this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 hours ago

I use the washer and then let it sit wet over night to bring out its natural paprika seasoning.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 9 hours ago (3 children)

Carbon steel > cast iron. Lighter, basically the same heat properties, and you don't get peer pressured into unnecessarily babying a lump of solid metal.

Seriously no reason to dote on either of them so much. Only real care you need to take is that they can rust, so don't leave them wet. And don't needlessly scrub them with chain mail or angle grinders, or you might need to take a few minutes fixing them with cooking oil and the oven.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Does cast iron really take babying? I have a 12" cast iron skillet that's pretty much the only pan I use, and I just scrub it with steel wool, get it hot again, then throw in some avocado oil. It takes like 60 seconds of work

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Also don't temp shock them, they can warp

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

Ah, true. That one's become so ingrained for cooking in general that I don't really think about it. Putpan on low/medium heat, toss in a bit of oil and let the heat get even then swirl the oil. Adjust heat to desired level and cook.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 hours ago

I end up reseasoning mine every couple of years, inevitably somebody leaves it in the sink for a bit trying to soak off some burnt on stuff. It's really no big deal.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (6 children)

I wash my cast iron with normal dish soap and steel wool, and if I'm too lazy, I put it in the dishwasher. I've been doing this for 20 years. I don't "season" it. It's a pan, no more, no less. The main advantage is that you don't need to worry about scratching the shit out of it.

Needs a tiny little bit more fat than a non-stick if you want to make an omelette.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 hours ago

Same here, though i don't use steel wool and i do season it every now and then
The pan handles it like a champ

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 hours ago

it's just a pan

You can take care of your pans anyway you want. But it's telling when people treat neglect like it's an ethic.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 hours ago

You would probably like cast iron more if you stopped committing war crimes against it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Also throw in the metal fork you used to scrape your expensive non-stick pan.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Why do you hate cast iron?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

It feels super greasy and filthy, and everything you cook sticks to it. Give me stainless steel any day.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 hours ago

You have problems with cast iron sticking but you like stainless steel? Stainless steel is probably the most non stick material you can use. I can't stand the stuff.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

That's just a dirty pan. Actual cast iron seasoning isn't sticky or dirty because it has no impurities from the food, it's actually polymerized with the cast iron and it should look make the pan look black and glassy. I wash mine with Dawn soap and hand dry it, and it makes Teflon look like a joke. I can heat it without any butter or oil, drop in a glob of egg yolk, and it'll slide like it's skating on Astroglide. You're having a skill issue and you need to get good.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

I wash mine with Dawn soap and hand dry it,

Yeah, I think the big hangup for a lot of people is that detergents used to contain lye which would react with the steel. No longer the case. Folks will seriously refuse to clean their pans which is gross AF.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I used to love cast iron but carbon steel has stolen my heart

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 hours ago

I bought my first carbon steel pan (a wok specifically) last week and I did a bad job at seasoning it for the first time. I had to scrub the shit out of it with steel wool and vinegar to reset. My second season was a little better but it’s still not fully non stick. I hope it will just naturally get better as I keep using it.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Wash it all you want, should be fine as long as you hand dry it after.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (3 children)

I put mine in the clothes dryer with a load of socks. Is that wrong?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago

I'm imagining the sound

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 hours ago

Depends on how much you like buying dryers.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I love cast iron for cooking. It's also very forgiving. Depending what I am cooking it gets treated carefully for the seasoning, or scrubbed with dish soap. The beautiful thing is I can take it camping, come home and scrub all the 'seasoning' off, then re-season with 30 min in the oven an a bit of olive oil.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

I just reseasoned my 12” Lodge today! A lot of nasty smells coming out as I took off layers and layers of old seasoning with barkeeper’s friend. But now it has a non sticky, glassy smooth new sunflower oil seasoning. Very slick!

Does anyone know how to avoid having bacon foul up the seasoning? Seems like it always reacts chemically and incorporates proteins into the seasoning which make it nasty and dry and flaky rather than smooth and glassy.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Try washing it.

So long as you're not using the lye-based soaps your grandparents used to wash their dishes, you're fine. Dishwashing detergent does not damage seasoning.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

That’s what led me to redoing the seasoning today. I washed up the grease with a few drops of Dawn and the pan came out with large areas of brown/white and dry/powdery rather than black and shiny.

I definitely have had the pan have a really strong seasoning that maintains a hard, glossy black finish even after washing with soap before. I’m hoping the current seasoning holds up a bit better.

I think maybe sometimes I burn the seasoning from cooking with too high heat? I really love to put a good sear on a burger or a steak and I love how cast iron is like a deep cycle battery that can store and release a large amount of heat into a piece of food.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I think maybe sometimes I burn the seasoning from cooking with too high heat?

That will happen around 450-500F. One method of stripping seasoning is to run it through an oven self-cleaning cycle.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Ahhh I probably get it over 500 for a big sear. Kinda crazy that my stove’s burner can get there even on medium.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

If you want it that high, I would suggest using wok seasoning methods instead of cast iron. Basically, you "blue" the pan (develop a black iron oxide layer) by holding it at 550F for an hour or so. You'll burn off the oil every time you use it, but the black oxide layer is relatively non-stick. This will work better with carbon steel than cast iron.

Alternatively, you might consider an even heavier pan, to hold a 400-450F temperature even longer.

The burner will get well over a thousand. Without something cooling it off, a pan can overheat even on low.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Scrub it clean with soap, then put the pan on a burner to heat dry it. At the end, rub a very thin layer of fat on it. I use clarified butter. It's a cumulative process, you won't see all the benefits of nonstick all at once.

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