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There's a whole nonsense mythology that has been built up about how to treat cast iron (and carbon steel). I think one of the biggest reasons is that people wa

There's a whole nonsense mythology that has been built up about how to treat cast iron (and carbon steel). I think one of the biggest reasons is that people want an easy shortcut, when in reality the best thing to do is simply to use the pan a lot, and respect that it is iron and that iron will rust if you strip away the protective layer, so don't do that.

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NathanielK 5y ago
> respect that it is iron and that iron will rust if you strip away the protective layer, so don't do that. Leaving it wet doesn't do you any favours either though.
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
People don't want an easy shortcut (that's what modern stainless and nonstick are for). They want the yuppie street cred from doing it the Hard But Authentic(TM) way.
- denton-scratch 5y ago
  Except the "Hard Way" isn't hard; satainless isn't non-stick; and seasoned cast iron doesn't shed weird fluorine products into your food (when the PTFE flakes off, as it inevitably does within 5-10 years, it must be going into the food you eat).
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    I agree on all points but once you start talking about a class of consumer who could afford to (not that any specific one does) shop at Whole Foods facts matter far less than perception/reputation.
yetanotherjosh 5y ago
> There's a whole nonsense mythology that has been built up about how to treat cast iron (and carbon steel). Yes but sorting out the sense from the nonsense is effectively impossible. You can find arguable authorities/experts that will say whatever point of view you want to find and validate: Soap is bad, soap is okay in small quantity, soap is fine; Use salt and oil to rub it clean, don't use salt and oil because you'll dig into the seasoning; you have to strip it down to re-season it, no you don't. It goes on and on. Literally everything about cast iron care is contested, and by people who are professionals in the kitchen/cooking business and "use them all the time and get great results" so they must be right, etc etc.
- KozmoNau7 5y ago
  As a general rule of thumb, anyone who says you need to baby the pan and that the seasoning is "delicate", is wrong. If it can't stand up to ordinary dish soap and even a bit of salt scrubbing to get out burnt bits, it is not properly polymerized and therefore not fit to cover the inside of my pan. So keep using that pan, including washing it by hand, until a proper strong seasoning is achieved. Some things can't be rushed.

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NathanielK 5y ago

> respect that it is iron and that iron will rust if you strip away the protective layer, so don't do that. Leaving it wet doesn't do you any favours either though.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

People don't want an easy shortcut (that's what modern stainless and nonstick are for). They want the yuppie street cred from doing it the Hard But Authentic(TM) way.

denton-scratch 5y ago
Except the "Hard Way" isn't hard; satainless isn't non-stick; and seasoned cast iron doesn't shed weird fluorine products into your food (when the PTFE flakes off, as it inevitably does within 5-10 years, it must be going into the food you eat).
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  I agree on all points but once you start talking about a class of consumer who could afford to (not that any specific one does) shop at Whole Foods facts matter far less than perception/reputation.

yetanotherjosh 5y ago

> There's a whole nonsense mythology that has been built up about how to treat cast iron (and carbon steel). Yes but sorting out the sense from the nonsense is effectively impossible. You can find arguable authorities/experts that will say whatever point of view you want to find and validate: Soap is bad, soap is okay in small quantity, soap is fine; Use salt and oil to rub it clean, don't use salt and oil because you'll dig into the seasoning; you have to strip it down to re-season it, no you don't. It goes on and on. Literally everything about cast iron care is contested, and by people who are professionals in the kitchen/cooking business and "use them all the time and get great results" so they must be right, etc etc.

KozmoNau7 5y ago
As a general rule of thumb, anyone who says you need to baby the pan and that the seasoning is "delicate", is wrong. If it can't stand up to ordinary dish soap and even a bit of salt scrubbing to get out burnt bits, it is not properly polymerized and therefore not fit to cover the inside of my pan. So keep using that pan, including washing it by hand, until a proper strong seasoning is achieved. Some things can't be rushed.