Seasoning a Pan
This refers to the coating that your cast iron pan will develop and what makes one getter better over time. One of the biggest benefits of the seasoning is how it enhances the non-stick properties. As far as how to do this, I’ve seen all kinds of different seasoning techniques. I’m not doubting that some of them can speed up the process but my best suggestion is to just use your pans and they will get seasoned over time. Over time, your pan will develop the fine layers of coating. Also, always at least oil you pan after you clean it by putting a super thin layer on it. If you have a few minutes, heat you pan back up and just turn off the stove and let it cool naturally.
If you purchased a non-seasoned cast iron pan or stripped the pre-seasoning you will need to start from scratch. This involves putting a super thin layer of oil on your pan and throwing it in the oven at ~450 degrees for 45 minutes. You can repeat this a few times.
A way to think of this is when you have cookie sheets and get baked on oil on them. That’s basically what you’re doing to create the seasoning.
Combating Rust
This was my biggest struggle during my first-go-round with cast iron. The rust seemed to appear no matter what I did because I treated it like any other steel pan. However, following some basic protocols makes this a non-issue and make them super easy to maintain without rust. The main things are:
- never air dry cast-iron, always dry as soon as possible with a towel
- Apply a thin layer of oil and wipe with a tile (shouldn’t be enough to pool)
- Alternatively, just burn off the moisture. Put it back in the oven or back on the stove for a few minutes. This is what I do as it does double duty (100% removes all moisture, plus builds up seasoning)
