• riodoro1@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    It’s insane to me that people don’t wash them and call it seasoning.

    It’s apparently a different story when someone seasons their underwear.

    • Chozo@fedia.io
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      9 days ago

      Just FYI, you do wash cast iron, you just don’t use detergents on it. One common method is to dump a handful of salt and a tiny splash of water into the pan and start scrubbing. You can use a gentle dish soap, but I’d avoid using the dishwasher, because those detergents will be a lot stronger and will actually ruin the seasoning (as well as linger on the surface and end up in your food, which is also bad).

      • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        Modern soaps/detergents don’t contain lye, which is what ruins the seasoning. It’s the humid drying of a dishwasher that causes it to rust. Nothing to with the detergent.

          • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
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            9 days ago

            As a mild ph adjuster, you would have to soak your cast iron in Dawn (platinum only) for hours, which would ruin your seasoning no matter the detergent used.

              • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
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                8 days ago

                I do, the lye is not to aid in cleaning and it doesn’t have enough to ruin a seasoning.

                There’s a difference between knowing something is in it, and why it is in it and what it can do.

                Soda has caustic and corrosive ingredients, it doesn’t mean it’s going to dissolve your intestines lmfao.

                • Jamablaya@lemmy.world
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                  5 days ago

                  “The caustic ingredient in a soap is not to aid in cleaning” You, that’s you, demonstrating a single digit IQ.

      • logos@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        I use a little dawn on mine now and then and it’s still basically like glass. Just put a little oil on it afterwards. Never the dishwasher though omg

      • ijon_the_human@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Detergents are basic because that works wonders on greasy stuff. When oil polymerises it won’t be susceptible to basic substances anymore but will react to acids. (Unlike acid and oils which don’t really react with each other – think vinaigrette separating in the fridge.)

        Washing a cast iron pan with detergent will clean it from unpolymerised oil.

        Cooking e.g. tomato based sauces in your cast iron pan will strip it of the polymerised coating (might impart flavour too).

        Cleaning kitchen tiles near your stove is sometimes easier with acidic cleaning solutions as well. Just be careful with the caulking which will brittle over time from using acids.

    • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      We do wash them, I clean mine by boiling water in them, scraping any stubborn bits with a wooden spatula, rinsing it out under running water and wiping them down with a clean towel and heating the pan again to evaporate any remaining water. No microbials will survive being boiled and then heated again, anything stuck to the pan dissolves away in boiling water and a clean towel will wipe away anything else. After that I add a few drops of oil and wipe down the still hot surface with the thinnest possible coating of oil.

      Seasoning for cast iron doesn’t mean holding onto previous flavors. It definitely shouldn’t taste like last night’s dinner. Seasoning in the context of cast iron is the build up of thin layers of polymerized oils from heating them up in a clean pan that forms a durable protective finish that is incredibly non-stick.

      So more accurately parallel your underwear example how cast iron is cleaned, if you took your underwear, boiled the hell out of them, used something to give them a scrub, rinsed them out well and then heat dried them.

      • TheTetrapod@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Your method sounds great and I’m sure it works well, but I just want to make sure you know that modern dish soap won’t damage your seasoning at all.

        • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          I fully get that modern dishsoap isn’t caustic enough to truly strip the seasoning, but I have noticed it does very slightly affect the seasoning.

          For 99.9% of the time it’s not necessary to use dishsoap and if something is really burnt on, then I’ll tend to go with something a bit more abrasive like a green scrubby pad or maybe steel wool or a paste of baking soda and water.

          It’s the same thing I do for my carbon steel wok too, boil water, rinse well, dry with heat and reapply oil to the reheated surface.

    • Takumidesh@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I hate cast iron, but ‘seasoning’ is just a misnomer that was adopted to refer to the oils polymerizing on the pan. The oil (usually something like canola) is literally bonded to the metal.

      Not cleaning a cast iron pan is gross, fats left in the pan will go rancid.

