4 ms·

Oh it's worse than that. Unlike steel, cast iron generates dust when abraded. Dust that is really bad for you. Known to cause lung issues, etc. I machine it

Oh it's worse than that. Unlike steel, cast iron generates dust when abraded. Dust that is really bad for you. Known to cause lung issues, etc. I machine it all the time (both ductile and non). It is usually is machined dry with vacuum because it will clog coolant systems. It basically turns into a horrible mud when mixed with coolant or water I happen to filter the coolant system so i can machine it wet, but that's not all - i also run a dust extractor to avoid these issues. Cast iron is popular, but i've seen no science that suggests it should be used. There is no evidence i've seen that it's particularly better at anything, none of the "seasoning" thing is a real rust protectant for either cast iron or steel (and steel will usually rust slower), though it is non stick in the same sense that things are harder to stick to burned things :) Steel won't generate the same kind of horrible dust when you abrade through the seasoning. I don't season anything though - if i want to protect something from rust i dry it. If seasoning was a super good rust protectant we'd use it as one in other cases. If i want something to be non-stick i spray a light coat of oil on it.

johnnyanmac 3y ago
Well now I don't know what to do unless we starting being capable of telekinesis. And even then, is telekinetis debris bad to consume? It just sounds like we're picking our flavor of poison when we pack our food, something we've done since pre-historic times.
asielen 3y ago
Can you provide a source on the cast iron dust issue. I've heard that cast iron is actually recommended for anemic people who are low in iron. Are there other chemicals besides iron in the "dust"? How's would this dusty be formed unless you are purposely scraping there hell out of it with metal utensils? (And wood is generally recommended for cooking utensils anyway)
vel0city 3y ago
When during normal cooking am I going to be abraiding the surface of my cast iron to the point I'm aerosolizing significant amounts of dust off the pan?
- DannyBee 3y ago
  Uh, if you scrape it at all with anything?
  - vel0city 3y ago
    I don't even normally scrape it enough to significantly wear down the seasoning. When am I going to scrape it so much I'm going to scrape off a significant amount of the actual pan? How hard do you scrape your pans when you cook?! Does your pan end up half a gram lighter every time you cook or something? And even then, if I am scraping it enough to actually abraide some of it, it's not being aerosolized. It's gonna get worked into the fats and oils I've got in the pan. Which, sure, some small amount eventually flings out, but by that point it's such a tiny minute amount. Maybe if I was a chef it might be enough to actually care a tiny slight bit. But like, cooking with it a few times a week, I can't imagine I'm getting much of any bits of the pan in my lungs. I'd be more worried about the stuff burning in the pan over the bits of the pan being a problem.
Workaccount2 3y ago
Once you build up your seasoning on cast iron, you're not really touching it anymore, much less scratching it, much less machining it. On top of the fact that the pan isn't dry either. Also eating iron oxide is fine, it's breathing it that is bad.
wheels 3y ago
Some of what your saying makes sense, but it sounds like you're carrying experience in metal working too far into cooking. > though it is non stick in the same sense that things are harder to stick to burned things :) The usual way I've heard this explained, which seems reasonable, is that steel and iron are porous, and what causes sticking is the contraction of those pores when heated. A smooth covering prevents that sticking, and polymerized cooking oil provides that. > I don't season anything though - if i want to protect something from rust i dry it. If seasoning was a super good rust protectant we'd use it as one in other cases. Funnily enough, I have. I built a bookshelf that uses raw steel beams, and I seasoned it to protect it from rust. 3 years in, it's still rust free (amusingly, except for the inside of the pipes). But I don't think anyone really argues that it's the best way to do things in non-cooking applications, just that it's food safe (again, the point of what we're discussing) and works. Seasoning does demonstrably prevent rust... For furniture you'd more often spray it with a protective coating, but I don't think anyone's recommending spraying pans with polyurethane. ;-)
- tptacek 3y ago
  OK, but the flip side of this is: why would you ever opt for cast iron over carbon steel? There are reasons --- cast iron retains heat better (though both retain heat better than all other cookware, and the reason cast iron retains more heat is that it's stupid heavy). But most things people use cast iron for in cooking, they should be using carbon steel for (or enamelware) instead. It's just way better. Pushing back on 'DannyBee though: the narrative about cast iron vs. nonstick is easy to understand: nonstick pans are shitty, expensive, and overused; lots of people cook in nonstick exclusively (:scream-emoji:) and don't realize their pans have been worthless for years because the coating is all scuffed up. It's not a health thing so much as a "nonstick pans are evil" thing.
  - wheels 3y ago
    I mostly use carbon steel. But putting on my cooking nerd hat, there's one situation where I pull out cast iron, because it's annoyingly heavy: It has more thermal momentum, thus when I am pulling stuff out of my sous vide cooker, it's better at quickly adding char (because the temperature drops less than in carbon steel or anything else). (The only other reason I use cast iron is for the cases where the pan size is just more practical than my carbon steel pans.) I will admit that I'm conflicted by this since there's also a distinctive way that my 3.5 kW induction wok cooker chars stuff in a very limited amount of time, but that involves me removing the smoke detectors from my kitchen and the two rooms adjacent.

