"CastIron" news and stories

A cast-iron skillet is an indispensable cooking tool, but it can be tricky to clean and maintain.

Those electric panini presses are nice, but why lug out a whole machine for sandwich time when a little cast iron magic can do the trick?

Here at Slashfood, we've offered a handful of posts on cooking and seasoning your cast iron pans. The popular way is to scrub it, lather it, and bake it upside down. But even if you get that great initial seasoning, do you have a hard time keeping it?

When I seasoned my large cast iron pan, it looked great. However, some things were just darned sticky. My potatoes never failed to stick like mad, and only my eggs (surprisingly enough) seemed immune. I would carefully scrub the pan with salt, rinse it out with water, dry it, and add a thin layer of oil each time, but it never got any more seasoned or perfect. Then something really stuck and removing it removed some of my seasoning.

After re-seasoning, I was determined to do better, and took a note from my friend. After he washes his out (he actually scrubs it with a regular kitchen brush), he dries it off by putting it on the stove. When it's dry, he adds some oil, coats the pan, and lets it cook for a little while before turning it off and letting it cool.

Low and behold, my pan is starting to get that perfect shine, and better yet -- the potatoes didn't rabidly stick this time around!

In January, Marisa alerted us to an article at Kitchn about seasoning your cast iron cookware. This is the technique I have always used -- lather pan in the oil/shortening and bake it upside down in your oven. Unfortunately, the last time I did this, I put a baking sheet underneath, rather than foil, and made a mess that ruined my pan.

But it looks like there is an easier way! Michael Ruhlman posted an ode to cast iron the other day, and listed a seasoning technique from The Elements of Cooking. It's the same idea, but easier. Just pour a half-inch layer of oil into a pan, and cook it over high heat until very hot, or just in a 300 degree oven for an hour. Considering how wonderfully shiny and seasoned his pans look, I imagine it does the job!

But there is one other thing I wished I had read before: "Turn them upside down and use them as a pizza stone." Of course, I read this two weeks after I finally buy a stone. That's always the way.

My parents have a pretty happy marriage. They've been together for more than 37 years now, without too many major controversies. However, there is one issue that continues to stick in both of their craws and it stems from the fact that my dad is a lover of cast iron cookware and my mother can't stand the stuff. You see, in the first couple years of their marriage, my mom gave away a cast iron pan that my dad had lovingly scrubbed and seasoned. She didn't think that cast iron was hygienic and so banished it from the kitchen. He still mourns the loss of that pan, even now.

I don't have a ton of cast iron in my own cookware collection, but the few pieces I do possess are rapidly becoming beloved. I adore the 7-quart Dutch Oven I acquired a couple of years ago, and my 13 inch skillet is finally starting to develop that shiny black finish that is prized by cast iron fans. If you happened to receive any cast iron pots or pans this holiday season and you're looking for tips on how to season your booty, look no further than this post from The Kitchn, which will guide you through the process, step by step (it even includes helpful pictures).

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