      The only soap you can’t use is lye based as that will strip the seasoning off.

    • nesc@lemmy.cafe
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      9 days ago

      I just wash it as normal, you just need to re-fry/season it once in in 3-5 months or so. People that don’t wash it usually let it become rusted and dirty as well.

        • nesc@lemmy.cafe
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          9 days ago

          I don’t really think about looking for special detergent without lye when buying (dunno why people say that dish detergent in general doesn’t contain it anymore), re-frying it once in a while makes the surface more smooth.

            • nesc@lemmy.cafe
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              9 days ago

              The process where you wash it as clean as possible then apply oil and put into oven.

              • snooggums@lemmy.world
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                8 days ago

                So another way of saying reseasoning.

                I haven’t had to do that since I switched to a less abrasive sponge. The green Scotch brand ones tended to take off some of the seasoning but the blue ones only take off the food.

  • bluewing@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    The reverence and fear of cast iron cooking pots and pans is stupid on both sides. People have been using cast iron under every condition from the big fire place in a castle’s kitchen to a fire pit in a peasant’s hovel to open fires outdoors to Michelin Star restaurants in Paris and London. And they cooked EVERYTHING in it because it’s what they had and all they had. There is no mystery to seasoning and care of cast iron. Just like there is little to fear from cooking with it.

    Those that do worship in the church of cast iron-- just cook in it. There is nothing sacrosanct about it. If your Great Grandmother didn’t worry about it, why should you? Any damage you can do it can be repaired quickly and easily. So get over yourselves.

    And those that fear cast iron cookery, get over it…They are often the same ones that are fearful of micro plastics getting ingested and yet have no care or concern while cooking with plastic cutting boards and utensils in plastic coated cookware.

    • Kanda@reddthat.com
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      9 days ago

      The mystery is that iron will rust if wet. The care instructions are “don’t leave it wet for a long time”.

      • strawberrysocial@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Even if it does rust accidentally, can’t you just scrape or buff out the rust and then reseal/reseason it again and it’s fine?

        • Bluewing@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          Unless there is a literal hole rusted through it, grab some sand paper and sand the rust off of it. It’s just iron. I’ve done it many times to rescue an old skillet or Dutch Oven.

          Short of taking a sledgehammer to it, it’s nigh on impossible to destroy cast iron cooking pans.

      • Red_October@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Okay but this one time I did exactly that thing I’m not supposed to and exactly what was expected happened so obviously cast iron bad?

        • Kanda@reddthat.com
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          8 days ago

          Once my colleague’s dad threw gasoline on a fire and got 3rd degree burns, so oxygen is bad.

    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      So much gatekeeping in anything creative. Music, cooking, art…. If you change one little thing it’s no longer the Thing, it’s something else, and it’s not what chef/band/artist/or grandma made, even though it’s a popular variant of the same Thing called the same thing somewhere else. Cast iron falls into the same trap. Such harsh judgement on use and care. It’s a f’n pan, not the last remaining example of a vintage Ferrari. Get over it.

    • FuzzyDog@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I have no fear of cooking with it, I just want my cookware to be minimally fussy and not require special treatment. If the $10 Walmart skillet can be thrown in the dishwasher and the $100 cast iron one requires me to baby it or it’ll rust, I’ll go with the cheap skillet every day.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Teflon also should not go in the dishwasher. Anything with exposed aluminum should not go in the dishwasher. Even stainless steel cookware recommends against dishwasher

      • RBWells@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        You have those prices reversed though. My cast iron collection, as noted further down, cost less in total than my one really good stainless steel pan, and guess where some of that cast iron was purchased? For $10 at Walmart, LOL. And at thrift stores and Target.

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        9 days ago

        First, everyone (not you because you don’t like it) should buy their cast iron at the hardware store, should be ~ $30. It’ll last pretty much forever so that $30 over a lifetime is not much.