johnnyanmac 3y ago

Well now I don't know what to do unless we starting being capable of telekinesis. And even then, is telekinetis debris bad to consume? It just sounds like we're picking our flavor of poison when we pack our food, something we've done since pre-historic times.

asielen 3y ago

Can you provide a source on the cast iron dust issue. I've heard that cast iron is actually recommended for anemic people who are low in iron. Are there other chemicals besides iron in the "dust"? How's would this dusty be formed unless you are purposely scraping there hell out of it with metal utensils? (And wood is generally recommended for cooking utensils anyway)

vel0city 3y ago

When during normal cooking am I going to be abraiding the surface of my cast iron to the point I'm aerosolizing significant amounts of dust off the pan?

DannyBee 3y ago
Uh, if you scrape it at all with anything?
- vel0city 3y ago
  I don't even normally scrape it enough to significantly wear down the seasoning. When am I going to scrape it so much I'm going to scrape off a significant amount of the actual pan? How hard do you scrape your pans when you cook?! Does your pan end up half a gram lighter every time you cook or something? And even then, if I am scraping it enough to actually abraide some of it, it's not being aerosolized. It's gonna get worked into the fats and oils I've got in the pan. Which, sure, some small amount eventually flings out, but by that point it's such a tiny minute amount. Maybe if I was a chef it might be enough to actually care a tiny slight bit. But like, cooking with it a few times a week, I can't imagine I'm getting much of any bits of the pan in my lungs. I'd be more worried about the stuff burning in the pan over the bits of the pan being a problem.

Workaccount2 3y ago

Once you build up your seasoning on cast iron, you're not really touching it anymore, much less scratching it, much less machining it. On top of the fact that the pan isn't dry either. Also eating iron oxide is fine, it's breathing it that is bad.

wheels 3y ago

Some of what your saying makes sense, but it sounds like you're carrying experience in metal working too far into cooking. > though it is non stick in the same sense that things are harder to stick to burned things :) The usual way I've heard this explained, which seems reasonable, is that steel and iron are porous, and what causes sticking is the contraction of those pores when heated. A smooth covering prevents that sticking, and polymerized cooking oil provides that. > I don't season anything though - if i want to protect something from rust i dry it. If seasoning was a super good rust protectant we'd use it as one in other cases. Funnily enough, I have. I built a bookshelf that uses raw steel beams, and I seasoned it to protect it from rust. 3 years in, it's still rust free (amusingly, except for the inside of the pipes). But I don't think anyone really argues that it's the best way to do things in non-cooking applications, just that it's food safe (again, the point of what we're discussing) and works. Seasoning does demonstrably prevent rust... For furniture you'd more often spray it with a protective coating, but I don't think anyone's recommending spraying pans with polyurethane. ;-)

tptacek 3y ago
OK, but the flip side of this is: why would you ever opt for cast iron over carbon steel? There are reasons --- cast iron retains heat better (though both retain heat better than all other cookware, and the reason cast iron retains more heat is that it's stupid heavy). But most things people use cast iron for in cooking, they should be using carbon steel for (or enamelware) instead. It's just way better. Pushing back on 'DannyBee though: the narrative about cast iron vs. nonstick is easy to understand: nonstick pans are shitty, expensive, and overused; lots of people cook in nonstick exclusively (:scream-emoji:) and don't realize their pans have been worthless for years because the coating is all scuffed up. It's not a health thing so much as a "nonstick pans are evil" thing.
- wheels 3y ago
  I mostly use carbon steel. But putting on my cooking nerd hat, there's one situation where I pull out cast iron, because it's annoyingly heavy: It has more thermal momentum, thus when I am pulling stuff out of my sous vide cooker, it's better at quickly adding char (because the temperature drops less than in carbon steel or anything else). (The only other reason I use cast iron is for the cases where the pan size is just more practical than my carbon steel pans.) I will admit that I'm conflicted by this since there's also a distinctive way that my 3.5 kW induction wok cooker chars stuff in a very limited amount of time, but that involves me removing the smoke detectors from my kitchen and the two rooms adjacent.