I’m a lazy foodie, someone who would rather skip the work of cooking and make it in time for dessert. I can’t seem to always get out of work. When I can’t, I jump right to the cast iron in the house. Not that we own much else other than cast iron, it just makes cooking all the easier and more comfortable.
As I am sure you can tell, cast iron is loved in our household. Used for cooking both in the house and in the woods. It seems to last in all odds or abuse we put it through. Sometimes, for all the deliciousness it is able to cook we need to give it some love to keep our favorite cooking tool in mint condition.
I’m a much better cook in cast iron then I am with stainless steel. In stainless, everything seems to burn or stick horribly. It must be the patina on a cast iron that saves me from disaster.
Breakfast in cast iron
So that our cast iron will last forever and Mom will be happy her pans are always ready for her there are a few things you should know about it and rules that you should follow:
- Never wash our cast iron with dish soap. Simply set the pan in hot water and wash out the food remnants with a dish rag. Dry immediately. After each washing, put a thin coat of cooking oil or shortening in the inside until it is glossy. You do this to protect the iron from the moisture and so it is “seasoned” and ready for the next meal.
- The “seasoning” or also known as the “patina” is vegetable oil baked at a high temperature as a non-chemical non stick coating.
- To give the iron the patina, simply put the vegetable oil sheen on and place in the oven upside down and bake at 350-400 F. Bake the cookware for at least an hour. Since you are not using soap to disinfect, the heat kills any germs.
- If you find that washing without soap is too risky, then find a gently soap. If you give it a strong wash with soap you will have to reapply a new patina.
If you are to follow these simple rules, you will never have an issue with Mom’s pan rusting. If by chance your pan does rust, don’t fuss, it is easy to remove. Simply scour off the rust, rinse, dry, and reapply a new patina.
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