        If you don’t cook a starch or aromatic in it, just wipe it out and let it get super hot.

        If you do cook starch in it, hand wash it with soap, just let it get over 212 degrees on the stove to dry it.

        If you want to throw it in the dishwasher, just pull it out at the end of the cycle and throw it on the stove > 212 degrees to dry. A well seasoned pan is generally so easy to clean, this would be a waste of your time, but it won’t kill anyone.

        If you want to subscribe to the no soap, scrub off the cooked starches with water and a non scratch scouring pad, re-coat in a fine layer of oil and let it smoke off under high heat. I really don’t bother and just use whatever it takes to get it clean easily.

        If the seasoning polymer you get from burning off oil gets cruddy after 6-8 months, re-season.

        If you accidentally get a little rust on it, soak it in vinegar until the rust dissapears, scrub the spot with a 3m pad until the spot is clean and re-season.

        You can get a rusty ass pan from a yard sale, soak it in vinegar for a day, scrub it down and re-season it. It’ll come out like new.

        If over the years, the seasoned surface starts to look super cruddy, soak it in sodium hydroxide until the polymer disolves, then reseason.

        Yeah, they’re harder than throwing it in the dishwasher, But they’re wasteless, cheap, pleasant to cook on and give great results.

        I keep a teflon pan and a couple different cast iron around. Even found a glass top lid that fits.

        • aport@programming.dev
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          8 days ago

          Lol this response proves OP’s point. “Bro it’s so easy bro just soak in sodium hydroxide and fill your house with smoking oil it’s easy dude just measure how much starch is in ur meal dude lol ez”

          • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip
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            8 days ago

            These are instructions for those who are picky about stuff.

            Just cook in it. After cooking, wipe it out. If its bad, when pre-heating I pull it off to put some water and rub with a pad with minimal soap, rinse that off, and back on the hob. Wow 15s of work before cooking. The horror.

            The instructions rumba gave were “if you absolutely fuck up, here are easy ways to fix that so you don’t have to buy a new one”

            • hardcoreufo@lemmy.world
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              8 days ago

              Yup I usually just dry scrub with a little chainmail scrubber to get all the bits off with. Then I wipe down with a little veg oil and it’s ready for next time.

          • rumba@lemmy.zip
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            8 days ago

            LOL at cherrypicking something I said to do instead of throwing the pan away

      • untorquer@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Tbf the cast iron i’m cooking out of was found as scrap in the woods. I wash with soap regularly, and use normal oil/butter qty’s. I just don’t dishwasher it, not that i have a dish!asher XD. I’ve seasoned it one single time which is right after i found it. It’s been a year.

        • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          You might want to check that for lead. People who cast their own bullets have been known to melt lead in cast iron.

          • untorquer@lemmy.world
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            8 days ago

            Ehhh… I’ve taken the 100LL avgas shower. At this point, a year of cooking later, the damage is done ig. Ill grab a test kit tho.

      • Bluewing@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Look at Ol’ Diamond Jim over there with his $100 skillets!

        I got 2 cast iron frying pans, a 6qt dutch oven, a 2 burner flat iron, and one cast iron 2qt kettle. I ain’t got $50 into the whole lot of them. Vintage cast iron is cheap because it will last for multiple generations and there is lots of it floating around to be had on the cheap.

        And if you ain’t got 5 minutes to clean a cast iron frying pan, then no $10 nuclear glow int the dark Walmart special is going to do any better in your care. I highly recommend you find someone to cook for you. Before you give yourself food poisoning.

    • protist@mander.xyz
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      9 days ago

      You could leave it outside in the dirt for 5 years and still just give it a lye bath then reseason it to work like new

      • TehWorld@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        So, this is somewhat of an irksome idea to me. My stainless steel pans would also be just fine buried in dirt for years, and you could just scrub them with heavy steel wool and or toss them in your dishwasher with no problem. Likely the same for ceramic. This isn’t the flex that most cast iron folks think it is. Note that I have a couple very nice cast iron pans that I love, but they certainly are more of a pain to use. I’ve never cracked a steel pan, but I have tried to rinse a cast too quickly and it was gone for good.

