the iron doesn't collect crud. The bags have dividers to keep lid separate so they don't clank while driving.

down home wrote:
Old cast iron was made with the eye toward making it as non porous and slick as possible. The new stuff is made just the opposite and the pores are bigger and more of them. It does not perform like the old iron.

Cast iron is porous, regardless of the finish. The pores are microscopic. The old stuff was ground smooth, but the pores still exist.

I prefer the old over the new, but a well-seasoned new-style skillet can still be very non-stick if maintained properly.

Seasoned cast iron will attract mold and mildew when stored over time where it is damp or cool.
If it has a black crust it is less likely to be attacked.
Wife hadn't used a bunch of our cast iron over a long time and when we took them out for the move we found it with dark green and gray on some so it was back in the oven on oven clean and then reseason after cleaning the dust or soot off. She left some in the oven overnight and rust formed and had to be cleaned up.
Cast iron rust not only on the surface but in the metal since it is porous. Old cast iron was made with the eye toward making it as non porous and slick as possible. The new stuff is made just the opposite and the pores are bigger and more of them. It does not perform like the old iron.

I think a lot of folks think you have to baby cast iron. That is just not the case. A well seasoned cast iron pan is nearly indestructible and I have never harmed any of my ironware through the years of abuse it has endured through washing with soap (yes, gasp!, even soap). Some of the pieces I own are 50+ years old.

I store mine in an old flannel pillow case I bought at a thrift store. If you have a lid, do not put it on the pan.

Look I live very near salt water, like within sound of fog horns.

I store my cast iron in my house.

With Dutch Ovens, I leave the lid on the oven.

I mesh, i.e., stack, frying pans.

My cast iron is just seasoned. I don't do any stuff like put a fresh coat of oil on my ci after cooking with it.

So, I may live in the land of fairly high average humidity, but I don't get rust because of how I store things.

:C

I will either go the paper bag route or the pillow case idea. Thanks for all the input. The problem with plastic is what I thought it would be...moisture can not escape. Thanks again!