  • superkret@feddit.org
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    9 days ago

    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.

    • Ignotum@lemmy.world
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      9 days 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

    • hypnotoad@lemmy.ml
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      9 days ago

      I know you’re a troll but the idea of cooking on a dish soap infused cast iron is filthy lol

      • superkret@feddit.org
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        9 days ago

        I’m not a troll. But the amount of magical thinking around cast iron amuses me to no end.

        “dish soap infused” lol. Tell me, are your kitchen knives “infused” with soap, too?

        • KingJalopy @lemm.ee
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          9 days ago

          Yeah he’s a panoisseur. I wash mine with soap too lol. But I use the lemon scented shit so my soap infused food is always citrusy fresh.

        • rumba@lemmy.zip
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          9 days ago

          Yeah, soap doesn’t hurt a fucking thing, If I just cooked with a seed oil or bacon or something I’d be inclined just to let it burn off, But if I cooked noodles or pasta or garlic or anything fragrant on there, I’d soap and scrub the piss out of it. I just make sure to throw it back on the fire and get it past 212 if it’s been wet.

        • hypnotoad@lemmy.ml
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          9 days ago

          Lol I’m not religious about it or anything, but it’s porous unlike other cooking materials, so yeah, I don’t put soap on it

            • hypnotoad@lemmy.ml
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              8 days ago

              I also try not to use much if any soap there too, because, porous wood

              To each their own my friend, you do you. Not trying to get into a fued over soap preferences lol

  • Victor@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    You… hate cast iron? Of all things people could hate, cast iron is the choice here. Mmaight.

    • FuzzyDog@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Cast iron has a weird cult following. It’s like the jahovas witnesses of cookware

      • metaldream@sopuli.xyz
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        5 days ago

        Oh no people like something, better start calling it a cult so can we can get views.

        Social media is such shit.

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        8 days ago

        I used to think so, then I just started using them on the reg and it turns out to be super easy.

        It’s just a pan.

      • Victor@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        I don’t like using it because of the maintenance and manual cleaning, but I do use it because of the iron rich food it makes, and the longevity of the cookware.

        Also I heard Teflon is literally freaking poison for you, like one of the worst things to consume. And pots and pans always tend to flake Teflon after a while, from general use. So we got rid of everything Teflon.

        I don’t know how true it is but it feels good. Doing some manual labor isn’t a bad thing either.

      • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I threw my cast iron away about a year ago. Just couldn’t get the hang of it, probably a me problem. Moved to a stainless steel, and my goodness, the crust I get on meats is unparalleled.

  • 667@lemmy.radio
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    9 days ago

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

  • mavu@discuss.tchncs.de
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    9 days ago

    even putting it on the top rack, instead of the bottom where the pots go. Masterfull attention to detail in trolling.

  • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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    9 days ago

    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.

    • protist@mander.xyz
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      9 days ago

      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

      • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        No, it doesn’t. But people think it does and will get really vocal about it if you, god forbid, get it super gross and need to rinse it out with some soap and water.

        That’s why I specified that it was peer pressure, not necessity. :)

      • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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        9 days ago

        No, it doesn’t. I don’t even bother coating mine with oil, just a scrub with hot water and let it dry.

      • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days 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.

        • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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          9 days ago

          I also mean when cleaning, don’t go from hot to under the sink stream

          • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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            9 days ago

            Oh God, do people do that? Shouldn’t do that with any pan.

            Toss a cup of water in the pan to deglaze it and scrape any crap up with your cooking tool. Dump the water in the sink and use some paper towels to wipe out any loose stuff.

            This might be enough to clean it, but if not once it’s cool clean as appropriate. If it’s carbon or cast iron, reheat to cook off any water and wipe with a drop of oil you bring to smoking.

            Inevitably leave on the stove until you need to use it next instead of putting it away properly.

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      9 days 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.

    • nesc@lemmy.cafe
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      8 days ago

      Babying it is pretty new and somewhat cultish behaviour, my grandfather just used it and washed as normal, the only babying it needs is a huge temperature differences can break it. Stainless steel and high carbon steel pans are better.

    • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Carbon steel has the heat storage of cast iron but transfers it fast like aluminum. I thought a cast iron seared steak was great until I used carbon steel and omg is it so much better.

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

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

  • Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    The obsession with cast iron like it is some kind of magic ritual is honestly really weird. After you cook with it, wash it with water and dry it with some paper towels, that’s it, no need to make it more complicated than it really is.

    If things are sticking to your pan, use more oil in your pan; with enough oil, you can cook on a rock and make it nonstick.

    • douglasg14b@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Just wash it with dish soap like everything else, use a soft scrubber like everything else.

      If you have an actual polymer layer, it won’t be harmed.

      Dry it off, throw it on the burner. Get it hot, give it a touch of oil, and store it.

      • frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe
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        5 days ago

        I mean it’s a lump of iron it still won’t be harmed you may just need to scrape some rust off and reseason.

        • douglasg14b@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          Well, yes, but let’s not be intentionally obtuse eh?

          “Harm” in this case refers to the seasoning (polymer layer), which takes time and effort to repair if it’s significantly damaged.

          In the same way that scratching a wood floor is harming it (you can just resurface it), or denting your drywall is harm (you can just repair it).

  • Canopyflyer@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Cooking has been a hobby of mine for decades now. I have gone through a lot of phases in cooking, especially early on.

    I have used cast iron, carbon steel, stainless steel, and a dubious flirtation with all aluminum.

    16 years on now and this is what I reach for 100% of the time:

    Skillet/sautee: cladded stainless. Both standard side and high sided.

    Dutch Oven: Enameled cast iron.

    Pots Pans: Cladded stainless steel. For smaller 1qt to 2qt I like All Clads D5 for its heat retention. Larger than that I like the D3 for its lighter weight

    Grill Pan: cast iron. Hate the excessive weight though

    Non-stick: Ceramic coated aluminum. What ever Americas Test Kitchen recommends that year. I consider these disposable items. I stopped using TEFLON a long time ago.

    I used cast iron skillets for several years. I found them to be finicky. Heat retention was stupidly high and that’s not always a good thing. Excessively heavy and god forbid you attempt any sort of tomato based sauce or anything acidic for that matter. Circumstances forced me to use stainless steel and I just found it matches my needs in a kitchen much better than cast iron. It gets used, it gets cleaned and I put it away. No having to have the vaginal juices of a thousand virgins on hand to make sure it doesn’t destroy the next egg I try to cook.

    I consider cast iron skillets like safety razors. They had their day, but continue on because of a dedicated set of die hard users. Nothing wrong with that, just not my thing.

    The above goes for carbon steel as well, although it usually isn’t nearly as heavy.

    • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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      9 days ago

      Ugh. You wanna know the secret to cooking on cast iron/carbon steel? Just cook with it. Put fat in, get it hot, put your food in. It’s really that easy. Wipe it out when you’re done, rub some oil on it. That’s it. You can even cook tomato sauce in it, it’ll be ok. People have been using cast iron to cook all kinds of things, acidic and not, for literal centuries. This myth that cast iron/carbon steel pans are these delicate special snowflakes that need constant attention and maintenance needs to die.

      • Classy@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        I have a side business restoring antique cast iron pans and I use them for most of my cooking. I cook whatever the fuck I want in them, I leave the pan dirty on the stove a couple days sometimes when I’m busy, I use a scotch brite and scrub them clean with dish detergent, it really doesn’t matter.

        Go get a shitty Walmart pan and complain that CI is too hard to work with, it’s ridiculous. My CHF #8 is an amazing piece of hardware

      • Takumidesh@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        But they do need special maintenance, compared to Teflon pans or ceramic pans, they are the most finicky and hard to work with.

        There are a lot of things people have done for centuries. Being old doesn’t make something superior.

        The problem with the people who prostletyze cast iron, is they usually assume that everyone cooks like them, but the reality is that cast iron is generally a pain in the ass. I mean just the fact that you need to cover the entire pan in oil Every time you put it away should be enough of an indicator.

        • Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          9 days ago

          You definitely don’t need to oil it after every use. The main reason for applying oil is to keep it from rusting while it sits. If you just use it at least once a week then that rust isn’t a concern. Even if it did rust you can just scrub the rust off before you use it.

          There is all sorts of special care you can do to cast iron if you really get into it. But if you really don’t care then you can just use it and wash it exactly like any other pan without issue. The whole soap thing is a myth now a days because modern soaps don’t contain lye anymore. Soap is entirely unnecessary in cast iron but it won’t hurt it. Seasoning is adequately acheived just by actually cooking with it. You really don’t need any special process to season it unless you deliberately stripped off all the old seasoning. You can cook acidic foods in it without issue. I do tomato sauce in mine all the time.

          Coated pans require way more care. At least I can use proper metal utensils in my cast iron.

        • Blackrook7@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          You don’t and it isn’t. I cook exclusively on cast iron, and I oil it only before I put some food that requires oil. I use hot water and a paper towel to wipe it clean. Been using it for years, way less scrubbing than stainless 90 percent of the time.
          But I use it exclusively and daily, so ymmv.

        • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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          9 days ago

          I’ve been cooking with cast iron for years, all I do is scrub it with hot water only and let it dry. No re seasoning, no coating in oil, nothing.

          I’m genuinely impressed you’ve managed to fuck up using cast iron.

        • RBWells@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          Oh hell no. Nonstick pans have to be babied - plastic spatulas, gentle sponges, and they get worse with time. Cast iron you almost cannot destroy, and gets better and better with use. Scrub away with chainmail, scrape with a metal spatula, it doesn’t care. Too hot? Doesn’t care.

        • WanderFree@sh.itjust.works
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          9 days ago

          If you treat cast iron with the same care that a non stick pan requires with just a little bit of oil it will be better over time. With those same instructions an average non-stick pan, used daily will degrade in 5 to 10 years. Iron is heavy and inconvenient, but carbon steel pans run 90% of the Michelin rates kitchens you will find. Cast iron can do much of the same work at home and, in the US is much easier to find. A 10 inch Lodge cast iron pan can be found in any X-mart. A 10 inch Matfer Bourgeat is a bit pricier and harder to source. Good luck with pan fried fish in a non stick pan after a month. Same with cooking 40 burgers or omelets a day for a month. 2 of the items I mentioned could do that easily. The average non-stick pan could not.

        • Jamablaya@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          no. Teflon pans are just the worst. silicone utensils only and never turn the burner over half or your budgie dies. BTW your theory about oil coating is idiocy.

      • Canopyflyer@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        The polymerized coating on cast iron is stripped almost immediately with anything acidic. It’s basic chemistry.

        Put some fat in the pan… You mean exactly what I do with my stainless steel?

        Also cooking the way you describe builds up carbon, which is carcinogenic.

        What needs to die is the emotional attachment people have to a technology that has its place, just not for every day cooking.

        My grill Pan and Dutch ovens are cast iron. But they are Enameled making them a lot more useful. ,

        • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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          9 days ago

          Your “basic chemistry” doesn’t match up with the lived experience of the plethora of people that frequently use cast iron/carbon steel. And yes, it doesn’t matter what type of pan, including non-stick, if you want your food to taste good you’re probably gonna start by heating up some fat. You’re only building excess carbon in a cast iron/carbon steel if you leave on bits of burnt food and season over that. If you clean your pan properly (with soap and hot water, because that’s totally allowed), that won’t happen. Tons of people cook with cast iron/carbon steel every single day and have absolutely no problems with it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying everyone should only cook with cast iron/carbon steel, all I’m saying is using those pans is way less finicky than you’re making it out to be.

        • snugglesthefalse@sh.itjust.works
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          8 days ago

          I don’t have a horse in this race but everything is carcinogenic to some degree, burnt toast isn’t going to make any real difference. And why would cast iron have a polymer coating? Unless I’m missing something wasn’t the whole point to avoid that?

    • Floey@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      No wok? Also safety razors are great and I’m guessing the only reason cartridges won out is because of marketing, then the following generation forgot there was another option.

      • Canopyflyer@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I have a carbon steel wok and even have a wok grate for my stove. While I do some Chinese cooking, I’ve found that on an American stove it doesn’t really have any advantages.

        I’m sure if I cooked more Chinese cuisine it would be a different story.

    • RBWells@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I use cast iron for most of my stovetop cooking, but I’m sure it’s because my cooking style evolved around them, they were so cheap and absolutely the best pans I could afford. They become nearly nonstick, can go from stove to oven to grill, even fire. So for something like $5-20 each I accumulated a set over time, and I love them. We do wash with soap, dry right away, it doesn’t kill the surface. Now I have some money for pans, we do have one gorgeous stainless All-Clad skillet I call the “stick skillet”, my kids like it. But in terms of PRICE to quality, cast iron is where it’s at. That one All-Clad pan cost almost as much as all my cast iron put together.

    • Jamablaya@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I used flax oil to season my dutch oven, and finds it stands up to frequent tomato based pasta sauces for a bout a year, but it does eventually fail, an you know immediately when that happens, iron flavoured bolognese. Did that for a few years and finally got an enamelled set for that. As for the frying pans, mine are really old (1920s) and quite lightweight, nowhere near as heavy as newer Wagner 1898s and Lodges. I find the heat retention just perfect when making a carbonara, i turn the burner off when the pasta is three minutes from done and the heat is just perfect to make the carbonara sauce cook without turning into scrambled eggs. The other use, pan frying steaks, nothing does that better. They’re not for everything, I have one 7 inch teflon pan that i use for one purpose only, and that’s french omelets. I have zero interest in trying that in a cast pan.

    • buttfarts@lemy.lol
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      9 days ago

      Cast iron is to sear the bajesus out of steak. Nothing else can blacken the steak crust to my satisfaction without inadvertently overcooking the middle.

      I hate it for everthing else.

      A tiny cheap teflon pan just for 1-2 fried eggs and nothing else.

      Then SS all-clad as the go-to for everything else.

      Been having good experience with the hexclad teflon pan although handwash only. I believe it is generally disliked because it is marketed as “dishwasher safe” which is absolutely false. When handwashed it holds up very well.

      • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        Nothing else can blacken the steak crust to my satisfaction without inadvertently overcooking the middle.

        Cooking at such temperatures is really bad for you. It will give you literal ass cancer eventually.

  • Rooty@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    It’s your expensive quality cookware, if you want to ruin it I can’t do anything about it.

    Whispers gently to well seasoned dutch oven

    Shh, it’s okay, the bad man can’t hurt you.

    • Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 days ago

      It’s pretty hard to ruin good cast iron. A good cast iron pan could spend a year at the bottom of a lake and all it would need is a good scrub and reseason to be good to go again.

      About the only thing I’ve seen that makes them completely irrecoverable is when people use them to melt lead. Also you can crack the cheap ones in half with thermal shock.

    • BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 days ago

      In all seriousness I actually have this pumpkin Le Creuset cast iron Dutch oven and it’s in fine shape. The pans that I hate are the gross frying pans my SO brought to this relationship which are disgusting. This Dutch oven can go in the dishwasher no problem actually.